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Religious Schizophrenia HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS. +++++++++++ THERE SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING INFECTIOUS GOING AROUND CHRISTIAN-DOM TODAY… SOMETHING VERY EASY TO FALL INTO, THAT IF GONE UNCHECKED CAN LEAD TO GREAT POVERTY OF SOUL… I WANT TO TALK TO YOU THIS MORNING ABOUT SOMETHING I’M CALLLING RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIA… RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIA… IT WAS THAT SWISS psychiatrist Eugen Bleuler WHO DEFINED SCHIZOPHRENIA AS A split between the subjective feeling, and the thought being experienced, A split between thinking and feeling, ALMOST CREATING A SENSE OF A SPLIT PERSONALITY. +++++++++++++++ let me take this definition of schizophrenia into our life of faith.. THIS RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIA, A SPLIT PERSONALITY, A CIVIL WAR BETWEEN OUR LIFE OF FAITH, AND OUR SECULAR LIFE… CASE IN POINT…
RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIA, LIVING SEPARATE LIVES, ONE OF THE GOSPEL, AND ONE OF THE WORLD… THIS IS EXACTLY THE WORLD THAT THE MAN IN OUR GOSPEL READING IS LIVING IN… REMEMBER THIS GUY? HE’S A TEACHER OF THE LAW, AND HIS HEART IS SO HEAVY, HE SIMPLY WANTS to LIVE A CONSISTENT LIFE, NO MORE SPLIT PERSONALITY, AND HE ASKS JESUS…WHICH IS THE MOST IMPORTANT LAW? WHICH IS THE ONE THAT DEFINES ALL OTHER LAWS? HOLD ON TO YOUR SEATS LADIES AND GENTLEMEN… DOES JESUS SAY, FORGET THE LAW, IT’S NOT NEEDED ANY MORE… RULES SMOOLS, NO.. DOES HE SAY THERE ARE MANY GODS YOU CAN FOLLOW, NO, JESUS SAYS LISTEN, THERE IS NO OTHER GOD BUT ME… THE LORD OUR GOD IS ONE… LOVE ME.. LOVE ME.. LOVE ME WITH ALL YOUR
THIS MY FRIENDS IS OUR RECIPE OUT OF RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIA.. TO LOVE OUR LORD SO MUCH WE ARE WILLING TO CONFORM OUR ENTIRE LIFE TO HIM THROUGH LOVE… LOVE BY THE WAY, DEFINED BY SCHOLAR DAVID GARLAND THIS WAY… LOVE IS OUR INNER COMMITMENT TO GOD THAT IS EXPRESSED IN ALL OF OUR CONDUCT AND OUR RELATIONSHIPS… THINK OF JOHN 14: WHOEVER HAS MY COMMANDS AND OBEYS THEM, HE IS THE ONE WHO LOVES ME… REAL LOVE FOR GOD PROMPTS OBEDIENCE AND THIS IN TURN DEEPENS OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND ENABLES HIM TO SHOW US EVEN MORE OF HIMSELF! +++++++++++++ NOW, I KNOW WE LIVE IN WASHINGTON, AND HERE IN THE CITY WE HAVE AN AMAZING NUMBER OF TYPE ‘A’ PERSONALITIES… WE LOVE CHECK LISTS, TO-DO LISTS, AND OH WHAT WE WOULDN’T DO FOR A GOOD PIE CHART NOW AND THEN! GOOD NEWS, JESUS PROVIDES IT! THE CHIEF WAY TO DEFEAT EVERTIME OUR RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIC TENDANCY, IS TO MEASURE OURSELVES AGAINST THE 5 ESSENTIAL WAYS IN WHICH JESUS ASKS US TO SHOW OUR LOVE TO HIIM… SO JESUS, WITH LOVE, GIVES US A CHECKLIST.. +++++++++++++++++++++++++ AND HE BEGINS BY SAYING LOVE ME WTH ALL YOUR HEART. A LOVE FOR GOD IN OUR HEART BEGINS WITH THE BELIEF THAT JESUS IS LORD AND THAT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. LOVING THE LORD SO MUCH THAT EVEN THOUGH WE DON’T ALWAYS UNDERSTAND, WE CAN believe! YOU SEE THE HEART IS THE COMMAND CENTER OF THE BODY, IT IS HERE WHERE DECISIONS ARE MADE, PLANS ARE HATCHED… THE CENTER OF OUR INNER BEING WHICH CONTROLS OUR FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, DESIRES AND PASSIONS.. IT IS WHERE WE DECIDE FOR OR AGAINST GOD… pLACING JESUS IN THE CENTER OF this command center… THAT MIGHT MEAN MOVING yourself OUT OF THE CENTER, YOUR PROFESSION, YOUR HOBBIES, PUTTING JESUS RIGHT THERE. WHEN WE DO THIS, WE REALIZE THAT RELIGION FOR US CAN’T BE SIMPLY JUST A MATTER OF RITUAL AND NICE MUSIC… IT MEANS PLACING CHRIST IN THE VERY CENTER OF ALL THAT WE DO. AND YOU AND I KNOW THOSE MOMENTS WHEN OUR HEARTS HAVE BEEN FILLED TO OVERFLOWING… often during worship, my heart is so filled, perhaps by the music, by the prayers, by the readings, the sermon… On the FLIP SIDE, MOMENTS IN LIFE WHEN OUR HEARTS WERE COMPLETELY NOT INTO SOMETHING..YOU REMEMBER THE ELDER BROTHER in the PARABLE OF THE LOST SON…. HE OBEYED EVERY COMMAND OF HIS FATHER, BUT HIS HEART WAS NOT IN IT… HE PERFORMED HIS DUTIES WITH A JOY-LESS-NESS… TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL OF OUR HEART MEANS SUBMITTING OURSELVES AND ASKING THE LORD IN TO THIS MOST PRECOUS PLACE… IF instead we find THAT WE ARE THE CENTER OF OUR HEART, THEN THIS SCHIZOPHRENIA CAN THRIVE. ++++++++++++++ THE LORD WORKING THROUGH HIS CHECKLIST THEN SAYS LOVE ME WITH ALL YOUR SOUL! THIS MEANS THE POWER OF OUR LIVES… THE SOUL IS THE DEEPEST PLACE OF THE HUMAN THAT BRINGS ABOUT A MOTIVATING POWER THAT BRINGS STRENGTH TO THE WILL… we remember the words of david..he leads me beside the still waters and restores my soul… IN OUR SOUL, WE FIND OUR DRIVE, OUR AMBITIONS… THAT WE WOULD LOVE GOD IN SUCH A WAY THAT OUR AMBITION OUR DRIVE WOULD CHANGE COURSE… JUST LIKE IT DID FOR PAUL…AFTER HIS AMAZING CONVERSION, ALL HIS ENERGIES WERE FOCUSED ON PURSUING GOD’S PURPOSE FOR HIS LIFE… I HAD A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE… MY DRIVE, MY DESIRE ALL BECAME ONE, AND THAT WAS TO SERVE THE LORD IN EVERY ASPECT OF MY LIFE! YOU SEE, LOVING THE LORD WITH ALL MY SOUL, THAT MY DRIVE MY AMBITIONS WOULD BE FUELED BY NOTHING OTHER THAN THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST! RESERVING JUST A PART OF OUR SOUL AMBITION FOR OURSELVES CAN THROW US INTO A SCHIZOPHRENIC TAIL-SPIN! +++++++++++++ JESUS THEN GOES ON TO SAY… love me with that faculty up here that DIRECTS yOUR OPINIONS AND JUDGEMENTS… LOVING GOD WITH ALL OUR INTELLIGENCE… SCHOLAR DAVID GARLAND WROTE THAT WE NEED TO COMMIT OUR MINDS TO GOD SO WE CAN OFFER OUR SOCIETY THE VITAL ‘KNOW WHY’ TO ALL THE IMPRESSIVE ‘KNOW HOW’ OF CULTURE! LOVING JESUS CHRIST with ALL OUR MIND. SEVERAL YEARS AGO, THERE WAS A POSTER WHICH READ, JESUS DIED TO TAKE AWAY YOUR SINS, AND NOT YOUR MIND. I PARTIALLY DISAGREE, THE LORD CAME TO RENEW OUR MINDS, AND GIVE US A FRESH START! REMINDS ME OF A PARENT TELLING A YOUTH DIRECTOR, WHY ARE YOU BRAINWASHING THE MIND OF MY CHILD WITH THIS CHRISTIAN STUFF? THE YOUTH DIRECTOR APTLY REPLIED, WELL, OUR BRAINS really do NEED WASHING FROM TIME TO TIME! YOU SEE, LOVING GOD WITH THE MIND MEANS MORE THAN THE JOY OF JUST INTELLECTUAL ENDLESS DEBATE… IT ALSO MEANS THE WILLINGNESS TO HAVE OUR MINDS CHANGED INTO HARMONY WITH HIS MIND…so we can engage in action! NOTHING LESS THAN THAT IS LOVING GOD! ++++++++++ SO, DEFEATING THIS RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIA BY LOVING THE LORD WITH THE COMMAND CENTER OF OUR HEARTS.. THE AMBITION OF SOUL, THE OBEDIENCE OF OUR MINDS… BUT ALSO MY FRIENDS, LOVING THE LORD WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH… THIS REFERS TO OUR PHYSICAL CAPACITIES… ironically, we are told over and over in scripture that we are at our strongest when we are weakest, because it is only then we see our need for god! and we depend on him! LOVING THE LORD WITH ALL OUR STRENGTH…WHICH ALSO MEANS LOVING HIM THROUGH OUR POSESSIONS… I THINK HERE OF THE STORY OF THE WIDOW’S MITE… SHE WAS THE ONE WHO OUT OF STRENGTH GAVE TO GOD ALL THAT SHE HAD TO LIVE ON… THAT TOOK STRENGTH, WHILE THE RICH JUST SCHIZOPHRENICALLY GAVE WHAT THEY SKIMMED OFF THE TOP OF THEIR ABUNDANCE… SHE GAVE OUT OF HER LACK AND DIDN’T WORRY ABOUT WHAT SHE WOULD HAVE LEFT OVER! LOVING THE LORD SO MUCH THAT WE GIVE BACK 10% TO HIM! tithing 10% requires strength doesn’t it? +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ SEVERAL YEARS AGO, UPON NEARING MY GRADUATION FROM SEMINARY, I CALLED BISHOP SALMON TO SAY, BISHOP, WHERE ARE YOU GOING TO PLACE ME, WHAT DO I NEED TO DO, WHAT DO I NEED TO THINK ABOUT? HE SAID IN HIS MISSISSIPPI DRAWL, AL, I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT JUST ONE THING… I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT JEEEEESSSUUSS… WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT IF IT WAS JUST ABOUT LOVING JESUS WITH OUR HEART, SOUL, MIND AND STRENGTH…… BUT JESUS ADDS ONE MORE THING, SOMETHING WHICH HAD NEVER BEEN SAID BEFORE… JESUS SAYS THOSE WORDS WE SOMETIMES WISH WE DIDN’T HAVE TO DEAL WITH… LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF… NOW believe IT OR NOT, UP TO THIS POINT, THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS… LOVING GOD WITH ALL YOUR WHOLE BEING…AND LOVING NEIGHBOR, …. NO RABBI HAD EVER JOINED THESE TWO COMMANDMENTS BEFORE… IN FACT, LOVING ONE’S NEIGHBOR IS MENTIONED ONLY ONCE IN THE OLD TESTAMENT, NIEGHBOR WAS DEFINED AS YOUR FELLOW JEW…YOU ONLY NEEDED TO LOVE YOUR FELLOW JEW, YOU WERE PERMITTED TO HATE THE NON-JEW, THAT IS, THE GENTILE. JESUS TURNS THIS ON ITS EAR BY SAYING… I WANT YOU TO LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR REGARDLESS OF WHO THEY ARE OR WHAT THEY believe! i want you to love EVEN your enemies! again realize how radical this would have been for the poor guy he was talking to that day! the only way in which we can prove that we love god is by showing that We love those around him. now, i know this is very unepiscopalian, very difficult, but out of the challenging words of christ, i want you to stand up, look at your neighbor on both sides and say in the name of the lord, i love you… you see ONE OF THE WAYS WE KNOW WE ARE BEATING OUR RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIA IS BY THE NOTICABLE TRANSFORMATION GOING ON IN OUR LIVES… now, FOR THOSE WHO SAY, THAT’S IT, I’M OUT… let me give you some good news… earlier i told you what true love is… our inner commitment to god expressed in our conduct and relationships… now let me tell you what love is not:
I MEAN, I DID A WEDDING ONCE HERE WITH A PRIEST WHO WAS A YANKEE FAN, WE WORKED THROUGH IT!
if god forbid one of my children becomes a drug addict i can still love that child without supporting HIS OR HER LIFESTYLE! this is good news because in our culture today, we hear over and over again, if you don’t affirm me, you don’t love me… NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! +++++++++++++++++ YOU SHOULD ALSO BE RELIEVED THAT WE ARE NOT CAPABLE OF LOVING OUR ENEMIES WITHOUT THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WORKING IN US. IT ISN’T IN US TO LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR, IT ISN’T HUMANLY NATURAL. ONLY WHEN GOD IS MADE CENTRAL, AND HIS LOVE IS FOSTERED IN US, CAN WE THEN BEGIN TO LOVE THOSE AROUND US. IT IS THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPRIT! ++++++++++ my friends, hear the good news…god doesn’t love only certain portions of us, buT the whole person… god does not save us by fractions and we can’t offer god a fraction of ourselves! if we continue A SCHIZOPHRENIC LIFE BY giving god only a few moments in worship once a week while ignoring him the rest of our days… KEEPING OUR POSSESSIONS AWAY FROM HIM, OR refusing to tithe, THEN we will never receive his ultimate plan for our lives! you cannot straddle the fence regarding the love of god, his love for your whole person… IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO LOVE HIM MODERATELY…WE LOVE HIM WITH ALL THAT WE ARE, ALL THAT WE HAVE… LOVING THOSE AROUND US AS OURSELVES. living a consistent life! ++++++++++++++++++ my friends, this is a message we need to hear isn’t it? it has been one heck of a 4 year period with 2 general conventions that have rocked the church… after last week’s forum with bishop’s chane and salmon, it feels to me as if there is now a beautiful new air in this place! a new start, a new beginning, where we now look to jesus together, collectively saying father help us love you with our entire beings, take away any religious shizophrenia and help us live consistently and entirely for you. and that is taking root in our first communions today, 11 sets of parents saying lord i love you so much i am giving my child an opportunity to know you through the breaking of the bread… it took place this weekend 65 folks from here on retreat at alpha, saying i desire more of you lord… friday night our church wide prayer vigil nearly 90 people praying over a 24 hour period for this church, including bishops’s chane and salmon! amazing things are happening! and are going to happen… in 2007, small groups, being called life groups will be starting, to connect you in ways you never thought possible..to challenge you in a more peronal way about how we avoid this religious schizophrenia! today, and together, LET’S RESIST THIS CULTURAL RELIGIOUS SCHIZOPHRENIA… and because in washington, we love action items, i’m going to challenge you and say that one of the best ways to resist that religious schizophrenia, is to tithe…tithing requires the conformation, the transformation of our hearts, souls, our minds and all the strength we have… as a final exclamation on this sermon, i have invited someone to come forward and give a testimonial of their ministry. kristina nevius, a native washingtonian, went to the beauvoir school, graduated from the cathedral girls school, then davidson college… lived a life similar to yours, but the love for christ lined up in such a way that jesus began transforming her in ways she never thought possible… this is her story, but it could just as easily be yours… |
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