Luke 6:43-49 (NRSV)
Jesus said, "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.
"Why do you call me `Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell you? I will show you what someone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house but could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it, immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."
Benedictine Spirituality has two foundational yet paradoxical ideals. Stability and change. When a monk makes his temporary and/or solemn vows two of those vows are stability and conversion of manners or life. The vow of stability is a commitment to his monastery with which he will live and/or be associated his entire life. Conversion of manners or life is the resolve to allow God to continue to change the monk through out his life within the community of the monastery. Those of us who are Oblates or observe the spirituality of the Rule without living in a monastic community can take a lesson from St. Benedict. Only in God will we find true stability in the midst of change.
Over the years I have become very skeptical of any prayer or person who makes the statement: "The one thing that does not change is God." There is one particular prayer in the Book of Common Prayer used at Compline (or night prayer) that I really do not like. It is the second collect following the Lord's Prayer on page 133 that ends with "we that are wearied by the changes and chances of life may rest in your eternal changelessness." I believe that God's love is changeless, but I do not believe that God is totally changeless. There are countless examples in Scripture of God changing either God's mind or God's Self. Such as in Genesis 2: 16 and 17 we read:
And the LORD God commanded the man: "You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die."
Yet later in chapter 3 after Adam and Eve have eaten of the tree, they did not die. They were punished, but they did not die. Did God change? Yes, God did change.
If we are going to say that God does not change, then how do we explain the Word became flesh? God became human in Christ. God changed. Jesus was God's perfect revelation. While the Word always was, yet when God became human in Jesus, God "became" therefore God changed. The foolish interpretation of Hebrews 12:8: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever" to mean that Jesus Christ never changes or changed is not correct. Jesus at one point was not on this earth. Jesus was at one point a fetus, a new born child, a child, a teenager, a young adult. Jesus Christ died, rose again, and ascended to the right hand of God. The death and resurrection of Christ changed all of human history and reconciled all humankind with God. Okay, we always pray that the Holy Trinity always was, is and ever shall be. But that does not mean that each separate and distinctive Person cannot and does not change in one fashion or another.
It is because of God's ability to change that God can also change human hearts by the Holy Spirit. And I do believe that is what the changing shifts of time and understanding are about. As Jesus is telling us in today's Gospel our tree is known by it's fruit. When God is invoked as a mean, angry and vengeful God the Christian Church eventually and has reaped the fruit of people rejecting the Faith. When Christians become violent to the point of a man killing Dr. George Tiller as was explained in a brilliant piece narrated by Rachel Maddow on MSNBC last night, people rightfully look at Christians with a sense of disbelief and fear. When the pulpits of Christian churches in America result in the suicides of LGBT teens who have been bullied, we have to ask the question: What fruit are Christians being known for? What *tree have we spent time at if we are not concerned about the safety of individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning or queer within the walls of our churches? What foundation are we building our spiritual and/or religious homes out of if we allow prejudice to take root in our hearts? Hopefully the *tree we spend more time with is the cross.
In an excellent post by W. Christopher Evans in the Daily Episcopalian we read:
"The late F. D. Maurice one wrote that “the Incarnation may be set aside in acts as well as words.” The Incarnation, in other words, is not just about systematic or doxological proclamation. The Incarnation has something to do with how we are with one another, with our relatedness and our social worlds, here and now. The Word of God does not shrink from politics, but moves to the heart of human concerns and works continually to redeem them. That means that sometimes we will disagree publicly with one another, that we will fight with one another, and that we can be assured that God is working out our salvation in us and among us in our midst not despite our struggles, but precisely through, with, and in them."
Later in the same post we read:
Whatever else may be affirmed about a spirituality which has biblical precedent and style, spiritual maturity or spiritual fulfillment necessarily involves the whole person—body, mind, soul, place, relationships—in connection with the whole of creation throughout the era of time. Biblical spirituality encompasses the whole person in the totality of existence in this world, not some fragment or scrap or incident of a person….Politics, hence, refers comprehensively to the total configuration of relationships among humans and institutions and other principalities and the rest of created life in this world. Politics describes the work of the Word of God in this world for redemption and the impact of that effort of the Word of God upon the fallen existence of this world, including the fallen life of human beings and that of the powers that be. Politics points to the militance of the Word of God incarnate, which pioneers the politics of the Kingdom which is to come. Politics heralds the activity of the Word of God in judgment over all persons and all regimes and all things whatsoever in common history. (22, 25-26).
Many readers of my blog would also enjoy this post by Jim Naughton.
When we build our own lives on the foundation of God no matter how much God or we might change, we will be able to withstand the changing tempests. Because no matter how much God changes or we change, one thing that does not change is God's unconditional love and God's commitment to be on our side no matter what. Paul wrote in Romans 8: 31 "If God is for us, who is against us?" Later Paul wrote: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." (8: 38, 39). Our sexual orientation and/or gender identity/diversity/expression are not barriers to God's unconditional love. Our expression of physical, sexual and romantic love for someone of the same sex in loving, committed relationships are blessed and honored by God. What we need to do however, is anchor our hearts and lives into God's unconditional and all inclusive love, so that when the changing tides of life come upon our lives and relationships we are able to remain firm on the foundation of God's loving grace. That way our love, relationships and lives will bear good fruit for the reign of God.
Almighty and everlasting God, increase in us the gifts of faith, hope, and charity; and, that we may obtain what you promise, make us love what you command; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Proper 25, Book of Common Prayer, page 235).
O Sovereign Lord, you brought your servant Alfred to a troubled throne that he might establish peace in a ravaged land and revive learning and the arts among the people: Awake in us also a keen desire to increase our understanding while we are in this world, and an eager longing to reach that endless life where all will be made clear; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect for St. Alfred the Great, Holy Women, Holy Men, Celebrating the Saints, page 653).
O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. (Prayer for the Human Family, Book of Common Prayer, page 815).
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