Waking Up! Dr. David Thompson July 29, 2012

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1 Waking Up! Dr. David Thompson July 29, 2012 The word heresy comes from the Greek word hairetikos to choose. A heretic as defined by the church is someone who chooses not to believe the doctrines of the church but instead chooses to follow the truth as he perceives it. A man was walking across a bridge one day, and saw another man standing on the edge, about to jump off. So he ran over and said, "Stop! Don't do it!" "Why shouldn't I?" he said. "Well, there's so much to live for!" "Like what?" "Well, are you religious or atheist?" "Religious." The onlooker said, "Me too! Are your Christian or Buddhist?" "Christian." "Me too! Are you Catholic or Protestant?" "Protestant." Me too! Are your Episcopalian or Baptist? "Baptist!" "Wow! Me too! Are your Baptist Church of God or Baptist Church of the Lord? Baptist Church of God. "Fabulous! Me too! Are your Original Baptist Church of God or are you Reformed Baptist Church of God?" "Reformed Baptist Church of God!" "Fantastic! Me too! Are you Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1879, or Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915?" He said, "Reformed Baptist Church of God, Reformation of 1915!"

2 The onlooker said, "You heretic! Go ahead and jump!" Can you imagine what it was like in 1633 to be Galileo, so excited about what you have discovered about the earth rotating around the sun only to be condemned by the Roman Church as a heretic and confined to house arrest? The problem I want to deal with today is that all too frequently what was considered heresy is actually the truth in an unacceptable guise for the values of the day. The Pope in 1992 expressed regret how the Galileo affair was handled. It was a long time to wait for an apology. But don t just think it was the Roman Catholic Church. Martin Luther and John Calvin also though the Copernican view of the universe was heresy. Did it not contradict the Bible after all? Once Heresy now Truth - The world revolves around the sun The churches previous position - The earth is the centre of the universe Once Heresy now Truth - White and black are equal. A black man is President of these United States, unthinkable 100 years ago...or for some, only 4 years ago. The churches previous position - White is superior, black is inferior and so slaves were justified. Once Heresy now Truth - Women should be ordained in Reform Churches Previous position but still held by the Roman Catholics and many conservative Baptists: women are not eligible for the priesthood or to be pastors Once Heresy now Truth - Gays are equal before the law and thus can claim marriage as a right. Former position still held by 48% of the population in California, Marriage is only between a man and a woman. There is a wonderful teaching in the Quran about this sort of problem: And if there is a party among you who believes in the message with which I have been sent and a party which does not believe, hold yourselves in patience until Allah doth decide between us: for he is the best to decide. The commentary on this passage is helpful for it teaches that, Events will prove by themselves who is right and who is wrong. Meanwhile we are to maintain patience and perseverance. This is actually the argument from history and it is to this phenomenon that politicians often refer to when they say that we are to get on the right side of history. They say that there is a discernible moral compass to the course of human events. We can know what to do in the future by looking back at the course of history. As Martin Luther King said; The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. The Christian tradition says in the mouth of Jesus a very great thing: The truth shall set you free. Are we bound up today in conflict? What truth are we denying? Why are we not free? Wise old Solomon links mercy and truth together in the book of Proverbs. He says: Let mercy and truth never leave thee. Tie them around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. So often we, in a pursuit of so called truth forget all about mercy. Mercy always calls us to extend love and respect to everyone whether we think them right or misguided whether they are enemy or friend. I was listening to David Crist author of The Twilight War between Iran and the United States. He s a historian for the United States Government. He writes up what are secret histories that only 2-4 people may read in our lifetime. It will be years before they are released to the general public who actually pay him to write these histories. So why keep them secret? He says to protect lives and strategic interests and also for another reason.

3 What Crist and his superiors are aware of is that history presents a unique perspective that the present does not. We get caught up in an ideology or an interpretation of facts. But then along comes the arrow of time and we see things differently later. Science makes a new invention. A little know fact comes to light and everything changes and what was absolute heresy becomes incontrovertible fact. The passage of sixty years before something is released to be read will show what has been appropriate to the situation and what has not. So Crist believes. Someone asked me the other day why China and Russia continue to back Assad in Syria? It s a great question isn t it? From the Western point of view Assad is not on the right side of history therefore his days are numbered. Russia and China however still back Assad because they adhere to an ideology that there should be no outside interference in the affairs of a sovereign state. They need to adhere to that in order to continue with their internal policies which are neglectful of human rights. They do not believe in what the West sees as the right side of history. They are not sure that democracy is inevitable having fashioned an alternative hybrid system, particularly in China which is a capitalist Marxism, for us a contradiction in terms. Yet it works for them in terms of prosperity and they greet our gridlock in Washington as a reason to hold onto power and denigrate democracy. Both Russia and China have Muslims within their borders and are afraid of the so called Arab Spring. So they do not back the efforts of much of the world, to stop the bloodshed. They are unsure that if Assad topples that it will end the bloodshed. So against the protests of the world they maintain their positions. They are not unlike us when we dig into a position on anything. What does not fit into our world view we tend to cast out. As Voltaire once said: The human brain is a complex organ with the wonderful power of enabling man to find reasons for continuing to believe what ever it is that he wants to believe. Perhaps as David Crist writes up our 21st century history, the West will be proven right over what is to be done in Syria, but perhaps not-perhaps the odds will go to the Russians and Chinese. But we will see by what happens, with the very clear vision of hindsight some thirty years from now But you say to me David, Isn t that really frustrating? Can t we do better than that both in our private and public lives? Can we not get perspective in the present or do we just have to wait for the verdict of history? Is there no guide that really works in the now? I think that there is. We are not abandoned by the Deity. It is what the religions call the conscience, our hearts which always know what to do, the still small voice within. As one Jewish prophet said, God is not in the earthquake wind or fire but in the still small voice. I think within us all is this voice of God. Yet that voice can be shut out by tradition, customs, societal mores, by religion, by institutional thinking, by greed, by fear, by competition and selfishness and a desire to maintain power. I think that the great ones among us have flaws and one of them is to ignore the voice within. I think that if pressed The great financier Dominique Strauss Kahn would say that he has a conscience. For him sex has to be consensual. It has been readily available to him in the corridors of power. But in the scandal in the United States his wife stood by him. Finally she was not able to take it any more and has recently decided to separate from him after 20 years. Did that make an impression upon him? We shall see...but I guarantee the voice within has been in dialogue with Dominique. It is the same with those who have been imprisoned who have come to their senses and made radical changes in their lives-some in jail for the rest of their lives live transformed lives; which is one of many reasons I am a heretic on society s received values on capital punishment. I believe that no one is beyond the reach of God s grace and because of that we all have hope.

4 What has to happen for us to live a truth that sets us free is to welcome the voice within and choose to live by that voice. Heresy, you remember, is to choose not to live by someone else s dogma but to live with heart, to live with our truth and to speak it under difficult circumstances. It is always the best way to live even when confronting an enemy. In terms of addictive behavior the great traditions always teach that there is always another way of escape. No temptation comes without an escape that is healthy and whole. Sometimes we need to be a heretic to our addictions and to choose the healthy way forward. Gorbachev was an example of a leader who gave up power gracefully. He was a heretic to Soviet Communism and yet it saved a bloody revolution. Nelson Mandela was a heretic against the system of Apartheid. He was committed to violence. But his long time in prison and his association with Bishop Tutu led him to endorse a non violent Truth And Reconciliation Commission, which saved South Africa from a blood bath. It is the human heart that is our solution to so many of the conflicts in life and the way forward is always to speak with honesty from the heart. For as Exupéry said in his Little Prince: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye. God I believe made us that way. Living from our hearts can transform life and death situations and restore genuine freedom in our personal lives and in societies. It is not a heresy to live from the heart! Leslie Carol Baer has been honored by Congress for her work for the poor. One day she was working in Guatemala with the Mayan poor. She worked with legs that had not set properly, malnourished children, eyed burned with solvent. Little Jesus was a boy who had a soft head due to parasitic worms. Three of them got together to remove the parasite larvae incubating in the little boys head. Her team held each other afterwards and cried. No child should have to suffer like that they agreed. Two days later they were running low on anti-parasitic medicine and so she and two others decided to drive to get some more. Leslie, as a woman was always greeted with surprise when she was behind a wheel driving. It was a heresy, for women didn t drive there. It made the locals smile. Successful in her mission she turned the wheel for home and was approaching her village when she saw three figures in the road with machine guns raised. They motioned her to pull over. Leslie felt her face flush and heart beat become more rapid. Perhaps this was the last moment of her life. Had she failed to keep her team safe? She took a deep breath and focused on making this confrontation peaceful. The men asked her to turn down a dirt track and not try to turn back or they might have to shoot her. They ended up in the town of Concepcion with a crowd of about 300 people to whom a rebel commander was speaking. He said that corrupt politicians had taken away their land and their children s future. He said: We need medical care but there are few clinics and less medicine. All we have is the hope that we can take back what is rightfully ours. The commander s eyes found Leslie s eyes quickly. She was taller and white skinned and stood out from the crowd. He made his way towards her and Leslie extended her hand. Pleased to meet you she said, we are humanitarian workers. He replied As a humanitarian worker I know that you understand suffering. I have people in these mountains who are fighting for the rights of the poor and who need medicine. Will you help us? This was a terrible moment for Leslie and her team. If she said yes her entire team would be in jeopardy; at this time in Guatemala s history the Government did not take kindly to those who helped

5 the so called guerillas. If she said no she thought that the three of them would be killed on the spot. In a moment of trust she went within and asked what she should do. She was guided to speak her heart to this man. Sir she said, you are a commander of people whom it is your duty to protect. In the same way, I have to protect my people. If we give you medicine, the government may believe that we are affiliated with your movement, making it impossible for us to return to help your poor. He studied her face. Was she a friend or an enemy? Leslie s heart ached for his young soldiers many of whom wore blood soaked bandages. She looked up at the commander and said: We never ask who comes to our clinics. Our clinics are open to everyone! The commander s gaze grew even more intense as if he was searching for the truth in her heart. Leslie looked steadily back at him. She knew now that the situation was out of her hands. The commander withdrew and conferred with his officers. When he returned Leslie noticed immediately that his eyes had softened and she was dumbstruck to see tears welling up. God bless you for the work you are doing for our poor he said kindly. You are free to go! The truth, spoken from her heart had set her free! In stunned silence they drove back to their clinic. And somewhere along that dusty road the three young women began to weep. They started to feel a real kinship with their kidnapper. These three young women realized that they were crying over the same injustices and suffering that had moved a rebel commander to tears. Like every true heresy to accepted prejudices and beliefs it took them by surprise. They realized that they shared the same grief and hope for the people of Guatemala. Her prayer was that one day they would be sharing only the heresy of HOPE. My hope for us is that we would be joyful heretics in this world of suffering and injustice; that mercy and truth will never leave us; that we will tie them around our necks; that we will write them on the tablets of our hearts! Then it will be our turn to be gratefully surprised as the false beliefs fall away into the Light of the Truth that can set us all free!

ACTS OF FAITH: CONFRONTING RACISM. A Sermon by Reverend Lynn Thomas Strauss

ACTS OF FAITH: CONFRONTING RACISM A Sermon by Reverend Lynn Thomas Strauss Friends, you know it is harder to care about your neighbor if you don t know them; harder to understand a different religion or