“Waste More Time”

“Waste More Time”

Psalm 119:33-40 Romans 13:8-14

Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost, Year A, September 10, 2023

First Presbyterian Church, Sandpoint, Idaho

Andy Kennaly, Pastor

          The title of this message, which I call a sermon, is “Waste More Time.” Did you ever notice that time is measured? In increments. How many seconds, minutes, hours. As we’re mindful of recent passings as my mother-in-law died last weekend, and yesterday, Jack Parker died early in the morning, we even measure the length of life from birth to death using calendar days, months, years. Many headstones that mark graves have a dash between the dates, as if a life could be summarized by a dash.

But we’re good at counting, and measuring, and keeping things quantified helps create perspective. But perspective also has a way of distancing. Soon we discover that humanity in Western Culture has mastered the technique of separating ourselves from the Earth, and forgetting we are created beings, Earth creatures, even though unity is more our essence than division. But because people insist on counting, and keeping ego-identity as the reference point, we take what is whole and destroy it. We live in the shadows rather than the light, preferring our conceptualizations, our ideas of the world. But our True Self, at a soul-level, along with the Living Christ, the Presence of Origin or Source, is always nudging at us, trying to wake us up, to snap us out of our rationalistic delusions.

The Psalmist seems to know that something is up as they say, “Turn my heart to your decrees, and not to selfish gain. Turn my eyes from looking at vanities; give me life in your ways.” The Psalmist seems to know that divine ways are not passing or empty like vanities. The Psalmist wants God to give understanding.

Interesting choice of verbs along the way. Teach me, Give me, Lead me, Turn my heart, Turn my eyes, Give me life, Confirm promises, and again, Give me life. There’s movement, a setting aside of what does not satisfy and an active desire to be given that which does satisfy.

Paul the Apostle is saying something similar, summing up the law with God’s larger reality of Love, calling on the Christians in Rome to turn from what doesn’t satisfy and turn toward what does. There’s also movement, from night to day, from works of darkness to armor of light. Paul plays with dimensions, spacial awareness mixed with time, that salvation is nearer and night is far gone and day is near. Is this space or time or both? Time is also mentioned, that now is the moment to awaken. (I always wonder when I say that in a sermon, how that’s going to affect people: now is the time to awaken).

Many of these things can be interpreted in behavioral ways. Like saying, because this is true, let’s behave like this and not like this, because that leads to trouble. But that would leave us stuck in our head. But these verses have more to do with irrational experience, as our soul teaches and reveals.

All of these scripture verses are reflections of consciousness. Dimensions of time and space, external or internal needs for guidance. They show the need for the ego to find healing, a turning from self-centeredness to actual centeredness, like Paul calling us to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

This reflection of consciousness is also dynamic, and invites the vitality of wholeness, and a sense of oneness with all other things. The Apostle Paul says, for example, that all the commandments are summed up in saying, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” He points out that “love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.” But this is more than cause and effect, more than having love and it leads to an outcome. Love is reality, and love does no harm to a neighbor (as if one subject affects an object) because love is unity and wholeness (subject with subject). Any sense of separation or distinction is not reality, but a concept we’ve constructed from our ego-self. “Love your neighbor as yourself” sees no distinction, the self and the other are like image and reflection, one and the same because something deeper, Love, is present in both. Love looks on love and sees love even as love looks back and sees love. The Christ in me sees the Christ in you and Christ looks upon Christ and sees Christ, more than that, it is not seeing at all. The eyes are only a partial glimpse of experience. There is also deeper knowing that doesn’t need sight, and does not regard distance as separation.

Suzanne Guthrie shares a story of Nasrudin. “A stranger stops Nasrudin at the city gates. "Will you tell me," says the stranger, "what Baghdad is like? I have to move to a city and I'm worried." Nasurdin replies, "Tell me about the place you came from." "Oh, it was a wonderful place! Neighbors were kind to one another, we looked out for the children, people shared and were generous and happy!" "Ah! said Nasrudin. "You will love Baghdad. Don't worry at all, and welcome!"

Later on, another stranger stops Nasrudin at the city gates. "Will you tell me," says the stranger, "what Baghdad is like? I have to move to a city and I'm worried." Nasurdin replies, "Tell me about the place you came from." "Oh, it was a terrible place! Thieving and fornication and children noisy and running wild. People are selfish and distrustful." "Ah!" said Nasrudin. "You will dislike Baghdad. You'd better move on to another city!"

How one loves their neighbor is shaped by how one loves oneself. How one loves oneself is shaped by how one loves, and experiences love. To invite the Living Christ into our heart and lives is less a change and more a recognition on our part of what is already the case. That’s why the word Paul uses, “awaken,” is so fitting. When we awaken to the Christ within us, grace gifts us with the experience of Christ in all things and all things in Christ, and the world becomes a reflection of our own inner depths. This is more than being optimistic instead of pessimistic, more than staying curious instead of becoming cynical; this is a giving over of our lives to God, and we used to call this conversion, although that word has been very much abused.

Thus, that language of turning, and movement, and dynamic dimensions flowing in and through as light and darkness, day and night, time and space, all this captures the essence of Love not as a noun or a thing or as an object, but as verb, as action, as reality itself presented as a quality or an intensity.

Love one another. This gives life because it is life. It is not always easy, but in loving one another, God’s righteousness, God’s ways, God’s understanding, and God’s promise are revealed and fulfilled. Jesus invites us to follow as he shows us the way to live love’s reality.

Thanks be to God for saving us from ourselves, for converting our hearts, and for love’s call for us to love. May we join the Psalmist and the Apostles and the early church as words of scripture echo in ways that concepts of time and space cannot limit or neglect, so we too are filled, renewed, and redeemed in grace, peace, and love. Thanks be to God for Christ is near, now, and glorified forever, all at the same time, and even beyond time. Amen.