Openness of Mind - 24th Sunday of Trinity

Sermon given by Donna Miller
November 11, 2018

When we think of being open-minded, we usually think of being non-judgmental, being open to new ideas and different viewpoints, being willing to expand our perspective, to change and grow in our understanding of life and of others. And these are definitely all examples of openness of mind. But, in today’s Intent, as seen in the readings for today, there is a deeper meaning revealed.

The first clue is given in the Collect prayer, in which God is addressed as “a light unquenchable” and the prayer is that God may grant us a pure heart and open mind so that we may receive this unquenchable gift being offered freely to us.

Something open, without a lid or a door, can receive whatever is coming from the outside. We have a roof and doors on our houses to protect us from this influx from outside—rain, snow, heat and cold, wind, falling leaves or branches, insects and other critters, thieves, and so forth—because what could encroach upon our living environment is a mixed bag, affecting out individual lives in many different ways.

In the case of God, however, if God is truly seen as a God of genuine unconditional love, then whatever God would pour upon us would be reliably good, permeated with unquenchable light and love and wisdom.

That is not to say that all those who trust and certainly want to receive these ongoing blessings of God will have a life free from human problems. But the point is, those human problems are a function of the other gift God bestowed on humans—that of free will, freedom of choice, and a path of growth and evolution built into life in a human body, in an earthly world. Even Jesus experienced many outer human difficulties, but his inner experience was steeped in his ever-present connection with God the Father.

This is the inner state described in our Epistle reading for today, again a prayer, that God grants you, from “the riches of His glory”—which is that same unquenchable light referred to in the collect prayer—a strengthening. This is not a promise of greater strength in out muscles or physical body or a strengthening of intellect or human power. The prayer is “to be strengthened with might by his Spirit” in our inner life.

It goes on to use the words “rooted and grounded”—very concrete, earthy words, so as not to give us the impression that this is an ethereal, otherworldly state. And what are we to be rooted and grounded in? Love—this unquenchable, ongoing love of Christ, by which, it goes on to say, we are “able to comprehend, with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and depth and height”—in other words, all possible dimensions of that love. This statement is further amplified by saying that it “passeth knowledge.” Like the peace we refer to every Sunday that “passeth understanding,” this immense love is not something that could ever be described accurately in words. It can only be experienced within ourselves to be known fully. And the value and purpose of this experience, it goes on to say, is so that we may be “filled with all the fullness of God.”

This is not something new we haven’t heard before, but we also know that there are many people in the world who would reject these promises outright, unable to believe such fullness of love or unable to reconcile the deep problems of the world with a God who loves unconditionally. But, for those of us here in this room, I’m guessing that most of us have incorporated some ability to see and accept these two sides of human life—the outer difficulties inherent in the freedom to make choices out of harmony with God’s will as well as in harmony with it—and the ever-present, reliable abundance of God’s love.

We do grow in our inner lives, and the strength we gain is palpable, even if there are fluctuations—times when weakness may seem to be greater than strength and other times when we feel invincible and bathed in joy and fullness.

The Gospel reading reiterates the same promise. Christ says, “I am the light of the world, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life.” The word “followeth,” in this context means to follow the example Jesus set—of falling into, resting into, an ongoing trust in God’s love, guidance, righteousness, and care, come what may. The reading ends with the promise that if we continue in this path, “ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.”

Just as we are not likely to take the roof and doors off our houses and give up the protection they provide, we are not likely to, nor are we being asked to, give up our normal human self-protective instincts. We grow in stages, and God’s love protects that as well—allowing us to progress at our own rate, not pushing us beyond what we can handle.

I myself should take a lesson from God here, for I’ve been guilty from time to time, with all good intentions, of pushing a friend or family member to make a breakthrough that, to me, seemed too long in coming. Or of pushing myself in the same way, feeling impatient for the changes that seemed necessary right then to pop out of some stuck place. Occasionally, it can be useful to receive a nudge from someone else, but it is generally a mistake to assume we know more about what someone needs than they do and that we need to shake them up to change in the way we think they should. That is very tricky business. God’s timing may be very different from ours, and slow, gentle growth may be what is best rather than giant explosive breakthroughs. Those kind of breakthroughs sometimes do happen, but it’s pretty risky to take those into our own hands with others or with ourselves, out of impatience.

Trusting God means trusting the ever-appropriate manner in which each of us, sincere in our desire to grow into this divine fullness, progresses naturally, in our own way, leaning into God’s loving promises, as best we are able.

Coming here together and participating in these sacraments and repeating the words of this beautiful liturgy is like a divine booster shot every time we come—helping this natural growth in strength and fullness to be imbibed at our own pace and to the degree that is most expedient for us. In this way, and all through our lives, God cares for us and leads us to the loving fullness that is eternal divine truth. So let’s continue experiencing that booster now.