Sermon for April 25th, 2010

                              Scripture: Revelation 7:9-17

                                         “Gardening”              

                                  Rev. Christopher Fazel

            This scene from the last book in our Bible – the Revelation to John – describes a scene where all the different peoples of the world are all together in harmony and unity.  The scene projects an atmosphere of joy and praise and victory.  For the time of tribulation and suffering is over; the time of hunger, thirst and scorching heat is passed, and now there is only praise and joyful service.  It’s an attractive scene in this otherwise very disturbing book.  Directly after this “kum by yah” moment, we begin the sounding of the trumpets and the pouring out of the vials of tribulation and suffering, and the violence just keeps coming until finally the New Jerusalem descends from heaven and the book ends with a return to a scene of beauty, healing, unity and new life.

            Now, there’s so much to say about this book, that one Sunday sermon is hardly adequate.  I would really like to do an Adult Ed course on it.  You know, of course, that the book of Revelation is the most abused book in the New Testament.  It is the Biblical book of choice for all Christian demagogues.  They use its frightening imagery to control people through their fear, and gain power by pretending to know its secret message.  This abuse has been going on for centuries. 

            But in point of fact, this book is not that hard to figure out.  This book is not, according to the best interpretation, a prediction of coming historical events.  Rather, the characters and events depicted in the book – the queen of heaven, the sacred child, the dragon, the beast – are all well-known mythological characters that live deep within the human soul.  The book itself describes, in vivid mythological imagery, the purging away of the baser nature of the human soul.  Like the prophet Malachi says, “…who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?  For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and a purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver…

            That’s what this book is about, and when interpreted in that way, its meaning is not only clear, but personally relevant.  Who among us has not known the fire that burns when we are confronted with aspects of ourselves that we know are enemies of the angels of our better natures?  The human soul – that would be yours and mine – are a mixture of light and dark, of grace and grudge, of humility and arrogance, of peace and violence.  Jesus describes the soul as a garden growing both crop and weed.  Our task and opportunity here in the earth is to keep the garden weeded, so that the seed of light and life may flourish in us and work through us.

            Now, that all sounds fine in theory, but the fact is that weeding the garden of the soul is painful work, and most of us will go to great lengths to avoid it.   The favorite trick of the soul is to project all of our own garbage onto somebody else, so that we cast ourselves as the angel of light, and the other as the demon of darkness.

            The “other” can be some general other like, the Jews, or the Muslims, or the Republicans, or the Democrats.  But more often, the other is more intimate – like a family member or a member of the congregation.  Let us keep in mind that the first act of violence recorded in our Bible was between brothers.  It’s very hard to accept that most conflicts are actually rooted deep within our own souls, and we project them onto others.

            I’m reminded of the story of the man who had been stranded alone on a tropical island for ten years.  When he was finally rescued, he invited his rescuers on a tour of his island before he left. They found that he had built three buildings.  When they asked what these buildings were for, he replied, “Well, this building is my home.  That building is my church.  And that building over there – that’s the church I used to go to.” 

            So, here at the beginning of our gardening season, I’d like to offer a few gardening tips for keeping the garden of the soul weeded and healthy.  Tip number one: learn and practice the fine art of self-observation.  There’s an old saying: “Stand aside and watch self go by.  In other words, without any self-condemnation, we need to keep an eye on our own emotions and reactions to life.  We need to ask ourselves, “What emotions am I feeling, and what is the true source of these emotions?”  And if we discover that we are frequently in the throes of anger, resentment or fear, it is almost certain that these emotions are rooted in habits of attitude that we need to change within ourselves.

            Tip number two: Practice regular prayer.  And by prayer, I mean finding a quiet, safe and comfortable place where we can go every day and bring all that we are to the throne of grace – where we can meet the One who knows us by name and who has the power to cleanse us and deliver us from the chains of our own making, and place us again on the upward way

            And finally, tip number three:        Practice applying a little mercy.  The other day, I was short with somebody.  And later I regretted it.  And so at the next opportunity, I apologized.  And he said to me, “It’s okay.  I didn’t take offence.”   And that little dose of mercy just changed everything.  It wiped away the smudge and got us back to the business of being friends and co-laborers in the vineyard of the good.

            May we all find the grace to apply daily these simple yet powerfully effective tools in keeping the garden of the soul healthy and thriving.  Thanks be to the Christ who gives us the power, and to Jesus who has shown us the way.  Let us pray.

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