How Do We Know What To Do?
The events in our lives are not random, but chosen by God to make us holy. Don’t miss out on the chances He gives us. How do we know what to do? God shows us, if we choose to pay attention.
Deacon Michael was trial attorney, a litigator. His experiences as a trial lawyer influenced his perspective on life. Though it seems incongruous, it made him more sympathetic to and forgiving of the foibles of others. This is one of the sermons where his perspective as a trial lawyer shows in his analysis of what we need to do to be holy.
Written by Laura Weston, widow of Deacon Michael
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One of the hard parts about getting up at 6:00, well, getting up before then, getting ready for a homily at 6:30 in the morning, it is highly dependent on the ability to think. And there are just some times it is hard to think! Three or four beers during a football game, whatever, I don't drink so I don't know, but there are certain times it’s hard to think.
And in our Collect, and I am sure all of you listened to this very carefully, I had to go look at it a second time, they talk about, all of the sacred law is based on love of God and love of neighbor. All of sacred law. And Jesus talks about how He is the culmination of the law.
And one of the things that Jesus did, which is quite irritating actually, if you think about it, is, he makes us think. You can't listen to the word of Jesus and not think.
So what do we have today? You know, a lot of times written in red there is a little thing about the readings. What they say about the readings today from Proverbs is, "various proverbs." Oh, that helps a whole lot. That will guide me where I'm going.
What does it mean to think? To love neighbor and to love God and then ask God, "Guide me in the way of your commands."
Well, we see this in Proverbs. And again, this is before Christ, this is based on the Old Testament, but it also is based on life and I happen to believe that that is an experience with natural law that is written in our hearts.
And it says, "All the ways of man may be right in his own eyes but it is the Lord who proves hearts." What does that mean?
I talked about it yesterday. One of the things that as a trial lawyer that you learn, is that people don't lie. They tell the truth, based on their perception, which is a subjective perception. So if you understand their perception, you can ask them questions.
But the Lord, provides the law. It is the Lord who proves hearts. It is not a subjective law. It is there. And all of law, as I was saying, and it is in the Collect, is based on the two great commandments of loving God and loving neighbor.
So we look at the Proverbs. "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice." Again, think about what that means and think about it in the context of Jesus's sacrifice on the cross. Is the Lord looking for us to take the commandments of his Son and apply them to the reality of our lives, or is He asking us to do a physical thing that constitutes a sacrifice and looks good? And He is saying it very clearly, and we see this. You see people who put on a great show, but there is nothing behind them. You see people who are very quiet, and many times anonymous, doing great things. The reality of what they are, it isn't the show, it is the reality, and that is what God chooses. "The haughty eyes and proud of heart… the tillage of the wicked in sin."
Again, if you are proud and have haughty eyes, what are you doing to the commandment of loving God and loving neighbor? With regard to God, you are putting yourself above God. "Oh, I am so good, I don't need God." We always hear these things about loving mammon more than God or allowing a false god. But if I am proud and I have haughty eyes, I look upon others as, "Well, you are just not as good as I am. I'm really, really special." And that leads to sin. That is a violation of the commandments.
So we see in our lives the reality of the commandments. How do we know what to do, when we in a situation of, ah, most of us are old enough that the offerings of sin for the most part just really aren't that attractive to us any more, but the realities of ignoring God. Of ignoring His commandments.
What do we do? How do we know what to do? How do we deal with these things? And like I said, Jesus's command and the precepts of the Church are, "Think about it." Because all of it is based on loving God and loving neighbor. So if we go through our lives saying, "Oh, what should I do," is this a reflection of my love of God and my love of neighbor? I can do it this way, or I can do it this way. One way benefits someone else and shows my love to the world, and the other one shows how much I love myself. What are we commanded to do?
And we go through our lives and we are called to do this exact thing. "He who shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will himself also call and not be heard." What does that mean? It means that the reality of our existence is, if we are not in a relationship of loving our neighbors, we are not going to be in relationship with God. Because if we go through life saying, "I am most important," how are we going to have a relationship with God? And how do we figure we are going to be so exalted that we are not poor in front of God? And we know we are going to have to be coming to God.
What is it that we are called to do? And this is really the thing that I love. It drives me crazy, but I love, is that we are required to think. Not necessarily at 6:30 in the morning, but when you have your coffee and the blood is flowing in your body. We recalled to think. To think of how we act, and we are called to do it as the Collect says again, in the context of the Great Commandments of loving God and loving neighbor. And then the gospel, which is embarrassingly short, says, "My brother and my mother are those who hear the world of God and act on it." Stated differently, "who hear the word of God, understand His commands, think about it and act on it are the ones who place themselves in relationship with God and prepare themselves to spend all eternity with him in heaven.
September 25, 2018