Separate Peaces

January 13, 2013 by Rev. Emma ChattinLighting the Chalice ~ Reading Ralph Waldo Emmerson once said: “Nobody can bring you peace but yourself." In that spirit, may the spark of life that gives peace within you become a flame to illuminate your mind, warm your soul, and guide your feet to places of peace. First Reading Matthew 25: 31-40 ~ from The Inclusive Bible At the appointed time the Promised One will come in glory, escorted by all the angels of heaven, and will sit upon the royal throne, with all of the nations assembled below. Then the Promised One will separate them, one from another, as a shepherd divides sheep from goats. The sheep will be placed on the right hand, the goats on the left. The Ruler will say to those on the right, ˜Come you, blessed of God! Inherit the dominion prepared for you from the creation of the world! For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me; naked and you clothed me. I was ill and you comforted me; in prison and you came to visit me. Then these will ask, ˜When did we see you hungry and feed you, or see you thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you as a stranger and invite you in, or clothe you in you nakedness? When did we see you ill or in prison and come to visit you? The Sovereign will answer them, ˜The truth is, every time you did this for the least of these, who are members of my family, you did it for me.’ Second Reading ~ from Thich N’hat Hanh Let us be at peace with our bodies and our minds. Let us return to ourselves and become wholly ourselves. Let us be aware of the source of being, common to all of us and to all living things. Evoking the presence of the Great Compassion, let us fill our hearts with our own compassion - towards ourselves and towards all living beings. Let us pray that we ourselves cease to be the cause of suffering to each other. With humility, with awareness of the existence of life, and of the sufferings that are going on around us, let us practice the establishment of peace in our hearts and on earth. I think it’s important to note that many Christian churches this morning will be recognizing the Baptism of Jesus in some manner. It’s one of the Big Five in the ministry of Jesus. When I was little, I envisioned the Baptism of the baby Jesus, because infant Baptism was what I was more accustomed to seeing, but my dad was quick to point out that this was the Baptism of the full grown Jesus. Some 30 years old. And of course ¦ (counting off the years) ¦ I said aging 30 years in just a few weeks ¦ wow ¦ that IS a miracle! Time for my father to do a face palm and explain to me that we were now re-joining the life of Jesus, some 30 years later, already in progress. The baptism of Jesus is considered to be the start of his public ministry. It takes place in the countryside, in living water-- water that’s moving -- in the Jordan River, by a person we call John the Baptist. When you examine the rituals of various religions you often discover rituals are swapped, borrowed, and repurposed. Beliefs, Religions and Faith traditions are often far more inter-connected than they admit, and occasionally, even know As a result I think it’s important to point out that what John the Baptist was doing there by the Jordan was not an entirely new ritual. Many religions have purification rituals involving water, and so does Judaism. It’s called Mikveh, and it is a ritual immersion in living waters-- moving water --generally in a specially constructed bath. So what John was doing by immersing people in water wasn’t new, but it was different; it was outside, in the river, and for the purpose of the forgiveness and wholeness. Also, what John was doing involved a lot more ¦ well ¦ preaching. So ¦ many Christian churches this morning will be recognizing the Baptism of Jesus in some way. They may dip an evergreen branch in a bowl of water and walk around the space reading scripture and sprinkling the entire sanctuary full of people. They may offer special baptisms, or remembrances of original baptisms. I think it’s always good to have an awareness and an understanding of what may be going on in various faith traditions. But I’m going some place else this morning. Some place entirely different. And I am grateful that this community offers me the opportunity to do so. You see ¦. after passing through this holiday season, and facing the new year I discovered that somewhere over the past few months I had lost something. Something very dear to me. In the midst of the hurricanes, both of life and of nature, the stress and the rush of winds, the crashing trees ¦ Somewhere in the aftermath of surviving a brutal Presidential campaign season, one which involved the leverage of many powerful individuals, special interest groups, and the spending of a historic, mind boggling, and obscene amount of money ¦ Somewhere in the midst of being surrounded by a high level of aggression, the on-going wars, and the pain and suffering they bring to the body of humanity ¦ the horrific violence and killings, senseless random assaults on innocence assaults that left us shocked, puzzled, and mourning, and not without some measure of concern and unease for our own safety and the safety of those we love ¦. Somewhere in the continued economic woes of our nation, the inability of our government-- our congress! --to do anything about ¦ well ¦ anything ¦ anything at all ¦ Somewhere in the midst of all that ¦ I lost something. Something precious. I lost my Peace. In the midst of chaos all around, it slipped away from me quietly one day, unnoticed. And that is a pity. Yes, there have been some positive things over the past few months. The advancement of Gay rights. The feeling that freedom is near. And yet, it is really hard for me to celebrate anything in the middle of so much pain I see on the nightly news. In the midst of all that, I discovered that the peace within me, the peace that had been my companion for so many years, was suddenly absent. It had slipped silently though the grasp of my soul somewhere along the way. I began to be aware of it sometime after Christmas- a time for peace on Earth, a time which should be a season of Peace for all people. But what I seemed to hear more of this year was ¦. “The War on Christmas . That’s a silly phrase. It’s wrong on so many levels. But I couldn’t hear anything else above the noise of it. And then ¦ protests against gun violence featuring crowds of strangers facing off against one another, faces full of fear, anger, rage ¦ And we want to bring more guns to bear? To put the power of almost instant life and death into hands that are already clenched in fear and rage? I don’t understand, and I had somehow allowed myself to get pulled into the swirl of emotions of fear, anger, sadness, confusion, doubt, frustration ¦ All about things far beyond my control. I will tell you something, the internet is a beautiful resource, a wonderful means of connectivity. But it can also be a source of disturbance. I have said it before, and I will say it again: No one has EVER won an internet debate. No one. On any subject. No one. The internet has stolen the peace of many a good soul. So how do I rebuild my peace, regain my peace when I am not in a peaceful place? Where does peace even begin? That answer is simple. Peace is not simply something that happens to us. It begins where everything begins: It begins within. A little spark. A glimmer. And it has to be practiced. It must be cared for, nurtured, cultivated, and valued. It must be among the most valued crops in our own inner garden, so precious to us that we will do anything not to loose it. We will turn the other cheek. We will walk away from an argument. We will leave internet trolls alone. We will, if necessary, turn off the TV and unplug ourselves from the constant stream of bad news, news over which we can have little or no immediate impact or control. There are two different types of peace. Peace within, and peace without. Peace within our self, and peace around us. We are connected beings. Nearly ever religion takes care to point this out in one way or another We are made in the image of Divinity ¦ Sparks of divinity within us ¦ Namaste ¦. the sacred quality within us honoring the sacred quality in others ¦ . And the mystics among the world religions are quite clear about our connection to one another. The passage from Matthew today comes as Jesus is trying (somewhat in vain, I might add) to explain the dominion of heaven to his disciples (a concept that I am pretty sure we still don’t grasp well today). And yet I think this passage captures the nature of humanity’s inter connectedness within Christianity. If only more Christians could bring themselves to focus on it, to focus on doing more for those in the immediate vicinity around them. That which we do for another, we also do for the one whom we love and value most. Our connection with one another goes beyond belief. We are connected by our common history, humanity, and DNA. And we are compassionate beings. The absence of peace in the people around us ¦ can lead to a lack of peace within ourselves. We are disturbed. We hurt when people hurt. We want to do something. We want to help. But there are limits to the things which we can impact and change beyond our arm’s reach, and if we allow our peace within to be disturbed by things far beyond our reach, things far beyond our control, then we have greatly limited, if not completely removed, our options of creating or contributing to the peace around us. We become a part of the problem rather than its solution. When an airplane depressurizes and the oxygen masks drop a parent’s first instinct is to try and place the mask on their child. However, the instructions given by the flight attendants is for the parent to place the oxygen mask on themselves first so that they will be fully able to care for the needs of their child, without they themselves passing out. Keeping our sense of inner peace is just that important. For when we loose it, we loose our ability to be a peaceful presence for those around us. There is a military concept known as “Separate Peace . Let’s say nation A has a good relationship and is an ally with nation B. Let’s say Nation B begins hostilities with Nation C. Is nation A a part of those hostilities? Not if Nation A has agreed upon a separate peace with nation C. It’s odd and somewhat ironic that I found in an obscure military phrase a helpful path to shelter my personal peace from the many hostilities that may surround me and the host of disturbances throughout the world. I care. I am connected. But ¦ I must form a separate peace within myself. This is essential. Because Peace around us is only created by and through peace within us. If we loose the peace within us, then we have lost the means to contribute to the peace around us. A loss of peace within ¦ This is how bad days begin ¦ and spread. This is how obscene gestures are made to the stranger we feel has wronged us in traffic (and why one is almost always then received in return). This is why a congressman curses a senator. This is how arguments escalate. How violence multiplies. How wars begin. And how worlds spiral out of control When there is inner turmoil it is a war within that spreads outward. We may be disturbed by the violence in the world, and we may find ourselves feeling angry, frustrated, and confused as a result. And yet ¦ can one person change the world? Well, you can certainly change others around you. Strangers even. Wave at a stranger in a passing car, and the person driving that car will likely wave back. Can the peace within one actually move beyond the home, into the streets, the city, beyond horizons, changing the world? I look at Martin Luther King ¦ Mahatma Gandhi; Individuals who, by grace of caring for the peace within themselves, were able to wade through the violence, hatred, and prejudice that surrounded them, who were then able to move others, who moved a movement, who moved a nation. I believe that learning to hold, maintain, and preserve one’s inner peace in the face of great global turmoil is one of the most essential & valuable disciplines to learn and master in today’s world. For if we don’t, as individuals, do this, then I believe that we, as a species and a society, may be doomed. Albert Einstein, said “Humanity will require a substantially new way of thinking if it is to survive Another wise man put it more bluntly, predicting that if there are still people here in 200 years they will not be living as we live, and they will not be thinking as we think. How do we keep the peace? How do we work toward cultivating and caring for our inner peace? I think it’s important to practice it ¦ to do something. What can you do? It need not be a grand gesture. Efforts to mend the world need not be vast and dramatic. I have said this before here, and I am going to say it again. Not because I want you to model it, but to show you how a simple thing can change others, and change you. Telemarketers, sales, and business calls often close with the phrase: “Is there anything else I can do for you? What a gift that is ¦ to have someone ask that of you! What a rare thing ¦ a sacred offer! And an opportunity not to be missed. I always say, “Not unless you can do something about world peace. That generally pulls people off their script quickly. It makes an impression. They may laugh- nervously or sincerely -and may say “I wish , “or “I Can’t . I always tell them that they can, and if they do their part, I’ll do mine. I figure I have gotten that message to 400 telemarketers and customer service reps over the years. Small things cultivate our peace within, and change others. Elie Wiesel, a Jewish American writer, professor, political activist, and survivor of the Nazi death camps, recently gave an interview for CBS news. In it, Scott Pelly asked him about Peace. Elie said ¦ “Help the ones you can who need help, smile at the child who needs a smile, offer something to the one who opens their hand to you. He continued, “What does peace mean? It means the end of humiliation. Humiliation should be the one sin that should be discarded. Immediately. Humiliation. I can work toward never again humiliating or causing humiliation to any member of my human family. I have done a vast amount of reading and work on peace over the last few weeks. I can’t even recall now who said it or where I heard it ¦ so let’s just say I heard a wise soul say ¦. “For Christ’s sake ¦ you don’t even have to do great or even good things. It will be enough if you simply do no harm. Do no harm. I can do that. Or at least, it is a goal I can work toward and one within my grasp and control. We are all connected, linked together ¦ I am reminded by a song written by Cat Stevens, whose name is Yusef Islam. He is the same singer songwriter who popularized the first song we sang this morning, “Morning Has Broken . I think ending with a few lines of another one of his songs is a fitting closing. “I’ve been smiling lately, dreaming about the world as one, And I believe it could be, some day it’s going to come. ˜Cause out on the edge of darkness, there rides a Peace Train. Peace Train take this country, come take me home again. We are all connected, linked together.. ¦ yet separate pieces of a Divine whole - a whole that is in need of healing. We are all on a journey. (We ARE the Peace Train.) May our lives be a journey toward the horizon of peace and may we realize that it is a journey that begins within. So may it be.