Life, the Universe, and everything (Pt. 2)

So this week I thought I’d share a bit of a follow up to last week’s message where we thought about our place in the creation. The fact that we are only a small part of a vast and mysterious place. It was good to be reminded that we aren’t the centre of the universe, that we are just one part of a much larger whole. This can be a confronting thought, so I wondered whether today we might think about how we are special. How is it that we humans are unique. It’s hard to look at our world and not conclude that we are special. Across the years we have wondered how it is that we are unique, compared to other species that we share this wonderful planet with. Some have suggested that we are special due to our capacity for rational thought. For a long time, we have thought that we understand the world by getting clear about the way we think about the world. We imagined that the most important thing we can do as human beings, is to sit back and think rationally about the nature of the creation and indeed God. I reckon most of us think that this is how we are different, and this is no doubt true. We are rational beings, we are intellectual beings, we are thinking beings. We have these incredible minds which have in them ideas, and in that, a representation of the world. But to a large extent, our minds are separate from the physical world. If we think that this is the only way that we are unique, then it places us, as subjects standing over and against objects. That somehow our inner world is more important than the external, physical world. Charles Taylor describes this as leading to disengaged subjects. Disengaged from society, disengaged from other people, disengaged from tradition and history, even disengaged from one’s own body and experiences. And so, more recently, people have begun to wonder whether we might have this all wrong. We have started to wonder whether the most important thing is not our ability to think rationally and logically about the world, the most important thing is actually our ability to become involved in the world. And to develop skills for acting in the world. Which at root are not intellectual skills, but very practical skills. We are at our core, beings who can engage with things and people in the world, and to develop skills to do this. Earlier this week I asked a question on our Facebook page asking who is your favourite genius? James Hird or James Joyce. This is of course a reference to the TISM song, and whatever your answer, betrays your position in the culture wars. There were a few responses, where people suggested that neither of these two were worthy of the honour. Mary suggested an alternative, the wonderful Australian scientist, Graeme Clark. The inventor of the cochlear implant. I grew up attending the Mackay deaf club with my Dad who was hearing impaired, and in these circles Professor Clark was certainly a revered figure. We could argue this point forever though couldn’t we. Some might suggest sports stars like Hird, great artists like Joyce, scientists like Clark, or countless others from various fields. What makes these people special, I think, is their ability to act in the world. They have honed their skills. Jesus, in all his splendour and divinity, didn’t shy away from acting in the world in a similar way. He was a carpenter. He would have had to learn how to use his tools. We can picture him making mistakes, banging his thumb with a misjudged swing of the hammer. A very unassuming way of engaging with his physical surroundings. He was also a healer. In a moment of absolute connection to his surroundings, to the creation, we read that: To heal a man born blind, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. This is a person who can engage with things and people in the world, he has developed the skills to do this. Very practical skills. ---- Our gospel reading for today isn’t quite so visceral. It’s quite a bit more reflective. Jesus talks about sin, and the need to repent. There is judgement here. Not an easy thing for we postmodern, enlightened Christians to hear. So what are these sins? For many of us growing up in the Christian tradition, the gospel was often reduced to a set of rules from which to live by. The big ones of course being: Don’t drink or smoke or do drugs, and of course Don’t have sex! That was about it. Purity laws. And, as the tradition goes, it was Christ who takes these sins and suffers in my place. That’s all that matters… But, if that’s the extent of the gospel, why on earth is Jesus talking about fig trees? In fact, why is he even teaching at all? If it’s all about the cross, then what’s the point of everything before that? In this story, rather than listing sins, or placing them in a hierarchy, Jesus digs a little deeper. He doesn’t subscribe to the Pharisee’s view of sin. For them, it’s all about purity. Jesus addresses this. “The Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them — do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did.” It’s not those who break the purity laws who are sinners. Not those who break any specific laws even. All are sinners who need to repent. So is Jesus saying that we all just break the rules, the laws? Or is Jesus reconfiguring, reimagining, reconsidering, what it means to be a “sinner”? I think so. I think the key to understanding him, is in the parable that follows. “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” So… What is the sin of the fig tree? Is it sexual immorality? Incorrect sacrificial practice? Has it been out boozing? No! It’s sin is that it does not bear fruit. It’s sin is that it is not being - a fig tree. One of my pet peeves is going to Maccas or some other establishment of fine foods and ordering a burger. When it arrives it inevitably has a piece of cheese half hanging out one side, and a pattie hanging out the other. Now this shouldn’t annoy me as much as it does. But the reason is simple. YOU HAD ONE JOB!!! It’s not that difficult. Everything has been pre-cut to be the same size. Your only job is to stack it in something that resembles a pile. This is the sin of the fig tree. This is why the man says cut it down. It had one job. To be a fig tree. To grow and bear fruit. For Jesus, we are all sinners for this one reason. We are not being ourselves, we are not being, human. I think the great sin of our time is that we have become disconnected from our world. From the creation. We have fallen for the trap of becoming disconnected from the creation. Of seeing ourselves as somehow better. Of not being who we are meant to be. Of not being authentic. Authenticity is important for Jesus. He is concerned with how we are to be the best versions of ourselves. When we’re operating at our best, we’re not detached from the situation we’re involved in. Rather, we open ourselves up to being in the situation. We respond to the particular situation we find ourselves in. Being authentic means confronting the situation we are in. Rather than following a certain set of rules that govern how we are to respond to a situation, when you’re being authentic, you find yourself completely open to the world around you. And from this, you are able to act accordingly. Perhaps in Christian language it’s a bit like being guided by the spirit. A good analogy for this is the difference between classical and jazz music and musicians. Now I know Robert disagrees with me on this one… But the rest of us know that jazz is, by far, the superior discipline. But why is this? Well, those who grew up playing classical music know that there are a strict set of rules that govern how you are to play a piece. It’s all right there on the page. This is obviously not true for jazz. When you play jazz, you improvise. You play the moment. However, Jazz musicians almost always begin life as classical musicians. They have to know the rules before they can ignore them. They need to spend time practising. They have to hone their craft. They learn the skills. But when it comes to a performance setting, rather than following what’s on the page, the jazz musician must be open to what is going on in her environment. As she masters her craft, the jazz musician learns to play off the other musicians, even the audience. A jazz piece is never played the same way twice, because the conditions in which it is played are never the same. A waiter in a club might drop a glass and the guy on the drums will play a little p-ching on the high hat as a response. Then the cat on the trumpet might respond with a little w-ah w-nuh. The movement then develops from the physical conditions of the club. They are in the moment. They are connected to their surroundings, to the rest of creation. They throw themselves into it. Actors have this wonderful expression when you are on stage and you’re acting. You have to own it. It’s a beautiful way of describing really going for it. Really putting yourself into it. That is, not wanting to step back. And distance yourself from what is happening. It’s very tempting to keep the back door open so you can step out of your actions and disavow them, to rethink them. To play the scene all over again. But you can tell when an actor is reticent in this way. When they really go for it, they experience the action being drawn out of them. You find this in any domain, whether it’s music, acting, or on the sporting field. You find it in any domain when you require a certain skill, and an openness, to what his happening around you at that moment. This is, of course, also true in the domain of living a life. How we sometimes wish we could play a scene over again. Imagine how great it would be, you’re at a party and you say something you immediately regret to someone you’ve just met. Nope. Terrible. Cut! Back to places. Let’s take it from: What are your thoughts on the upcoming election… And action. But we can’t do this can we. And so, we choose the next best option. We hold back. We don’t engage. We don’t show our true selves. We keep the back door ajar in case we need to slink out. But, like the actor, this leads to us being inauthentic. We’re playing the character all wrong. We’re not being who we are meant to be. —— When Jesus says that we are all sinners, he is suggesting that we are not being who we are meant to be. We have become distracted, bound by the rules, of how to live a life. We have become reluctant, reticent, to really go for it. To own it. For whatever reason we have distanced ourselves from this moment of our lives. We’ve distanced ourselves from the rest of creation. We have distanced ourselves from our very being. From our being in the world. This is of course a defense mechanism, to prevent failure, to protect us from hurt. But when Jesus encourages us to own it, he doesn’t leave us in this state. He beckons us on. —— In the story of the fig tree, the tree isn’t cut down for not producing fruit. It’s shown grace, because it hasn’t yet finished - becoming. It must be given an opportunity, and perhaps a little manure, before it can truly be. It’s nourished. It’s encouraged. —— None of us have completed becoming who we will be. When we respond to the call of God in our lives, when we really own the moments, that is when we begin to grow, and bear fruit. God calls us to many things, but most importantly, God calls us to simply be. To respond to and engage with our surroundings. With the rest of creation. To go for it - without hesitation. To be authentic. To own it. Whether it’s kicking a footy, writing a story, or inventing the cochlear implant, we have to work at these things. We have to work at being human. To fully engage with the creation. To throw ourselves into it. It’s in these moments, with a little help from God, that we begin to be who we really are.