Blessed are the pure in heart...

The text this morning is Matthew 5:8: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”

Let’s pray and look at this Beatitude together.

God who lives in pure light, shine Your light in our hearts and help us to see You this morning. Amen

I have been reading Mere Christianity aloud to my students over the past few months and as I was preparing for this sermon, it seemed like C.S. Lewis and I were preparing for the sermon together. There were so many examples and quotes that seemed to dovetail with my thoughts. So I hope you don't mind if Jack, as his friends and family called him, joins us this morning and helps me as we look at this verse together.

I think that if we are honest with ourselves, we don’t really want to be pure nor do we really want to see God. Harsh, I know, but I think it’s the reality of the human condition. I’ll come back to this thought, but first let’s look at the verse in more detail. 

The word purity is so often used in the context of sexual purity that it is hard to hear the word without bringing on that connotation. So instead of the word pure, I want to look at the Greek word that is used here instead: katharos. Katharos is used 28 times in the New Testament, mostly being translated pure but also clean. The lexicon describes the word as physically clean as in the phrase "purified by fire" also in the sense of a vine cleansed by pruning and so prepared to bear fruit. The word is also used in a Levitical sense, ceremonially clean – we see it in Matthew when Jesus tells the Pharisees, “First clean (katharizo) the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean (katharos).” The word katharos can also imply ethical purity or cleanness, as in free from corrupt desire, from sin and guilt. Synonyms include sincere, genuine, blameless, innocent.

It is where we get the English word, catharsis - one of the Webster definitions of which being “a purification that brings about spiritual renewal.” To rephrase our beatitude with this Greek word in mind, "blessed are the blameless hearts which are cleansed and ready to bear fruit."

There are three main methods that are mentioned in the Bible for this type of cleansing or purification.

In Psalm 119:9, the question is asked “how can a young person keep their way pure?” and the answer is “by obeying God’s Word - by living according to and conforming their life to God’s Word.” God’s very Word purifies us. Of course, only if we live by it. We see this again in 1 Peter 1:22 “by your obedience to the Truth through the [Holy] Spirit you have purified your hearts.” In 1 John 3, we read that “when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as he is pure.” The more we spend time with God and in His Word, the more we will become who we are truly meant to be - the purest version of ourselves. C.S. Lewis says that it is the first job each morning to spend time “listening to that other voice, taking that other point of view, letting that other larger, stronger, quieter life come flowing in.” We get our marching orders, so to speak. Check in with our coach for our daily routine - run the race to get the prize - singularity or purity of purpose. The writer of Hebrews extends this metaphor, “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”

Another way that we can become pure is confession. I think that this can often come out of spending time with God and His Word. Is there anyone one of us who can read God’s Word and not see in our own life places where we need light and forgiveness and change? As Mark Twain said, “It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand.” We read in I John 1, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify (katharizo) us from all unrighteousness.” This recognition of how and where we are missing God’s perfect mark brings us to confess or admit our wrong and lets God work at the right part of us. This cleanness of heart is what David asks for after he confesses his sin of murder and adultery, “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” We agree with God that there is some dirt there that needs to be cleaned. It’s a great feeling! Coming clean, repenting, getting things out in the open – these take sin’s power away and we begin to heal and make things right.

The other type of purifying that is mentioned in the Bible is purification by trials. The clearest example of this is in 1 Peter 1, “for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the tested and proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” When talking about trials in this sense, let’s think of some everyday type of trials, like dealing with a difficult situation or being interrupted - these types of trials are a gift to us in that they show the quality of our hearts.

C.S. Lewis explains, “Surely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly.  But the suddenness does not create the rats:  it only prevents them from hiding.” These small trials are gifts in the sense that they help to purify us - to show us who we are so that we can change. We need to be students of our own lives - examine them.

Paul encourages the church in Corinth to “Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups.” If we do this work in the small trials, when the life-crushing trials and tribulations come (and they will come) we will have faith that has been tested and purified. In Jeremiah 12, God asks, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan?”

Which brings me back to the beginning of my sermon. We don’t really want pure hearts. We want to hold on to our pet sins, nurse our wounds. And besides, we are trying really hard. Aren’t we good enough?  Really God, what do you want? Perfection? Well… yes, that is what He wants. This seems like bad news, but really it’s the best news. The quicker we see our own imperfection and admit it, the quicker we can turn to God and begin the process of becoming perfect. What He requires, He also provides. Like the old hymn says “All the fitness He requireth is to feel your need of Him.”

We don’t really want to see God, either. We talk about God so much that we lose sight of how big and powerful He is. Hebrews 10:31 says “It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” In Malachi 3, “who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?” Being in the presence of God is like walking on water, being surrounded by flames in the furnace, standing next to a whirlwind.

But I think the most prevalent reason that we keep God at arm's length is something different. C.S. Lewis has a great analogy to describe it: “When I was a child I often had toothache, and I knew that if I went to my mother she would give me something which would deaden the pain for that night and let me get to sleep. But I did not go to my mother—at least, not till the pain became very bad. And the reason I did not go was this. I did not doubt she would give me the aspirin; but I knew she would also do something else. I knew she would take me to the dentist next morning. I could not get what I wanted out of her without getting something more, which I did not want. I wanted immediate relief from pain: but I could not get it without having my teeth set permanently right. And I knew those dentists: I knew they started fiddling about with all sorts of other teeth which had not yet begun to ache. They would not let sleeping dogs lie, if you gave them an inch they took an ell.” [when God says], ‘Be ye perfect’…. I think He meant ‘The only help I will give is help to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing less.’

This Beatitude has a cyclical nature to it. When you see God you are purified, when you have a pure heart, you will see God. This is exactly the kind of loop that God wants us to get caught up in. Paul describes this cycle in Romans 7 & 8 - at the end of Romans 7, Paul talks about how he wants to do right but doesn’t seem able to do it - in desperation he asks “Who will rescue me from this body of death?” but immediately he answers the question: God will! God stands ready to rescue - there is no condemnation for those whose lives are hidden in Jesus - all we have to do is stay in Him.

God himself said to Abraham, “No one can see me and live.” and that’s the point! Spending time in the presence of the living God helps us to die to ourselves. Colossians 3:3 says “For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” and again in Romans 6:11 “In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

We are meant to live our lives as living sacrifices, taking up our crosses daily and following our Perfect Example, Jesus. C.S. Lewis says it like this, “Give me all of you!!! I don’t want so much of your time, so much of your talents and money, and so much of your work. I want YOU!!!  ALL OF YOU!! I have not come to torment or frustrate the natural man or woman, but to KILL IT! No half measures will do. I don’t want to only prune a branch here and a branch there; rather I want the whole tree out! Hand it over to me, the whole outfit, all of your desires, all of your wants and wishes and dreams. Turn them ALL over to me, give yourself to me and I will make of you a new self---in my image. Give me yourself and in exchange I will give you Myself. My will, shall become your will. My heart, shall become your heart.”

The last thing I would want anyone to come away with this morning is a feeling of guilt or inadequacy. God is the one doing the work. God is the one showing us gently where we need to grow and change. He does this little by little – He is preparing us to live with him and each other forever. In order to partner with Him in this good work, we need pure hearts. C.S. Lewis has this analogy for this partnership: "[God] shows much more of Himself to some people than to others—not because He has favourites, but because it is impossible for Him to show Himself to a man whose whole mind and character are in the wrong condition. Just as sunlight, though it has no favourites, cannot be reflected in a dusty mirror as clearly as in a clean one… the instrument through which you see God is your whole self. And if a man’s self is not kept clean and bright, his glimpse of God will be blurred—like the Moon seen through a dirty telescope."

Jesus said it this way, "Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.  If you are filled with light, with no dark corners, then your whole life will be radiant, as though a floodlight were filling you with light."

I know I mixed a lot of metaphors this morning: Running a race as an athlete, going to the dentist, rats in the cellar, being a mirror or telescope. It all boils down to this: to quote one of C.S. Lewis's favorites, G.K. Chesterton "If a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing badly.” To this I will add, but don't keep doing it badly! Be a little more patient next time, a little kinder, a little more forgiving. Work with God and not against Him and start where you know you need to.

Lewis gets the last word this morning. A young woman named Mary Neylan, a student of C.S. Lewis had an ongoing correspondence with him, starting in 1931. According to Richard James of Taylor University, "Thirty-seven letters from Lewis to Mary, her husband Daniel, and her oldest daughter, Sarah, have been published. They span over a period of thirty years touching on many personal, religious and literary themes, including marriage, confirmation, Narnia and family illnesses." On January 20, 1942, Jack is writing to Mary about chronic temptations – a topic on which she had asked his advice. In his letter he says, "“Sorry you’re in a trough. I’m just emerging (at least I hope I am) from a long one myself.” I think we can all identify. In a rut. Stuck. Discouraged by our own sinfulness. Listen to what he says to her and if you remember nothing else from this morning remember this:

"No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes are in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one’s temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present to us: it is the very sign of his presence."

Deborah sermon

I chose Deborah as my Old Testament hero. Since that is my given name, I have always been
drawn to the story, but I hadn’t really explored it before at this depth.
 
Deborah is the only judge in the book of Judges that is female. She is also the only one in the book that is both a judge and a prophet. She is also the only judge in the book that the writer has only good things to say about. And she is the only singer/songwriter of all the judges. In studying this story I have found 4 spiritual principles for us to live by. 

Before we get started, let’s pray: God of all times and all people, thank you for your Word and for the ways that you speak to us through story and song. Open our hearts and minds to hear from you this morning. Amen
 

Before I get to the spiritual principles in the story, let me tell you the story of Deborah. In the book of Judges, the people of Israel go through 7 cycles of turning away and turning back to God. In this picture, we see the circular nature of this period of Israel’s history. Israel serves the Lord, Israel falls into sin and idolatry, Israel is enslaved, Israel cries to the Lord, God raises up a judge, and Israel is delivered. Then it starts all over again. Deborah is the 4th judge in the series of cycles – the center of the stories.

 
As her story begins, Israel is under Canaan’s rule – the king is Jabin and the commander of the army is Sisera. Israel is terrified of Sisera because he has 900 iron chariots – a fact that is mentioned several times. Deborah has set up a court in the middle of Israel – in the hill country of Ephraim, out under a palm tree – where people from all over Israel come to settle their disputes. The first description of Deborah says that she is the wife of Lappidoth – a name that is never mentioned again, but that can be translated as torches or flames. Also, the word ‘wife’ can be translated ‘woman’ – so she could be being described as a “woman of torches” or ‘woman of fire.’ 

I don’t want to spend too much time on this, but I do want to point out that there is no indication that anyone had any issue with a woman being a judge. I am thankful to be part of a denomination that recognizes women’s gifts for leadership – in fact this year is the 40th anniversary of that decision. There is an initiative within the Covenant Church called “Develop a Deborah” which "encourages pastoral leaders to identify and encourage women in their ministry contexts with leadership gifts."

Back to the story. Deborah sends for Barak, who lives in Northern Israel and gives him a direct and  personal command from God. ‘Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. 7 I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his [d]many troops to the river Kishon, and I will give him into your hand.’ But for whatever reason that is not revealed in the story, Barak doesn’t want to go without Deborah. He tells her, “If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go.”

Deborah agrees to go with him, but tells him that because of putting this condition on his obedience God will hand Sisera over to a woman instead of him. So Deborah and Barak lead 10,000 men. Deborah gives the command of God again to Barak saying that the Lord had gone out before him to lead him in victory, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left. Even those chariots, which are mentioned several times, were destroyed. 

Not one of his army was left, but Sisera himself escaped. He is desparate and goes to the tents of his allies, the Kenites. He goes into the tent of Jael, a woman, and asks her to stand guard at the door and hide him. He asks her for some water, but instead she gives him milk which seems to have a soothing effect on him and he falls asleep in her tent. 

While he is sleeping, Jael grabs a tent peg and a hammer and proceeds to hammer the tent peg through the temple of the sleeping commander all the way to the ground. The story of Deborah ends with her and Barak singing a song together that tells the story of the way God has delivered Israel once again.

The four spiritual lessons that I got from this story are:
1. God gives us direct and personal instructions.
2. It’s Ok to ask for help.
3. If someone asks for help, help them!
4. Celebrate spiritual victories.

Let’s look at these in a little bit more detail. The first one, “God gives us direct and personal instructions” is fairly self-explanatory. Sometimes these instructions come through our friends, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul and also through our co-workers, spouses or friends. This reminds me of that great Mark Twain quote, "It ain't those parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand." We do know what God is asking us to do. He has made it abundantly clear. 

The second principle “it’s ok to ask for help” is easy to know but hard to do. We don’t like to admit that we are weak. Barak was up against 900 iron chariots – what are you up against? I think that most of us don’t realize where the battle comes in against us in our spiritual lives. The daily tasks of forgiving, loving and showing kindness are our battleground and many days it seems like there are 900 ironclad reasons for withholding these from those who have offended us. This is when we need to ask for help. ““If you will go with me, then I will go” – ask someone for prayer. Ask someone for help. It’s not only ok, but it is biblical – Ecc 4:8-9 is one example, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another
to lift him up.”

This leads to the third principle, “If someone asks for help, help them!” In studying this story, I came across some excerpts from Sandra Glahn’s book “Java with the Judges” – she had this to say about the story of Deborah, “is there someone in your life whose faith you can bolster by your presence?” let me ask that again, “is there someone in your life whose faith you can bolster by your presence?” We need each other and we really need to help each other without finding fault – the way that God says he helps those who ask for wisdom. If someone is humble enough to come to you for help, the last thing he/she needs is a lecture or a sigh or an “I told you so.” 

We all need help and the truly strong ones among us are the ones who are able to see and admit where they are weak. Romans 14 gives great instructions on how to help and support one another in a way that is non-judgmental, I highly recommend taking some time to study it this week. The first verse of the next chapter concludes the passage: (this is the Message version) “Those of us who are strong and able in the faith need to step in and lend a hand to those who falter, and not just do what is most convenient for us. Strength is for service, not status. Each one of us needs to look after the good of the people around us, asking ourselves, ‘How can I help?’” 

The last principle is to “celebrate spiritual victories.” I think that it is easy and natural and human to see faults or failures, but I think it is good, hard spiritual work to see victories and growth. Israel went through 7 cycles of failure and success and I think sometimes I go through that many in one day! We will again and again do what is right in our own eyes or do what is evil in the sight of the LORD just as Israel did. But we have to celebrate those victories, small as they may be, when we make right choices. When we don’t say that snarky comment. When we recognize grace or maturity or kindness. The song at the end of the story recounts all parts of the recent events – the good and the bad. The power and majesty of God is recognized as the primary source of victory. The song rejoices in God and gives Him praise and credit for deliverance.
 
I love to study these Old Testament stories and find treasures of spiritual truth. These 4 principles are essential for life together.
 
You know what God is asking you to do. I mean, I mostly always know what God is asking me to do in any given circumstance – turn the other cheek, do unto others, don’t let unwholesome talk come out of my mouth, just to name a few of my recurring instructions. If you don’t know what God is asking you, then spend some time in the word and in silence and he will tell you. 

Once you know what it is that you need to do, ask for help. Identify a few people in your life that you think you could ask and then swallow your pride and go ask. You will be glad you did.

And when someone asks you for help, help them. Don’t mock them or talk about them or ignore them, just help. Pray for them, encourage them, ask them how it’s going.
 
And then, when you or your friend has successfully forgiven or loved or shown kindness or whatever it is, celebrate! There is nothing more encouraging than recognizing where we have grown or where we have succeeded where we used to fail. And sometimes we are too close to see it. So if you see growth in someone – tell them! If you see where someone is succeeding, show them! I was lost but now I’m found; was blind but now I see. Sing it from the rooftops.

Sing with Deborah and Barak, “let those who love God be like the rising of the sun in its might.”Amen.

Groundhog's Day Spirituality

When I was a young girl, I went to camp every summer. One year, during bible study, my counselor was talking about bullies. She said, "The lion with the loudest roar has the biggest thorn in its paw." This has stayed with me all these years and reinforces what the bible says in I Samuel 16:7 "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” This insider information about bullies made me realize that there is insider information about nearly every situation. It was an invitation to big picture thinking and compassion that has helped me in dealing with conflict and reconciliation ever since. The Ian Maclaren quote "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle," has also reinforced this idea.

Kindness doesn't come naturally to me. I am a quick reactor and often focused on behavior or justice. I find it hard to ignore the whisperers at the movie theatre or children being unkind to another child – even if I don't know them! I want to jump in and correct and set things right.

Being honest about my struggle and asking for help is a key to growth. Living in community has taught me the most about how unkind I am! That along with marriage and parenthood! Community has also caused me to be transparent with my neighbors and friends and ask for help when I need it. It is an amazing luxury to live with people who are also concerned about your growth and maturity.  But it is a challenge to accept help and to keep accepting advice and correction – it can be tiring at times when you are caught in a Groundhog's Day spiritual battle and living with people 24/7 in the midst of it.

If you have never seen the movie "Groundhog's Day" then you don't know what I mean by the statement "Groundhog's Day spiritual battle". In the movie, Bill Murray's character is trapped in the same day, February 2, seemingly forever. He wakes up to the same day over and over and over. He goes through the stages of loss: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance, in his seemingly never ending Groundhog Day journey.

I like this as a metaphor for spiritual growth, because somedays it feels like I will never overcome some of my life dominating sins, ruts, and patterns and I feel like I'm trapped in the same spiritual "day". I think this is why it often gets harder instead of easier to walk with God, live in community and not become weary in well-doing.

We never arrive, and often our flaws and shortcomings become more pronounced instead of less as we get older. And if we are living in community, a small town or attending the same church for decades, people know us! really know us! and that is such a gift and an un-gift! Like family, the people that we are close to see us probably better than we see ourselves.

Parker Palmer – an author and educator who, among many other more recent honors, titles and degrees, was named one of the thirty most influential senior leaders in higher education and one of the ten key agenda-setters of the past decade back in 1998 by the Leadership Project, tells this story about his mom:

Mom had a hard time understanding how I could earn my living by working independently as “a writer and traveling teacher." For her, a REAL job meant having a title at a company, dressing in a suit and tie, and going downtown to an office, just like my Dad did for sixty years. It did NOT mean spending half of one’s life pecking out words on a keyboard while dressed in pajamas and a robe—and the other half flying around the country doing God-knows-what!

When Mom was in her late eighties, she asked me once again, "Parker, exactly HOW do you make your living? I don't get it, and frankly, my friends don’t either!”

I said, "Well, Mom, I spend half my time at home writing books and articles, hoping to communicate with people about things that matter to me. Sometimes, people read what I write and invite me to give a speech or a workshop where we can talk face-to-face. And… Um… Well... I guess that's about it.”

I can see her now, sitting in her wingback chair, cane planted firmly in the carpet, looking regal and annoyed. After a bit, she said, "So, you make your living by TALKING to people. Is that right?"

Knowing this was not going to end well, I threw in the towel. 

"Yes, Mom," I replied. "That's a fair way to sum it up."

She thought for a moment, then said, 

"Well, Parker, I don't MIND talking to you. But I certainly wouldn't pay for it!"

The grace and kindness I receive from the people I live with is the best reminder of why and how to be kind. But grace and kindness often arrive in strange wrappings.Kathleen Norris talks about grace like this: “If grace is so wonderful, why do we have such difficulty recognizing and accepting it? Maybe it's because grace is not gentle or made-to-order. It often comes disguised as loss, or failure, or unwelcome change.”  Or, in the case of letting ourselves be known and vulnerable, grace might come in playful teasing from a friend until we can laugh at ourselves, in a gentle or not so gentle word of reproach, or a look that means "you're doing that thing again."

Ultimately, Bill Murray's character breaks the cycle by learning to be kind, to let go of his selfishness and to be loved.

Several years ago I had a head injury – I fell down the stairs in our building and landed right on my head.  After several weeks, I was still having headaches and memory problems. My doctor prescribed "cognitive rest" – no reading, no screens of any kind, no long conversations – "I tell my athletes to stare at a blank wall," he said. So for two weeks, that is what I did. I took naps and baths and short walks and I tried to not think about anything too complicated or worrisome.  I had been learning about the practice of silence right before this happened, so I also tried to listen to God's voice. It was an amazing gift – this rest for my mind – and it started to change me. Dallas Willard had this to say about solitude, which is a key part of silence: "Solitude well practiced will break the power of busyness, haste, isolation, and loneliness. You will see that the world is not on your shoulders after all. You will find yourself, and God will find you in new ways."

So what do these things have to do with each other? Well, I have always wanted to be kinder and to be able to step back from a situation to see the underlying causes and to believe the best about others, but I usually failed miserably: my quick reactions overriding my desire to be kind. What I was lacking was this silence. This ability to quiet myself.  And I definitely haven't arrived, but I know that a few moments of silence can help to right things again when I feel off balance. Not empty silence – but practicing the presence of the eternal God.

When I sit silently before God, I can find that bigger picture more easily. Everything else fades away and I am forced to think of eternity and meaning in a way that brings everything into perspective. And I stop taking myself so seriously. Spending time with the God of the cross, I can talk to Him about my pain; I can talk to Him about being misunderstood and mistreated. And He knows. Hebrews 4:15-16 from the Message Bible tells us that "We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help." v16 in the NIV says it like this "Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."

And once we've found that grace, we can extend it to others in their time of need. Like Groundhog's Day, sometimes music gets in our heads and plays over and over and over. And often, it's not music that we particularly love, but for some reason it's stuck firmly in some remote part of our brain. There is a song that runs through my head often that I couldn't even listen to all the way through while preparing for this sermon with its 80's electronic music and dramatic vocals, my apologies to anyone who likes this song, but the chorus says "it's your kindness that leads us to repentance O God; knowing that you love us no matter what we've done, makes us want to love you too."

And although it's not a tune I want in my head, it is a message that I want to play on repeat. and maybe, like Bill Murray's character, I will be changed little by little by little, day after day as I pursue kindness and I know that one day I will awake to find the lover of my soul by my side in a new day that will never end.