Optional Memorial of Saint Denis, bishop and martyr, and his companions, martyrs

Lectionary: 461

A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.

Does anyone of my readers remember that ideal nation that never had thieves, robbers, or murderers? Was it the Inuits in Alaska? A remote tribe in the Amazon jungle? A medieval village in Scotland? 
You don't remember? That's because it never happened. Not no where; not no how.

But there used to be a song about such a nation; they were people who lived on a mountain and had a buried treasure. 

Listen, children, to a story
That was written long ago
'Bout a kingdom on a mountain
And the valley-folk below
On the mountain was a treasure
Buried deep beneath the stone
And the valley-people swore
They'd have it for their very own.  One Tin Soldier

It ends unhappily, as you might expect. 

So long as there are people in this world there will be conflict, strife, and war. And we will always need courage, kindness, and sacrifice. 

That is not bad news. 

So long as there is a God in heaven, we will want to love him with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. That is good news. 

I have little knowledge of all the religions and spiritualities in the world, but I can say of western spirituality, that we have been caught up in a romantic notion that what seems possible and necessary ought to happen. For instance, people should be able to live peacefully with each other. We should sit down and quietly discuss our differences and come to some agreement. If everyone will just try a little harder, we can make it work! 

Who made up those rules? Where are they written in the Bible, or the sky, or buried deep beneath the stone? 

Those rules of should, could, and would are created by those who believe in themselves rather than in God. They think they know something that is true; that no one else knows; although it is not. They would tell others the way things should be; and many agree with them, for they also believe in that make believe world. It should be around here somewhere. 

When we dig deep in ourselves, rather than under the fictitious mountain, we discover a bedrock of sin which is our own willfulness. We find the child who will hold her breath until she turns purple, while her loving parents watch with concerned amusement. 

And then one day we hear the rules we didn't make up; we hear of the Lord's two Great Commandments, which are realistic, reassuring, and delightful. We realize we were wrong and it's okay; we're no more ridiculous than anyone else who believed in themself rather than God. And God is still good, and will lead us out of the mess we've made. And we can breathe easy.