Scripture/Sermon of the Day. April 2, 2023

Isaiah 50:4-9a

The Obedience of the Lord's Servant
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The Lord God has taught me what to say, that I may know how to sustain the weary with a word. Morning by morning he wakens my ear
to listen as those who are taught.
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The Lord has opened my ear, and I have not rebelled or turned away from him.
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I gave my back to those who struck me. I did not stop them when they insulted me, when they pulled out the hairs of my beard and spit in my face.
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The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
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he who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand in court together. Who are my adversaries? Let them confront me.
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It is the Lord God who helps me;

Philippians 2:1-5

Imitating Christ’s Humility

If, then, there is any comfort in Christ, any consolation from love, any partnership in the Spirit, any tender affection and sympathy, 2 make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

Reflection/Sermon:

I. That last 1/2 sentence, verse 5a of Philippians, says all we need to know. It is the goal of our religion: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Jesus.”

II. It’s why we’re here — to awaken in us “the mind of Jesus” — which is hidden somewhere deep in the basement of our consciousness.

We come here with all the clutter and junk that fill our minds so we can find Jesus AND LET HIM BE OUR GUIDING LIGHT for everything we do.

That’s why this building is here in the middle of this neighborhood that is really a wilderness. All around us, people may seem ok— driving nice cars and looking generally well put together, nice clothing, comfortable shoes — but inside they’re starving and dying of thirst. The prophet T.S. Eliot said we live in a wasteland —

III. — Because so many wander around like lost people. People forget why God put us here. I wish, instead of relying on our intuition, God had just clearly put a little label on us, next to our navel — like the labels on clothing. And it would say, “I am God. I put you here to have the mind of Jesus Christ. Do it!” It would save so much trouble. Because billions of people don’t have a clue why we’re here. Billions of people walking around looking lost. God could have saved us so much agony just by putting these little tags on us so we know why we’re here.

Because I know God didn’t put me here to be a minister, or a mental health therapist, or a cold-cut slicer in a supermarket delicatessen — or a student.

We weren’t put here to be construction workers or painters or custodians or ship-builders. GOD PUT US HERE TO HAVE THE MIND OF CHRIST. Everything else is secondary. OUR WORK here is TO MANIFEST THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST IN THIS WASTELAND THAT DOES NOT KNOW HIM!

IV. Anthony DeMello was a Roman Catholic Priest and spiritual guide who dedicated his life to helping people realize the mind of Jesus. He told stories about this. DeMello said it’s not a choice to have the mind of Christ — it is our job, the truth we must wake up to! He told a story to about this:

A father knocks on his son’s door. “Jamie,” he says, “wake up!” Jamie answers, “I don’t want to get up, Papa.” The father shouts, “Get up! You have to go to school!” Jamie says, “I don’t want to go to school.” “Why not?” asks the father. “Three reasons,” says Jamie. “First, because it’s so dull; second, the kids tease me; and third, I hate school.” The father says, “Well, I am going to give you three reasons why you must go to school. First, because it is your responsibility; second, because you are forty-five years old, and third, because you are the principal.”

V. “Wake up!” the father told Jamie. "Wake up!" Jesus told the disciples.

THE MIND OF CHRIST, which the Bible also calls “THE IMAGE OF GOD” — is already in us. The love that Jesus revealed is in us now — is our divine nature. But it is often hidden in the basement of our consciousness. Jesus gets lost in the clutter and junk that fill our busy lives.

Jesus told Martha — that despite all the stuff we are busy with — ONLY ONE THING MATTERS. Which is what we come here to discover — the mind of Jesus Christ, the love of God. Let it be in everything we do.