Turn Around, Look at Me

Jan 22 2012

TURN AROUND, LOOK AT ME

Rev. Janis K. Doleschal - Jan. 22, 2012

Today is Ecumenical Sunday. The issue of whether to be in fellowship, recognize another denomination, honor another denomination’s clergy, or have communion with people of another denomination is a sticky issue for many denominations and faiths. Many of you have heard the story about the Lutheran pastor who prayed with those of other faiths on the stage after 9/11 and was censured by his denominational leaders. On this Ecumenical Sunday, I wonder what is being said in his church! 

The issue of inclusivity versus exclusivity is what I feel is at the heart of these decisions. If we can view the love of God as being all-inclusive, full of grace and forgiving, then we will lean toward the acceptance of all people in all faiths as brothers and sisters under God.

However, if we view the love of God as being open only to those who take the words of their particular scripture and interpret them literally, then, in the final analysis, I don’t think very many people will ever gather together to worship God with one mind and one heart.

It’s really not about whether we are ecumenical or not; it’s about whether we believe that God’s love and acceptance is open to all people. It’s about whether we can rise above the need to declare that we have the only one, true pathway to God, and accept that there may be many pathways to God. It’s about understanding that faith is really a personal relationship with God, regardless of the name by which we call that God.

It goes way beyond the words of Christ telling us to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves. It challenges us to think about whether what we call God is bigger than we are. It challenges us to think about whether God’s love can extend to ALL people, or if God only listens to those who believe in Christ.

We have often talked about the two great commandments, “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” We have talked about how much God loves us and calls us only to love back.   

Listen to these words from the Upanishads, a Hindu Scripture:

“The Lord of Love is above name and form. He is present in all and transcends all. Unborn, without body and without mind, from Him comes every body and mind. He is the source of space, air, fire, water, and the earth that holds us all….” (Mandaka Upanishad1:2) The Lord of Love. We call that Lord of Love God, but in the final analysis, aren’t we saying the same thing? Don’t we really look at God and Jesus as the embodiment of love? 

How familiar are these words – also from the Upanishads? “Before the world was created, the Self alone existed. Nothing whatever stirred. Then the Self thought: Let me create the word.” (Aitareya Upanishad 1.1) Our Hebrew Scriptures say: “In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void and darkness covered the face of the earth and God said…” Genesis 1:1.

The principle that God loves us, and the principle that we should love one another, are not principles that are exclusive to Christianity. They are universal truths found in every major world religion. They are concepts, brought forth within the framework of another culture’s way of life and understanding that links that culture to God. Religion is a function of culture. We create our understanding of God within the culture that we live because doing it any other way would not resonate with us. While God may be known by many names, or in some cultures, by many manifestations, God is still God and love is still love.

The following words were written by the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Buddhism and can be found in a book entitled “Ethics for the New Millennium: “In calling for a spiritual revolution, am I advocating a religious solution to our problems after all? No. As someone nearing seventy years of age at the time of writing, I have accumulated enough experience to be completely confident that the teachings of Buddha are both relevant and useful to humanity. If a person puts them into practice, it is certain that not only they but others, too, will benefit. My meetings with many different sorts of people the world over have, however, helped me realize that there are other faiths, and other cultures, no less capable than mine of enabling individuals to lead constructive and satisfying lives. What is more, I have come to the conclusion that whether or not a person is a religious believer does not matter much. Far more important is that they be a good human being.” 

The two great commandments, “Love God and love your neighbor as yourself.” Living our lives should not be about what happens after our bodies die, but what good we can do while we are here. It’s about being the loving human beings that Christ called us to be and showed us how to be during his brief sojourn on earth. It’s about how we act in relationship to other people. Our faith ought to help us be better people. Our faith ought to help us reach out in love to all people. Our faith ought to help us make ethical decisions and help people. Our faith ought to give us courage to make the hard decisions and set a standard of support and love for others. Our faith ought to help us hear when someone says to us, “Turn around, look at me. I am the face of hunger and thirst. I am the face of the poor and the homeless. I am the face of everything you are not and everything you could become.” Our faith ought to help us turn around and look. And then our faith ought to help us make the decisions that are supportive and inclusive of all of God’s people. 

Until we are able to do that, regardless of our faiths, regardless of our culture, regardless of the color of our skins or the languages we speak, there will be no peace because there will be no evidence of the love that God has called us to share with our fellow human beings. 

There is a song from which today’s sermon title came. The opening words are: “There is someone, walking behind you, turn around, look at me. There is someone who really needs you, turn around and you’ll see. There is someone who really loves you, turn around, look at me. There is someone, walking behind you, turn around look at me.” 

We need to start turning around and looking at both the person in front of us and the person behind us. This world is a small place and God calls us to love and understand all people. Amen.