Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9, Mark 12:28-34 - November 1, 2009 All Saint's Day

At Tippe, we celebrate life.  Even as someone dies, we celebrate life.  And as we celebrate their life, one of the sentences I say graveside is “In God’s time and in God’s sight, there is no difference between the living and the dead for life is eternal.  We are all part of God’s enduring creation throughout ALL time.” 
           All of us, all of the time, no end time.
                     Jesus said: Heaven is here and now for those who can see it. 
                           How would life live differently if you believed this…this is heaven…life eternal is here and now! 
     Do you believe it?  Is this a personal faith statement or mere doctrinal good wishes?
Maybe this perspective will help…  The Buddhists say it this way:  When conditions are sufficient we manifest and when conditions are not sufficient we go into hiding, we withdraw….until things are sufficient again.  Buddha taught there is no coming, there is no going; there is no same, there is no different; there is no permanent self, there is no annihilation.  We only think there is.  When we understand that we cannot be destroyed, we are liberated from fear.  Great relief as we appreciate and enjoy this life in a new way!
Maybe this perspective will help….French scientist Lavoisier said based on science:  “Nothing is born, nothing dies.”  Our true nature is the nature of no birth and no death.  He is speaking of eternal life cycle here….like the trees in cycle just beyond these windows this morning.
      Jesus, Buddha, even the scientist…and we ourselves know: only when we touch our true nature/true life/our souls can we transcend fear….of non-being, the fear of ending.
     Shakespeare had it wrong when he said:  “To be or not to be, this is the question!”  This is a false dichotomy.  This does not describe reality spiritually or scientifically.  No question about it!
     There is no ending, no death.  If we have faith, then fear subsides as we give ourselves to really living each moment, each day, now and for eternity.

And so, I ask:  What does it mean to be alive? ….to really live?
     For you see, believers no longer need to be haunted by “Why?”  Instead, we are released to wondering “How Now?”
     How?  Let me come back to this question in a bit when we reflect on the great commandment.  I think this commandment is about the “How” we can do it.
     But first, what does it mean to be alive?

     Indigenous people say:

You know you’re still alive if you can track the 4 rivers of life.  (And, by the way, the more you track your experience, the more you can integrate it so you don’t repeat yourself.)

     The 4 Rivers of Life:
          The River of Inspiration:  I am still alive if I can be inspired, expanded.  Who are my sources of inspiration?  What is it that expands me?  Refusing to walk the procession of the living dead, do I let myself be inspired?  Inspired toward more through my experiences?  If so, this is how I know I am truly alive.
      The River of Challenge:  I am still alive if I can still be tested and challenged and have some energy for it…refusing to walk the procession of the living dead.  I am alive if I can receive an invitation to grow again and move beyond the familiar.  Who or what is stretching or challenging me?  When was it I discovered a break through, new interest that reshaped my world?  That’s when I engaged the river of challenge.  Being alive is about being creative, creating in the face of challenge.
        The River of Surprise:  I am still alive if I can be delighted by surprise and the unexpected, by wonder and awe.  Children immerse themselves in this river!  The unexpected, surprise, tricks of fate wake me up out of apathy or a false sense of control….and teach me how to return to the magic kingdom (the mystery) leaving cynicism and lethargy behind.  (A 19 year old boy shared with his dad after a enduring an adult dinner party:  “Dad, just because you closed the door to the magic kingdom with your cynicism, I won’t let you close mine.”)  Cynicism dries up the river of surprise.  How we respond to surprise matters for every day is filled with surprises.  Spontaneity connects us to our divine child and it is the divine child within…who holds the hand of the wounded child within.  Surprise, the unexpected, are ways God’s higher agenda is always trying to come into our daily agendas.
          The River of Love, Being Deeply Touched and Deeply Moved:  I know I am still alive if I can be touched deeply by life…..my heart open.  Heart open…not guarded, not faining immunity to love, Heart full….living whole heartedly rather than half-heartedly, Heart clear….released from doubt, not standing still rather acting where there is clarity, Heart courageous knowing I make a difference, one person can make a difference (like the one with the stalled car at rush hour, or a petite woman with a purse on her lap who says:  No, I don’t believe I will move.  I am tired and I have every right to sit her…Rosa Parks changed the South and our country)
          …. Heart….take heart wherever you go….track the 4 Rivers of your Life: Inspiration, Challenge, Surprise, Love.  This is where alive people put their energy!
          Oh, friends, we use so much of our creative energy to stay out of life…rather than get in it.  We succumb to the world’s understanding of a limited self rather than lean into what it is we say we believe.  We are so likely to fear life rather than live it.  We resist walking the talk….the faith talk.
          Instead, we often walk the procession of the living dead, and there begins to take place a silent relentless haunting…called the soul’s siren.  What is your soul calling to you….to awaken you to life? What is haunting you at this time….keeping you from really living your life…keeping you out of the rivers? 
          It’s initially true:  it may just be easier to walk around dead than alive.  But in the long run, it gets you no where and gets you there alone.  Life can be tough…and so, so many of us live in ways that keep us out of life rather bring us alive in the situations we find ourselves in…we would rather have no heart than a broken one.
          Sound familiar?  Then, hear this Sufi saying:
         Oh break my heart,
               Oh break it again,
                    Oh one more time,
And again, So I can love even more.
       If you can say this, then you are someone who has plunged in and is fully engaged in life wanting all its riches despite its challenges, and yes…even its pain.
        You know you are still alive!
   You no longer need to ask “Why?”  You now ask “How?” 
How to live now?  How?  Jesus makes it clear!
Love yourself!  It is a commandment! 
That’s how important it is!  It is a commandment to love yourself! 
It supersedes the commandment to love others.   And both flow through the commandment to love God, be one with God….which then makes us able to love in these ways. 
      The way in to love is the out through love.  Not sure how to love God, to be one with God? 
      Well, do it backward then!  Try starting at the end of the commandment and work backwards….start by loving someone else, a neighbor.  Involve yourself in serving others.  As you help someone else…often that is “how” you can begin to see yourself differently, begin to notice yourself more lovingly, and so notice God’s love for you as well….then able to love God more fully.
      Fear fades as we move from limited self to limitless possibility for another.  As fear fades, joy returns….and we move toward awe.  From neighbor to self to God.  The way in is the way out.  Like a labyrinth.
      All Saints Day:
          It’s a reminder.  Friends, use your creative energy to stay “in” life.  Embrace a new understanding of a limitless self.  Live your life fearlessly….mistakes and all!  You are a living Saint!
        Don’t walk the procession of the living dead, the living dread!  Hallowed you are!   Hear your soul’s calling!  You are amongst the living!!  Go to the river.  Celebrate life!