Philippians 3:7-14
7 But all these things that I once thought very worthwhile—now I’ve thrown them all away so that I can put my trust and hope in Christ alone. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have put aside all else, counting it worth less than nothing, in order that I can have Christ, 9 and become one with him, no longer counting on being saved by being good enough or by obeying God’s laws, but by trusting Christ to save me; for God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith—counting on Christ alone. 10 Now I have given up everything else—I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought him back to life again, and to find out what it means to suffer and to die with him. 11 So whatever it takes, I will be one who lives in the fresh newness of life of those who are alive from the dead.
12 I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I haven’t learned all I should even yet, but I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ saved me for and wants me to be. 13 No, beloved, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward [a] call of God in Christ Jesus.
The Upward Call of God
“the upward call of God in Christ” has a nice ring to it.
Whatever it means.
Same could be said about “forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead.”
… I don’t know: forgetting the past is easier said than done, but even if it was easy, forgetting the past just isn’t necessarily helpful.
As the saying goes, “Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.”
Sometimes I feel like so much suffering in the world could be avoided if we’d remember the past long enough to not repeat our mistakes -- especially when it comes to war.
There’s been so much collective suffering on a massive scale for two going on three years now and just when that seemed like it might be improving, along comes the unbearable, ongoing suffering in Ukraine. As much as we might want to forget it all somehow, even if we could, our consciences wouldn’t allow us to.
And so Paul’s description of the upward call of God in Christ comes to us in the midst of prolonged collective suffering. I have no doubt that Paul knows what he’s talking about, but it’s not immediately clear to me from his brief words how the rest of us get there.
Paul’s words here to me beg the question: how do we integrate the spiritual values we receive from Jesus Christ? That is, how do we respond with abiding care and compassion when it comes to the suffering in Ukraine--or for that matter any suffering we encounter--without being devoured by the intensity of the suffering? How do we live with spiritual, Christ-infused mindfulness in the face of so much needless suffering?
For guidance I turn to Tara Brach* She is an experienced practitioner and teacher of meditation and spiritual awakening. What I sense in Paul’s upward call of God in Christ I hear Brach describe as Engaged Spirituality—intentional and purposeful engagement with suffering without getting pulled under.
Brach teaches that first we have to be aware of the three basic ways people commonly react to collective suffering which blocks meaningful spiritual engagement:
anger/blame (bad othering): Detaching by blaming bad actors. If we get stuck in “you’re bad” we don’t get down to what is really going on under all that anger/blame which is that WE CARE
Dissociation. Disconnecting from the wider, hurting world. Staying in our own bubble. Refusing interest or care. It’s newest form is called “slack-tivism” - minimal output through comment on the internet / social media. Ignoring it or pretending it isn’t as bad as it seems. Disassociation generally comes from fear, fear of the raw impact of suffering and how easily it can overwhelm. But it’s not so easy to turn away from the horrors of the world. It’s not supposed to be.
The third reaction which blocks our spiritual integration is over-association or emotional overwhelm. Getting so wrapped up in it that it takes over everything else. Being unable or unwilling to fully concentrate on your own life.
Brach fleshes out a delicate balance in which we allow ourselves to actually see the suffering and accept it while remaining grounded in our own reality. True acceptance, she says, is radical because it undoes our resistance to reality. It allows us to face the present moment with a wise and caring heart.
It’s about allowing acceptance to touch and provoke the spiritual qualities which have ALWAYS moved us forward as a people:
--compassion,
--kindness,
--mindfulness,
--and reverence - for life; for all human beings -- all living beings.
… the same qualities with which Jesus moves toward suffering.
And so the upward call of God in Christ is about cultivating these qualities Jesus embodies and delivers through his life, his suffering, his death and his resurrection.
Jesus revealed the kin-dom of God. Jesus embodied it. And he also showed that it increases and grow. And so this upward call of God in Christ is about believing that the kin-dom Jesus revealed can and will continue to emerge from all of the human regression and suffering.
The upward power of this upward call is that God uses us to actually, consciously help shape the evolution of humanity. … it’s about trusting in what’s possible … it’s about belonging to a larger movement of goodness that carries us forward through all the suffering moments.
Clearly this spiritual engagement is not something that comes easily or quickly to any of us. We can’t just snap our fingers or flip a switch and do it. It takes time. And patience. And as Tara Brach teaches, it doesn’t happen without carving out quiet time, or time apart, for prayer and meditation. I thought it would be interesting to offer an experience in guided meditation … guided reflection. as a kind of “spiritual experiment”
So let’s take a moment now … take some deep breaths. Invite stillness in.
Close your eyes or lower your gaze … whatever allows you to actually feel yourself right here.
As you begin to resume normal breathing, feel your bottom and your legs touch the chair or the pew or place where you sit. Let yourself be anchored, grounded.
Now allow yourself to bring to mind a sense of our world as it is right now:
both the suffering … (pause) and all the people who truly care deeply right now.
Think of how the people of Poland responded to the first influx of refugees from Ukraine. Poland did not have to set up any main refugee center in advance b/c millions of people simply opened their homes ...
… ponder that scale of human care.
Let yourself consider the multitudes of people who, like you and I,
truly want a more peaceful, more collaborative world.
… consider that there are multitudes of people working to awaken in themselves more mindfulness, more kindness …
… multitudes of people all over the world, dedicated to a path of love in action,
… trying to make a difference,
… helping the most vulnerable,
And consider the multitudes of people who are in the midst of their own great suffering and difficulty who are also vulnerable themselves in the midst of war or pandemic or natural disaster who are helping others through the violence and disruption of war …
… through oppression,
… through pandemic,
… through famine, flood and fire.
Recognize and feel the GOODNESS that’s out there right now.
And in here. All of us here right now. … hearts that care.
Consider the goodness in the hearts of the people in your apartment building ...
… in the hearts of the people in your neighborhood … .
… in the hearts of the people where you work ...
So much active caring. This profound human collective of active caring is our hope.
It’s the ground of what’s possible for humanity.
Spend time reflecting, reminding yourself what you long for for our world.
… and feel the millions of people around the world, who all long for that same thing.
And now let yourself see Jesus … or sense his presence … Jesus receives all of this, brings all our caring and all our actions into his broken body, and then, like in the gospel story where he feeds the multitudes with bread and fish, Jesus shares our broken, imperfect efforts … and he multiplies what we share … to feed, to care for the multitudes…
Recognize Jesus here, now in this very moment:
feeding, sustaining, upholding life,
your life, my life, the life of the world,
unleashing the goodness of the human heart/spirit.
… our hearts--grafted onto Jesus' own heart through our baptism--guided by His heart.
I invite you to open your eyes, come back from the guided time of reflection.
And listen again to Paul:
“ … everything else is worthless when compared with the priceless gain of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. … the mighty power that brought him back to life again, and … what it means to suffer and to die with him.”
And these words from Martin Luther King Jr
“I believe that unarmed goodness and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. … good temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant.”
* to learn more about Tara Brach or meditation: https://www.tarabrach.com/
all credit to Tara Brach for the guided meditation shared in this worship service.
