The Rev. Conor M Alexander
Christ and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church
Matthew 5:13-16
October 15, 2009
I’m always amazed at how much history repeats itself. I feel like the times we are living in today are wrought with a lot of the same problems that existed during the last reformation in the 15th and 16th centuries. When I see Churches filing lawsuits against one another, I wonder if we value our power and authority more than we value charity and love. When I attempt to pray the Daily Office, I realize how far we’ve strayed from Archbishop Cranmer’s original vision of simply reading through the Bible once per year. And when I hear senior clerics preaching that it doesn’t matter what you believe, so long as you’re working for justice, I really have to wonder what happened to the faith that has made such a difference in my life.
St. Teresa faced a lot of these same issues in her time. When she first entered the convent at age 20, she realized how lax the monastic life had become. Where monks and nuns were meant to live lives of great discipline, being witnesses to the world, they had degenerated into worldly comforts, and were indistinguishable to the rest of the world. Teresa received permission and founded the reformed Carmelite Order, one that restored the disciples and refocused on the classic monastic virtues of poverty, chastity, and obedience. What a gift to the church and the world. Every time I meet a nun or a monk I’m struck at the peaceful way in which they live – and at the same time they betray no suffering because of them. Through their poverty they show us that material possessions are not what make us whole – and they don’t suffer. Through their chastity they show us that physical pleasures are not the be all and end all of existence – and they don’t suffer. Through their obedience, they show us that we don’t have to be masters of our lives, but true peace comes from submission to God – and still they don’t suffer. Oh how I wish we could live our lives a tenth of the way they do.
Jesus said that we are the salt of the earth. Whenever I salt my food I’m struck with how different it tastes. The natural flavors come out more and I tend to enjoy it more. In the same way monastics and saints like Teresa and Antony before her brought out the natural flavors of life. Their lives were full of joy and peace and compassion because they were willing to abandon the things of this world, and rely totally on God. In the same vein, all Christians rise to a life full of peace and joy and compassion by forsaking the fleeting things of this world and embracing values of faith, hope, and charity. This is how we are the salt of the world. But there is a warning here as well. If we lose our saltiness we are no longer good for anything – we are thrown out and trampled underfoot. We do a grave injustice to God when the world looks at us, and instead of seeing love, sees hatred and meanness and power grabbing. So friends, forsake these things and cling to what is good. Let St Teresa be your physician and learn from her example. Take up spiritual disciplines and live lives worthy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. While the monastics give their witness through poverty, chastity and obedience, give yours through faith, hope, and charity. Amen.
Comments