St. Paul's On-the-Hill Episcopal Church

The Rev. Stephen C. Holton, Rector

24 Pentecost; October 26, 2008

Matthew 22:34-46

GOD, LOVE & THE HOKEY POKEY

It is election season, and so everyone is wondering how God would vote. Daily I get stuff from right and left wing telling me how God would vote and how I should vote and how I should tell you to vote.

Somebody is making a lot of money selling church mailing addresses to political leaders.

So – how would God vote?

Jesus faced the same question, and the same trap. Last week in Matthew 22:15 he was asked if it was lawful to pay taxes to the emperor or not. His questioners were trying to get him to declare his allegiance to the pro-government party that would pay the taxes or the anti-government party that would not. He would have none of it. As usual he challenged their faith, rather than falling neatly into their trap or affirming their own political categories. He wasn’t interested in political categories. He was interested in faith categories, love categories. Do we have more faith and love, or less faith and love, was his question. Do we show it or don’t we show it?

And his answer was – he can help us with both, our faith in God and our love for people. He’s here to help us with both – no matter who rules; because – if someone else is ruling the country – you can’t subcontract to them the need to love; you can’t subcontract to them the need to help your neighbor, care for them, love your enemy. We’ve still got to do it.

God doesn’t subcontract this duty to them either. He – the Risen Lord, the Ever-Present God, is still here doing it too, with us, helping us.

Jesus asks the Pharisees: “’What do you think of the Messiah? Whose son is he?’ They said to him, ‘The son of David.’”

In saying this they were saying that the Messiah was a long expected general, heir to the great king, who would lead his people to victory and freedom from the hated Romans or any occupying power. The Messiah would be a great political leader – such as so many of us crave. This was the standard belief: someone who would bring right to the world by power and might.

Jesus then says, “How is it then that David by the Spirit calls him Lord, saying, ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet?”

So Jesus says the Messiah is God, not human, not political, but divine. He does not fit in some human category.

And if you look at what Jesus says earlier about God, and about our behavior in following God, he says that God is all about love – not victory, not politics, not might makes right, even in a good way.

So in this election season, vote in a way that will most effectively love your neighbor, help your neighbor, care for your neighbor. And then, when election day passes, keep on loving, helping, caring for your neighbor. Don’t assume that your civic duty is done once election day is past and the new national leadership can take over.

God is still in the world. We are still each in the world. We still have obligations – so do the new group at the top but so do we at the bottom – to love, care, help our neighbors.

We still have neighbors! We still are neighbors. We are not isolated, uncaring, individuals. Jesus says we are primarily neighbors; and we are called to love our neighbors, not be isolated in ourselves.

How do we love our neighbors? With everything we have – our heart, soul and mind – the same as we love God, I think.

Jesus starts with our love of God. And his teaching is to throw our whole self into it – with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind; every bit of each one; not just with our heart, or not just with our soul, or not just with our mind.

And not just with part of our heart, part of our soul, part of our mind – but with all of each one. Hold nothing back. Don’t keep part of your mind for yourself. Don’t assume that God wants to be loved with only the artistic part of your mind. He wants to be loved with the mathematical and intellectual part of your mind too.

Don’t assume that God only wants to be loved with the happy part of your soul. He wants to be loved with the sad part too; not just with the certain and faithful part but the doubtful part too.

And not just a bit of your heart, the mellow part and not the passionate part; or holding back some in case this God stuff doesn’t work out. Throw it all in there; so you worship and live for God with every ounce of your being: heart, soul and mind; throwing it all in.

Is everyone here familiar with the hokey-pokey? Has anyone here seen the bumper sticker: “What if the hokey-pokey is what it’s all about?” I think it is, in terms of faith.

You don’t just put your heart in, you don’t just put your soul in, you don’t just put your mind in; you put your whole self in and you shake it all about. You do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about. They call it the hokey-pokey. We call it the Peace of God.

Do any kids want to try it? Stand up. You put your left foot in, you take your left foot out – only we’ll say you put your heart in, you put your heart out, you put your heart in and you shake it all about.

You put your mind in, you put your mind out, you put your mind in and you shake it all about.

And your soul in.

Then you put your whole self in, you put your whole self out, you put your whole self in – heart, soul and mind – and you shake it all about. You do the hokey-pokey and you turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.

And the question is – are you, are we, putting our whole selves in to the love of God, and having all that faith; or are we holding back a piece, that never gets fulfilled and never rejoices and never gets fully used because its being held back?

And are you putting your heart, mind and soul in; or someone else’s? Are you thinking about God in the way you would think about God, or adopting someone else’s thoughts because you think they’re better, those thoughts are better; or because you’ve been told they are and you haven’t been able to resist their influence?

Is it your soul or someone else’s – because you don’t think your soul is good enough, you think God is more interested in someone else’s soul, some better soul, purer, more beautiful?

Maybe that’s why your whole heart isn’t into it, into this love for God, because you don’t think God is interested in your heart but in someone else’s, someone braver, better, stronger, more devout, more faithful.

Wrong again.

Put your whole self in and turn yourself around. That’s what it’s all about.

And of course you love yourself with all your gifts, talents and abilities, yours, not someone else’s.

The same goes for our neighbor. Are we loving our neighbor with ourself, as well as as ourself? Are we loving them with our mind and what we think would help them or only with what someone else thinks would help them?

Are we loving them with our heart or with someone else’s idea of love because we don’t think ours is good enough? Are we loving them with our whole heart – and mind and soul – or just a part of it, holding some back for ourselves?

Well, our whole heart and mind and soul will make a difference in their lives, a difference only we can make. God sent each of us, is with each of us in that neighbor’s life, bringing our love to ease their cares in a way no one else could – or he would have sent someone else.

How do we love each other? With our unique talents that are different from each other. Let’s use an example: Mary and Martha from our icon. How should Mary and Martha love each other, as different as they are?

No one listened to Martha. She was so busy no one listened. No one cared. They just wanted her to fix another sandwich, make more dinner. She was just a drone.

Mary could listen. She could sit and listen to all the cares that bore down on Martha’s heart as she worked and worked. ‘Martha,’ she could say, ‘let’s sit and talk.’

Martha could make something for Mary – who no one made anything for because they thought she was a useless, lazy bum, a romantic who never did anything for anyone but just sat there and thought or read or went for long walks. Why should anyone help her since she helped no one?

Martha could make lunch. And Mary could sit and listen, and together they could have a conversation in the Lord, loving their sister or their neighbor as themselves, having first loved God with their whole heart and soul and mind, and thus been transformed by that experience of love so they could turn their now-transformed love to each other and, in that redeemed, transformed relationship, have a conversation in the Lord and enjoy a little bit of heaven on earth, transformed by the love of God and the love of each other.