Sermon: What is real?

What is real?

For most of us, this probably includes the material world, the world we can see, hear and touch. It might also include a 'spiritual' dimension that lurks somewhere behind the scenes. We may even get a glimpse of this dimension during those 'depth moments'--the birth of a child, falling in love, or perhaps during a peaceful sunset when everything suddenly makes sense.

The point is that the spiritual dimension appears mostly beyond our grasp; mysterious, somewhere out there--perhaps to be unveiled in the next world, or to the mystic.

But what if I were to tell you that for Christians, the cat's already out of the bag?

The whole point of the Incarnation is to give us direct contact with God, and a glimpse of the Kingdom of Heaven, so we would have some bearing and understanding into this mysterious realm. We call this 'revelation' because it 'reveals' the mystery that has occupied philosophers and sages since the beginning of time.

And what does Jesus tell us? First and foremost that we have to resist seeing the 'spiritual' dimension of reality as an 'extra' layer, maybe even as an option. He tells us that the God of love is our creator and sustainer, and is at the center of reality. And when we understand that and live it out, we too become 'real'. This means that we are more real when we give food to a homeless person than when we buy ourselves that new smartphone.

What takes place at the wedding banquet in Jesus’ parable is emblematic of this.

Jesus ministered in a world without health insurance, without social security, even without a trustworthy judicial system. Life was precarious which meant doing everything one could to get an edge, to get a little security for oneself and for ones family. One of the ways people did this--and still do to some extent--is to curry favour with the elites. And this happened at the table. Meals, feasts, and banquets were the place where honour was bestowed upon others, so that one might be repayed down the road. It may result in a business deal, a favourable legal decision, or even a marriage. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Sound familiar?

But Jesus turns this around. His advice is to abstain from the 'business as usual' approach. He says not to invite the wealthy who can repay us, but instead to invite the crippled, the poor and the blind. And because of their inability to repay us, we will be blessed at the resurrection of the righteous.

“All who exalt themselves will be humbled,” our Lord concludes, “and those who humble themselves will be exalted."

This is not the practical advice from the everyday world we know so well. And if we are to believe Jesus, the ordinary rules of human greed and pride suddenly no longer apply. In the upside-down, topsy-turvy world of the Kingdom of God, everything is turned around. The humble are the exalted ones. The poor are the rich. The crippled and lame are the well. And the blind are the ones who see.

The world turns out to be not as solid as we thought. But what remains is the foundation the world rests upon, and that is our Loving Creator. And we also discover that love and charity are real because love and charity are one with God, who is the heart of reality. Anytime we love we act in accord with reality, and the resurrection is where this is authenticated.

There is a Jewish saying that illustrates this. Everytime we do a good deed, it is said, we get a single stitch in an invisible garment. So when our lives are over, all that remains is this garment of our deeds; be it resplendent or a tattered rag.

So when we slow down and reflect we might ask ourselves, What shape is our garment in?

Some people may feel uncomfortable talking about the Resurrection, but as the great theologian Von Balthazar cautions us, to take away the Resurrection is to take away the Cross. And without this, there’s not much left to Christianity.

But if we let Jesus be our guide he will show us that by committing our lives to a God of Love—right here, today—we are partaking in the very life of God, which is eternal. If our heart is set on that which is eternal in this life, there will be a continuity with the next life, to be discovered in its fullness at the Resurrection. And death shall have no dominion.

Jesus came into the world not to condemn it, but to show us the way to reality, the way to become truly alive. Our job is to respond to this truth by our faith, and to become the people we are called to be.