Sermon: Breathing in Communion with God

          Fr. Alexander Schmemann wrote with regard to man in modern-day context:  "He still loves, he is still hungry. He knows he is dependent on that which is beyond him. But his love and his dependence refer only to the world in itself. He does not know that breathing can be communion with God. He does not realize that to eat can be to receive life from God in more than its physical sense. He forgets that the world, its air or its food cannot by themselves bring life, but only as they are received and accepted for God’s sake, in God and as bearers of the divine gift of life. By themselves they can produce only the appearance of life."

          We've been talking for several weeks now about the bread that we choose to eat, the food that nourishes not only our bodies, but our souls.  This week, though, we have changed the focus from what we eat or consume, to how that manifests in our lives.  Going back to our New Testament reading from James, "In fulfillment of his own purpose he gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would become a kind of first fruits of his creatures."

          So, first fruits – we remember where we first heard that phrase – in Genesis, where Cain brings the first fruits of his harvest.  Leviticus 23 gives instructions on what qualifies as a first fruits' offering.  Deuteronomy 26 is an entire chapter about how you provide the first fruits.  But here, James is saying that we, ourselves, in being reborn through baptism as Christians, are actually the first fruits.  Our actions, our choices, our communion with God by the very breath we breathe, must reflect the very best we have to offer. 

          Why?  Well, once again, it goes back to baptism.  In being baptized in Christ, we not only receive the grace that Christ offers us to have eternal life, but we accept the commission to let others know that that gift, that acceptance into the family of God, is available to everyone.  Christ's death and acceptance of the world's sins was for every single person who has ever or will ever exist.  His resurrection is a promise that we will live with God, eternally.

          So then, how do we fulfill that commission?  How do we let people know about Christ?  How do we invite them to discover the greatest gift mankind has ever known for themselves?

          If we're bold, outgoing, perfectly comfortable with ourselves, we probably just tell people.  We talk about Christ, talk about church, stand in the middle of wherever we are when someone asks us to pray for them, and do it.  And while I have the greatest of admiration for people who are capable of such things – even while standing up here in a collar – that is not one of my skills.

          So let's switch topics, and discuss the meaning of "free speech" as it pertains to our First Amendment in the United States.  I'm going to borrow a portion of the speech from "The American President":  "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free"."

          Now, you know me – I'm not one who is ever going to advocate flag burning.  But, this is a dramatic example that actions qualify as free speech.  And there, you have the point that I'm trying to make.  Our actions qualify as a way to "tell" people about Christ, and the Christian life.  What we choose to do reflects what we've eaten.  How we behave tells people more about what we believe, oftentimes, than what we say. 

          So think about these questions:  Do we walk our talk?  Would someone we don't know well be able to identify us as a Christian?  Are we more of a do what I say, not what I do, type of person?  Do we live a life of integrity?

          Christ said in Mark's Gospel today, "There is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile."  The things that come out – our actions, toward ourselves and others – matter.  Are we a Samaritan … or a stranger?

          The last thing I want to mention is one portion of our Old Testament reading.  "But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children—"  Our churches are shrinking, and oftentimes, our children have no idea that God is there, that they are not alone – because we haven't told them.  We've let what they eat and consume become less and less about honoring God and more and more about appearing to live.  We have to live up to our own Baptismal covenant, and with God's help, proclaim by word and example the good news of God in Christ; seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves; and strive for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being.

          This week, I want us to focus on the concept that "breathing can be communion with God."  If we even think about that three times a day – as often as we eat - how much more can we be aware of our every action, and how it reflects what we choose to consume?