The hands of God's people are so varied and beautiful in their own unique ways. I am always struck by the hands that reach for the bread and juice on communion Sundays. Some small, others huge, some rough, while others smooth. Some young, while others are old, varied, and different and beautiful in their own way.
Some give evidence of digging in the spring soil, while others are carefully manicured. Some give evidence of painting their kitchen, while others are scrubbed clean and shining. Varied and different, and beautiful in their own way.
The memory of the hands of loved ones stay with you forever.
As I pondered over the scripture of this morning, I remembered the hands of Jesus captured in stained glass in our Sanctuary. Teaching or making a point for Mary, who is sitting at his feet, comforting and healing, blessing the children, extended in blessing in the resurrection window. In another four weeks the Resurrection window will be protected for the new construction and for a short while our view and will disappear as our worship center focus. Jesus is going away. Which means you better enjoy him while He's here, which is a part of the gospel message.
One of the stories Jesus told is of the groomsman and maids waiting for the bridegroom, and that one of the foolish ones who gave out of oil for the lamp went in search for additional oil and was not present when he arrived. And when he came, the door was then shut and not to be re-opened. Enjoy Jesus while you have him. He said in the scripture: "The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me." So enjoy and claim fellowship and relationship with Jesus, while you have a chance.
The hands of Jesus, captured in stained glass continues to bless us. One of the powerful rituals of the church, which you will see and experience next Sunday in the Palm Sunday Service of Confirmation, is the laying on of hands. It is an ancient ritual, which has been in practice since the time of Jesus, where the ministers ordained by the hands of their elders lay hands on the head of the young confirmands, thus transferring the privilege and power of Christian discipleship. My hands are seven hands away from John Wesley the founder of our denomination and then through his lineage can be traced through 52 hands away from the hands of Jesus himself.
And there are the hands of statesmen and soldiers, church and political leaders who over the years have passed to the next generation the mantle of authority in these United States: there names are Washington and Warren, Lincoln and Lee, and Mac Arthur, Kennedy and King, and Wesley and McMillan, and thousands of individuals whose names are unknown to us, but who died at their post of duty or preached from the pulpits, or worked in hospitals or homes, using their hands to make for a better World and to make life better for the next generation.
I recall the hands of the saints of our church:
The hands of your parents lock in your memory. The rough calloused hands of my father and the busy hands of my mother, which use to crochet and knit. Years ago she would make these tiny bootees and I would give them to the children born in our church family. She made this Lenten stole, which I wear. But in l988, a crippling stroke froze in place her left hand, and the hand which once played a piano and made sweaters and baby clothes, was still. But sometimes when I force her hand open to rub it and loosen the frozen tendons, I look at the fingers and thank God for her hands.
Your hands are hands, which can bless or hurt. Are your hands clenched in anger? Or they extended in blessing? Do your hands hit or do they help? Do your hands hinder or do they heal?
Your hands may do great things, like design cathedral-like buildings, or they may hold a child. Your hands may write large checks to make important things happen for churches or universities, or they may quietly hold a child or brush the hair of an elder. Your hands may pen interesting novels or poems or they may write encouraging letters.
In a wonderful statement in Brother Lawrence's book entitled: Practicing the Presence of God, the writer says: "It is not the greatness of the work we do but the love with which it is performed."
The hands of God are so varied, but all have the potential because we are made in the image of God to be beautiful and useful in God's work. Consider as you come for communion your hands. Now don't be self conscious,
Consider as you come for communion your hands.
Consider what they have done and come for forgiveness.
Consider what they are doing, and ask for guidance.
Consider what they have the potential of doing and in fact will do and give God thanks.
The Sunday Jesus and his disciples, entered Jerusalem, was the beginning of the end. It was the first day of his final week. It would be the beginning of a new way of life for many and perhaps today even for you.
Palm Sunday is a day unlike any other day as it is the time for Christian people to recall the events in the last week in Jesus' earthly life. He would on the first day of that eventful week, enter the city of Jerusalem, not unlike the Kings of Israel had before him, Riding on the back of a young colt. His mother had carried him on a young colt that night he was born which begin his life. This day, at the age of 33 would mark the beginning of the end of his life. But strange, it looked and felt more like a new beginning than it did an ending. By day he was in the temple, teaching on the steps but each evening of that final, fateful week, Jesus would retreat to the home of Mary and Martha and Lazarus, in Bethany, until Thursday when he would have what would be his Last Supper, and then would be arrested in the Garden of Gestheme which would have been on the pathway back to Bethany. He would be tried by Kangaroo Court in the nighttime, and by dawn nailed to a cross and by noon, hung dying.
Jesus chose the first day of the last week as a dramatic means to confront the Jewish authorities and to offer the common people a new way of life. In the crowd on that first day of the week, were individuals who would make choices that would shape their lives forever. I'm convinced more than ever before that our lives are determined by the choices, which we make. Each day we make decisions and choices and before we know it, a life is formed, an auto-biography is written, a unique and unrepeatable story is told.
Choice, it is a precious, powerful gift of the creator to each of us. Do you accept the freedom and power God is giving to you to resist evil.
We chose to be loving and caring or hateful and angry.
We chose to be responsible or negligence.
We chose to be a contributor to a community or a parasite on society.
We chose to be generous or selfish, victor or victim.
We chose to be positive or negative.
Choices, one after another, and life story is written. You are writing your story each day.
The choice as to what we will do about Jesus and all that he represents, which is the choice presented to us on Palm Sunday, is a life choice, which has earthly and eternal implications. To those of you to be confirmed, I have presented to you the opportunity to commit your life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, but today that offer is made to all.
On the first Palm Sunday, there were in the crowds, those who chose to follow Jesus, to put their whole trust in his grace, and others who said no.
Let us consider first of all, the unfortunate ones, who decided against Jesus:>>> No, I think not, not today, for their lives were a waste and their shortsighted decisions meant they missed an opportunity of a life time and slipped into nothingness, and there is no reason we should elevate their tragic lives.
Today as Jesus walks by, you will make a choice, for everyday you make these choices, sometimes they are unconscious, but nevertheless, they are made and your life is shaped.
1. For most who are present today at least in this place, the choice to be a disciple of Jesus is as natural as breathing. You have grown up in the family of Christ. Seven of our confirmands ere baptized here at this altar. I held them as tiny babies, and their parents or their grandparents, have as best as they could have sought to keep them in the life of the church, and that has not always been easy, with unchurched friends and Sunday sports programs and all the alternatives, but their decision to follow Jesus now is so very natural, and easy. Confirmation for these is but a natural rite of passage. E. Stanley Jones has written: "The Christian way is not an alien way, it is the natural way to live. And when I find him, I find myself and when I live in him, by him, I live. If I live some other way, I tend to go to pieces."
2. There are some who have experienced the harsher lessons of life. They Have seldom heard their parents singing a hymn in worship, or with head bowed in prayer. They hear words that would embarrass a sailor coming out of the mouths of their parents and see behavior on television and in their homes which no one should ever have to endure. When a person is an alcoholic or drug user, they are making decisions that affect everyone, and has the potential and in all likely hood, will destroy the most vulnerable, the children. We have witnessed violent tragedies in the schools of our land, this past year. School Children choosing the way of violence. Guns and knives and hate is not the way of Christ, and those who chose such ways, will experience hardship and tragedy. Chose anyway other than the way of Jesus, and you will travel a dead-end street. Such individuals become graduates of the school of hard knocks, and they come to Jesus for relief, out of despair they cry out in hope. Jesus says, "Come to me you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
3. And thirdly, there are those who sincerely want to claim the best of human life. Their minds are inquisitive, their hopes are high, their dreams are pure and their desires are sincere. They chose Christ, because he is the best and his way condemns our shallowness and our sin calls us to never compromise that which is right, good, and God like. Jesus says, "I am the way, truth, and the life."
Summary: Whatever the reason for your choice today concerning Jesus, know that your choice to follow him is the correct one and one that will have eternal implications.
Jesus once said: "I have given you a power greater than that of the enemy." To his disciplines he will empower.
Robert Frost writes:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood.
And sorry I could not travel both, and be one traveler,
Long I stood and looked down one as far as I could,
To where it bent in the undergrowth, then I took the other.I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence
Two roads diverged in the wood,
And I, I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Chose the "Road Less traveled" one which Jesus once called "The narrow way". I am confident that your choice to say yes to Christ will make the difference for you between success and failure, fulfillment and frustration,
Joy and sadness
Meaning and confusion
Order and chaos
Life and death.
Over the years, as Jane and I traveled to various places throughout the world, I would pick up a rock to remember the unique places we had visited. These rocks speak with a quiet voice, but very clearly of the joys and unique experiences of the past. One is marked "Tomb" and it recalls a visit to a rock garden just outside of Jerusalem regarded as the traditional site of Jesus' grave, which entombed his body from Friday to Sunday.
I will tell you of a miracle: On Easter Sunday the tomb rock speaks saying: "He is risen! He is risen! Praise God almighty, He is risen!"
Often as I admired the stones of our church building, which have stood in this place since 1908, I have thought to myself of all the varied events that they have observed over this past century. For the better part of an entire century of time these stones have stood together in this place. They have observed persons coming to offer their prayers through two world wars and they have watched silently as the remains of our people have been returned to this place from accidents, disease, from battles on foreign soil, and here they have stood watch as the last chapter of our people's lives have been written. These are silent sentries guarding God's secret mysteries. Here they have watched as our children have come for their baptisms and for their marriages. They have in strength stood against the unleashed winds of the Gulf and the uncertainties of challenging times. If they could speak, the tales they would tell.
Once when Jesus and his disciples entered the city of Jerusalem, the Pharisees told him to keep his disciples quiet less he lose his life. Jesus said to them, "If they are silent, the very rocks would cry out." Listen today and to those who have ears to hear, these old stones will speak:
1. These old stones speak of the unquenchable joy of the Resurrection: He is Risen! He is Risen indeed.
The message of the Resurrection is proclaimed today by song and proclaimed by word. Jesus is alive and because he lives, I can live. I can face tomorrow.
Our Church is testimony of the new life God is ever bringing into the world of every century. In the last three years, the old stones were cleaned of the accumulation of dirt and grime of 90 years. The brightness of these old stones and the dazzling restoration of the stained glass speak of our devotion to God as a priority in our lives. This month launches plans for the renewal of our worship center and a new thrust of ministry to the youth of our community and the families of our city. We are celebrating the beginning of the 3rd century of Christian Service, by a successful beginning of our Building on the Dream Campaign, which will open wider the doors of the church to persons who are not yet born, to the good news of Jesus Christ. These old stones cry out a message of change and new life. No more death on Wright Street. Funeral homes are being transformed into youth centers. This happens because we live in the light of the Resurrection. Because of the Resurrection, no longer is it business as usual. God is a priority in our lives and the sharing of the good news in new and creative ways is an opportunity open before us in this new millennium. Until our lives are as Christ, our task is not done.
2. These old stones speak of the unquenchable joy of the Resurrection and they speak of the enduring strength and power of God.
When the disciples first came back to Jesus so excited about the response of the people and the power to heal which had been given to them, Jesus said: "Rejoice that you have been given a power greater than that of the enemy."
One of the most troubled spots on the earth has been in South Africa.
On one occasion, when asked if he remained hopeful as he looked at the uncertain future of South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu responded by saying: "I am always hopeful. What could have looked more hopeless than Good Friday? But then, at Easter, God said: "From this moment on, no situation is untransfigurable. There is no situation, concludes Bishop Tutu, from which God cannot extract good." The sun shines, the birds sing, and all of nature springs to life in response to the enduring strength and power of God.
3. The stones speak of an irrepressible sense of victory.
Paul wrote in I Cor. 15: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be unto God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I have a niece who has won a recent election to the Tennessee House of Representatives. Quiet, young she is in her mid 20's and to win was quite a surprise. She recalled something that happened to Representative Dan Kuykendal of the state of Tennessee, when he first won a seat in the Tennessee House. This fellow came up to him and slapped him on the back and said sincerely: "Senator, if I'd known you was going to win, I'd voted for you."
I am sure on the first Easter, there were many in Jerusalem, who must have thought to themselves concerning Jesus, "If I'd known you was going to win, I'd voted for you." I wonder if there are some still out there who are not yet sure, those whose doubts override their ability to believe, and those whose experiences have dulled their ability to see beyond their own pain.
Let the testimony of the Church now for 2000 years speak to your heart today, He is risen! He is risen indeed! These old rocks cry out! Proclaiming a message of God's enduring strength, and irrepressible sense of victory, and an unquenchable joy.
Summary: By these old stones, and through these doors pass many a young couple to be married. 13 Couples have entered these doors during this past year to declare their vows of Holy Matrimony. Let's see the hands of those who have been married here in the Sanctuary over the years. Now lets see the hands of those who would like to be married here in the sanctuary. No, only kidding. Well, somewhat kidding.
In the service of Holy Matrimony the couple is asked to select a scripture to be read on their wedding day. And more times than not, the selection is I Cor. 13-"Love is not irritable or resentful. Love does not insist on its own way. Love rejoices in the right. Love hopes all things, believes all things, and endures all things. Love never ends"
Today, the stones cry out in the early light that though hate crucified Jesus, it did not end his life, hate will never triumph over love, despair will never stifle hope, darkness will never prevail over light, death is overcome by the Resurrection. Listen and this morning you will hear for if I speak not, the very stones will cry out of the victory of love.
In the service of the Resurrection which has been celebrated more times than we care to remember, 29 times in this place this past year. There is often a scripture, which is read from the last two chapters of the Bible: "Behold, the dwelling of God is with humankind. He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself will be with them, he will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning nor crying nor pain any more, for the former things have passed away. Behold I make all things new." "And night shall be no more; they shall need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they shall reign for ever and ever."
Listen and you will hear for if I speak not the very stones of the church will cry out saying: "No more! No more darkness. No more loneliness. No more victory for the grave. No more tears. No more sadness. No more crying. No more pain. No more! Any More!!!
In the wake of the Easter emotions, it seems for a while that nothing can hold you down or the causes of Christ back, but then comes the Monday after Easter. The weekend always ends, spring break comes to a screeching halt, the vacation is done and its back to the grindstone, the honeymoon is history and carefully tucked away in a picture album, and then life gets regular. Well, you have been there, you are there, at least you can appreciate the feelings.
Immediately after the resurrection, which only a few selected women experienced, the disciple's life now a shambles became very confused and bordered on depression. Some of the disciples got back together in the Upper Room to discuss things together, but they carefully locked the doors. Behind locked doors.
Thomas didn't meet with them, as he seemed to just be overwhelmed. He really had his doubts about the so-called "news" of the resurrection. Peter had gone back to his old job tending the fishing nets on the Galilean Sea. And that's when it happened. God usually appears when we least expect him.
The story is found in John 20: At first pass, the story seems to indicate that Jesus comes through the locked doors of the Upper Room and through the locked heart of Thomas, which led me early in this week, still basking in the Easter atmosphere, to affirm in the anticipated sermon title for today that "Nothing can Keep Christ out of our lives". They don't make locks strong enough, no doors thick enough, and no doubts big enough. He will break in.
But then life starts coming at you in its subtle and sometimes brutal ways, and I have had to altar my somewhat enthusiastic, and naive affirmation the closer I have come to this pulpit moment. What I thought was the message for you on Monday, just didn't make it through the week. The situation is somewhat like the day recently when in Washington Amtrak's heavily promoted high-speed train called the Acela Express that is designed to speed commuters from Washington to Boston, developed a mechanical problem on its second day out, which sidelined the train. But that was only the beginning. The backup train also had mechanical problems and it would not run, but matters got worst when after everyone had loaded up on a regular or conventional train, it also broke down just north of New York.
Everybody has troubles. And sometimes what you thought was going to be the case, just won't fit. So the sermon title: "Nothing can Keep Him Out", all of a sudden had to be adjusted.
My early Easter enthusiasm was simply tempered by the awareness that it is not that God does not have the power to do what he wants to do, or that he cannot accomplish whatever he desires, but rather that he chooses to empower human beings with freedom and the ability to allow him to come into their lives.
1. You can keep God out of your life. You have the power to lock him out and many do a pretty good job of it, at least for a while.
Thomas almost missed him with his doubts. Doubts have a way of paralyzing a person and an institution. If you doubt that you can do a particular job, you are not likely to do it very well, and may not be able to do it at all. If you doubt if you will ever understand Algebra II, then you probably will never get it. If you doubt if your marriage will ever be successful, then your doubts will shape reality, and you might as well start looking around. If you doubt that you are very valuable, then you will probably act as if you aren't worth anything. Your beliefs will shape reality and your doubts will determine what is to be. At least Thomas had enough hunger to go and seek Jesus. For the second time Jesus came through locked doors we are told in this story. Thomas would be there and Jesus would say, "Blessed are you for you have seen, Blessed even more are those who have not seen, yet believe."
One of the two thieves dying beside Jesus on the cross did miss him. Herod, because of job security missed his chance. The Roman soldiers slept through the Resurrection.
Peter left the disciples and went back angry to his fishing nets on the Sea of Galilee, and almost missed him.
We can lock him out with our doubts and restrict his power in our lives. We can live as though everything depends on us and we will limit what he can do through us. We can lock him out when we live a stingy, selfish life, which is why God gave us the tithe as a guide for abundant living. We can lock him out with our selfish angers and desire for revenge, and that's why he gave us the second commandment, which is the love of others, because God values every human being and does not take it lightly when we hurt someone else.
There were times in Israel's history when they ignored God who had become their Deliverer and they did not attend to their responsibility for the poor, and God could not find a place for himself in their lives. It was as though they locked him out as their lifestyle locked him out.
In the cathedral Church of Riverside Church in N.Y. there is in the vestibule the picture of Jesus entitled: "The Light of the World" a similar massive version is found in the great St. Paul's Cathedral in London. Jesus is standing holding a lantern knocking on the door. A careful study of the paintings reveal that there is no outside door knob, confirming what I have had to face this week that God will not force himself into our lives for the latch on the door to our heart is on the inside. You have the power to open the door or to leave it locked.
Jesus said and says: "Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him and he with me."
Thomas had to come to the Upper Room in search for the answers to his doubts. Peter would spring into the water to get to Jesus on the shore. The desires of the devastated disciples in the Upper Room and the two walking dejectedly back to Emmaus opened their hearts to the presence of the living Christ.
Are you open today? Do you want to escape from the life of mediocrity, from the chains of your own hang-ups. God will come through a locked door, through your doubts, if you will but say the word and open your heart. If you want to get even, rather than well, then hold on to your selfish grudges and you will die with them, probably more sooner than later.
If you want to get well, then turn lose of the stuff, which is closing Him, out. The other day I visited with a family who has this problem hearing. One of the persons refuses to wear a hearing aid and the TV is always so loud. I rang the doorbell. I knocked on the door. I yelled their names. But they couldn't hear me for all of the noise of the TV. Finally, I went down the street to a convenience store and called them on the phone and said: "I'm coming to see you. Turn down the TV and walk to the front door." I'll bet God has an equal challenge getting our attention. The good news is, He will not give up.
The mysterious Resurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples, behind locked doors to doubting Thomas, hiding behind his skepticism, and to Peter who had given up and gone back to his fish nets, was not about Jesus the Miracle Man, It was about God the caring father, who would not force himself onto people but neither would He allow his people to be lost-whether they be a child who died young, Lazarus who had been buried, or the disciples who were just dumb. God would not forsake them. He would come to them. He was always standing in the shadows keeping watch over his own.
The great cathedrals of the world house the mysterious presence of God.
The cathedral of Milan is the second largest Gothic cathedral in the world. It was built over a span of 500 years from 1386 to 1887. Inside it is quite dark and it invites intimacy. Most everyone whispers quietly while there. It is surrounded by stained glass so precious it was removed and hidden during the World War II bombing raids.
The Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., where our choir sang last year during the July 4th celebration, is guarded by its ancient Gargoyles to keep evil spirits away. They have to stay awake all night in Washington. St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, where the choir will sing this summer, once again has scaffolding throughout the building.
There is Christopher Wren's St. Paul's Cathedral in London, in which he is buried and Michael Angelo's St. Peter's Dome in Rome. All are regarded as some of the most remarkable man made structures on our planet.
There is a special feeling that comes with entering any one of them. It is definite and distinct. There is always a cool, damp scent of ancient marble. The interior is as sparse and simple as the exterior is crowded and ornate. There is solitude about the cathedral's interior space that one can feel even in the midst of a crowd. There are always scaffolds somewhere, as the work of a cathedral is never complete, thus symbolizing the work of the Kingdom of God is never complete.
As awesome and inspiring as the cathedrals of the world are, there is something that is even more mystical and that is the cathedral within. It is what we are about today in the midst of these creative stage props that will enable us to build a cathedral organ and choir area. It is an even more desperate need and deeper desire, which is the need and desire to build the cathedral within our inner being as a place where God dwells.
So today let us tend to the building of a cathedral within the structure of our human bodies. It will take our claiming a way of living, giving and serving to build a cathedral within.
There are three fundamental principles of cathedral building,
which can inform the process of Building the Cathedral Within, that I want to
lift up this morning.
1.
First, cathedral building has to do with priorities.
2.
Secondly, building a cathedral within is a process.
3.
Building a cathedral within is a matter of perspective.
1. Cathedral is a Matter of Priority In the Middle Age communities of Europe, the leadership and the people decided that God was a priority in their lives and the cathedrals that they built towered over the villages. It was a matter of priority.
Many years ago, God became angry at Israel for years after they had moved into the Promised Land, the Ark of the Covenant was still in a temporary, travel tent and God said, "Have you built homes for yourselves out of cedar and yet I live in a tent? Where are your priorities? It is a question today, which will shame many of us.
Years ago, when I was in college, I served as the weekend preacher in Bermuda. It was not quite as exotic as it sounds as it was not an off shore island, but a small farming community just south of Monroeville, Alabama on the Repton Post Office circuit, about five miles from Burnt Corn. I had never been there before the summer of 1962. It was the middle of the Civil Rights Revolution and that year they sent boys where men should have been sent. Nevertheless, I found a map and then found the crossroads. I drove two miles south and discovered a white-board community building and a cemetery and a beautiful new red church on a hillside. I pulled into the church yard, as there were a couple of cars parked there on a Saturday morning, and discovered three ladies cleaning the church, getting it ready for Sunday and the arrival of their new minister. When I told them who I was they were so welcoming and showed me around the church. This didn't take long, as it consisted of only four rooms, one of which was the sanctuary. There were three Sunday School rooms, one for the children, one for the youth and one for the adults, and, their pride and joy - a small indoor restroom. I found it a bit funny that they were so proud of the indoor restroom until later that day when I discovered that their church was the only place in the community, including their homes, to have an indoor restroom. They had done for their church what they had not done for themselves.
Our community at its best is first involved in the minds of those who intentionally find ways to put God first in their lives. What about you? Is God first in your life? Seek first the Kingdom of God and you will have all things.
2. Secondly, Cathedral Building is a Process The East Resurrection story in the scripture focuses our attention on the Apostle Peter, who was definitely a work in progress. Feed my lambs…get involved in something that will take your whole life, far greater than emptying your fishing nets, making a living, retiring on a pension and dying soon thereafter. Isn't your life more valuable than simply making a living?
Building the cathedral within takes a commitment to something that you will probably never see complete in your lifetime. You will need eternity to complete the process because it is bigger than anything you can imagine. There are dimensions of grace we are yet to penetrate.
I invite you to devote your life to the Kingdom's work. Committing yourself to a cause you will never see completed need not diminish your dedication. Christians always have operated like Cathedral builders. They have always had a future vision, which is a long way off. You might never see your life tasks completed, as some of you have far to go, but I don't think you will ever live long enough to see a finished product. Justice for all, world peace, a community free of racism and hate, a city where all people respect all people, believers and visionaries always have large goals.
In the business book, Built to Last, the authors, while studying companies such as Motorola, Disney, 3M and others, talk about the importance of setting "Big Hairy Audacious Goals," and then following up with successive detailed planning.
The cathedrals of the world were not about man's ingenious building ability. The cathedrals were about man's devotion to God, which is far larger than any of us. No wonder this business of cathedral building takes forever.
Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes once said that his whole religion could be summed up in two words: "Our Father." Our God is one whom Jesus said we could call "Father." He is creator, sustainer of self and neighbor and every living thing, and ever-present working for justice and wrapping the whole world in the Unity of His love, One Father, One Brotherhood.
3. The third principle of inner cathedral building I have already hinted at. It Has to Do with Perspective - remember: Priority, Process and Perspective.
This involves seeing yourself as a part of something far larger than you. The Kingdom of God. The United States of America. The World Community. Peace and Justice for All. These realities involve a grand perspective.
The work of God's Kingdom is far larger than any one of us and it will outlast us all. The causes of justice will prevail with our help or in spite of us, but progress will be made more rapidly as we work together. You have to see yourself as a contributing factor, not as the determining factor.
Immanuel Kant wrote long ago, "Two things impress me with unending awe: the starry heavens and the moral law." Our work for justice and truth is but reflective of the powers that will ultimately govern the universe.
When I encourage you to do acts of kindness, to be Methodical in your practice of the means of grace, to tithe, to worship regularly, I speak to you not about money, learning or prayer, but about the recognition that all that we are and consider as ours is really His. All that is possessed today has always been His and always ultimately will be His again. You are only stewards, trustees of what has been loaned to you for a little while. We are but passing through.
Cathedral building is a matter of perspective. You never do what you do in your work or give to good causes because you are doing this for you or others. Cathedrals are built for the glory of God and everyone is encouraged to participate. It requires the sharing of strength. It takes all of us.
The schools cannot do it alone. The hospitals cannot do it alone, the government cannot do it alone. The churches cannot do it alone. Together we may have a chance. Great cathedrals are built with the cooperation of all.
Spiritual cathedral building is all about man's devotion to a vision far larger than any one of us And It is a Matter of Priorities, Perspective, And it Definitely Will be a Process.