Henrietta United
Rev.
David Inglis
Matthew 6:19-23
Doorways to the Realm of God: 6: “You–Pure and
Simple”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God.”
How many of you have ever said, “What he did made me
so angry”; “She makes me so jealous”; or “He makes me nervous.”
Let’s do a little experiment. Imagine that you’ve arranged to meet a friend
at a restaurant promptly at
Did your friend make you feel angry, rejected,
devalued, worried, or grateful for a little time to yourself? Or was it something inside you that
took this situation and interpreted it in this way or that way to produce a
feeling of anger, anxiety, or peace?
We often assume that our reactions to people or
events are triggered by a stimulus in the world around us–like what somebody
does or says to us. But between the outside stimulus and our response there is
our inner self–our beliefs, attitudes, emotions, drives and the self awareness
of our spirit. Biblical people called
this inner source of thoughts, emotions, motives, and spiritual awareness, the
heart. If our heart is carrying strong
unresolved memories of being abandoned or rejected, we’re likely to respond to
our late friend with dejection or anger.
If our heart is full of love, and peace, we’re likely to respond with equanimity.
Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they shall see God.” How can we even
hope to have a pure heart, when we’re so full of drives and instincts and
emotions, and carry in our heart the leftover anger, shame, bitterness, and
heartache from the past?
The answer is, it isn’t possible the way we
usually think of “pure”. We think of purity as being like sterile distilled
water, with nothing in it but pure H2O.
But the people in Jesus’ time thought of purity not as much as uniformity as unity.
An image of purity in the Biblical sense would be not so much distilled
water as still water. Our hearts
can be like the surface of the ocean during a storm, with the waves heaving and
rolling and crashing. Or they can be
like the depths of the ocean–calm and serene.
There can be all kinds of life and things swimming around down
there. But it’s not disturbed by
negativity or destructive forces. That’s
the kind of purity of heart Jesus was talking about–unity that comes from
harmony.
So how do we find this place of unity and peace? I think Jesus showed us the way in the
cryptic little saying we heard from our scripture reading:
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body
will be full of light; but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be
full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the
darkness! (Matthew 6:22-23).
So what does that mean? Think of the eye as our vision or
awareness. Think of the body as
ourselves. If we look inside ourselves
with the eyes of awareness, like a lamp on a miner’s hat, we’ll start bringing
to light the parts of ourselves that are stirring up the most trouble. Maybe we’ll see the part of ourselves that
always sells our self out to get the acceptance we crave. Maybe we’ll see the part of our self that
always has to be right. Maybe we’ll see
the anger that comes out of the fear of not being in control. Maybe we’ll see the part that tries to fill
up an inner emptiness with food or sex or work or distractions. (Is there anyone who isn’t feeling a little
uncomfortable right now?)
These are the kinds of things that create the
conflicts and stir up the pollution in our hearts. If they stay hidden in the shadows, then our
vision of the world will always be distorted by these forces inside us. We’ll react to someone being late out of our
fear of rejection or fear of things being out of control or anger at being
devalued. As Jesus said, if our eye is
unhealthy–if our vision is blinded by denial--then our body stays full of
darkness–and how great, and tragic, is the darkness. Instead of living our lives, we are
being lived by those dark forces that keep lurking in the shadows of our
hearts.
Our personal and spiritual growth is about taking
responsibility for those things we carry in us. The path to purity can begin
when we invite God to shine the warm, healing light of divine love into those
dark places where we feel the most vulnerable but need healing, unconditional
love the most. When we open those places
to healing love, our inner being is filled with light. We can glow from the inside with light, love
and peace. There is a sense of purity in our heart–not because
our drives and emotions have suddenly become angelic, but because when their
cries for love and security are taken care of, they don’t need to keep jumping
out and grabbing the steering wheel and driving us. They’re more like the fish swimming around in
the ocean. They’re still there, but
they’re not the main thing. The main
thing is the harmonious ocean that has room for them all.
Bringing these hidden forces into the healing light
of love can be greatly helped by a empathetic listener, or by regular
meditation, prayer and journaling.
But there’s another way to use the vision of
awareness to find the purity and peace at the bottom of the ocean. It’s a process of shining the light of
awareness on who we really are, pure and simple.
You’ll find it helpful to have a paper and pencil for
this exercise I’m going to offer you, if you choose to do it.
Start by writing down a few of the roles that
describe you, such as your job or your roles in your family.... Who is the you
that is playing these roles, but that wouldn’t stop being you if you lost your
job or your your roles in your family changed?
Who is the you that would still be there even if you became paralyzed
and couldn’t play any normal kind of role at all? Just go inside yourself and see if you can
sense the “you” that would still be there if you weren’t playing any of those
roles.
Write down a few of the favorite things you
own.... What if, as Jesus said, moth and
rust and obsolescence consumed them, and thieves broke in and stole the rest of
what had any value to you? Who would you still be even if you had nothing left
you could call your own?
Now write down the year you were born, put a dash
next to it, and write down the year you would die if you lived to be 100. Who is the you that is currently living out
this lifetime? When this lifetime is
over, who is the you that will be looking back on this time here, and who is
the you that will be experiencing other things you can’t yet imagine?
How would you describe that deep, pure you that’s
always there, quiet and peaceful at the bottom of the ocean while the waves are
heaving and swelling up on top? Some
people have described this pure, essential you as pure conscious
awareness. Some people experience it as
the capacity for trust, awe, gratitude, and unconditional love.
Your pure essence is the part of you that was created
in the image of God. Jesus’ beatitude
about the blessedness of being pure in heart points us to the truth that when
we are in touch with this pure part of our innermost being, we do see God. But at this level, we see God, not so much as
an entity off in heaven somewhere. We
see God as a part of who we are, and we see ourselves as a part of who God
is. I don’t know of anything that’s more
blessed than that, and finding ways to bless the world by offering the gifts of
our divine nature to the world around
us.
Once we’ve touched this place of purity of heart, we
can remind ourselves to go back there whenever we need to. When we’re being buffeted by the wind and
waves up on the surface, we can ask our self, “Who is having this
experience? Who is going through this
and feeling these things, coping with these things and ultimately growing from
this time of trial?” We can reconnect
with the part of our self that’s deeper than what’s happening to us and bigger
even than this earth-bound life we’re living.
And we can find our connection with a God who is part of us and of whom
we are a part for all eternity. This helps us find the faith, hope, strength,
wisdom, and love to go through the storm and to grow through the storm.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see
God.” Blessed are those who have found the pure essence of who they are. They
shall see God, and the world shall see God in them.
I’ll end with a poem by a woman named Carol Swiedler,
who experienced the power of discovering who she was, pure and simple.
Seek the truth...
and the truth shall set you free.....
but what is
the truth of which I speak?...
it
is not factual...
although
you must strive,
scrupulously,
and
relentlessly,
for
subjective honesty...
it
is not knowledge or wisdom...
although
you will acquire both
along
the way...
it
is not a philosophy or religion...
Although
it is profoundly spiritual,
and
you will develop a personal ethic
of
great power and substance....
but rather this truth, it is a state of being,
where
suddenly,
self-deception
is swept away...
and
you are left with the essence
of
who you really are...
in that
moment
you
are filled with power and glory,
and
you are at one with the universe....
all
fear and judgment disappear...
and
what remains
is
strength,
beauty,
and
joy....
empathy
and
compassion...
understanding
and
acceptance...
and
unconditional love
for
all creation...
and
you will forever long to return
to
this wondrous place.
-Carol
Swiedler