2016-Sermon 5 - Hebrews 6

2016-Sermon 5 - Hebrews 6 This chapter of Hebrews takes a backward step into the subject of Karma, from whose perspective we will approach some larger issues. By “a step backward”, I mean an historical reversion from the advent of Grace, through Jesus Christ, to the era of the Law. The Karmic law is from the rational past, the past of the Tree of Knowledge and the Ten Commandments, while the shedding of Jesus’ blood on Calvary ushered in the current era of Grace, Anno Domini. An important message is here enclosed: although Jesus brought us free salvation through grace, it is not to be supposed that the law of Karma just ceased in its operation, at least on mundane levels of existence. The resultant interplay of the Law and Grace is the very stuff of our humanity—it is certainly the stuff of art. Perhaps life is an art—perhaps art is real life? Chapter 6 of Hebrews begins by exhorting us to get away from elementary teachings and move into more advanced knowledge: like laying on of hands, raising the dead, and so forth. Moving on to the subject of reward for good deeds, this chapter includes the parable of the good field, and the bad field; the good field, showered with water, brings forth fruit, while the field of thistles brings forth nothing, and must eventually be burned. The idea of Karmic reward for good deeds is mentioned as God's Promise; and in God's promise, we find, once again, Jesus the mediator standing between God and us— standing inside the Holy of Holies, transmitting spiritual knowledge backward toward us. It is interesting to note the levels of commerce, in Karmic coins, between one dimension and another; by that I refer to the idea that, ultimately, God's promise exists only in the realm of unchangeable things, things which can only be apprehended through faith, and which are therefore of no Karmic worth whatever. Now Hebrews 5: 1-3: “1 Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God, 2 instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.” [Sidebar: Thus, the mature knowledge of enlightenment is a gift of Grace, God’s permission is granted through faith, through knowledge of the Rest of Christ. The next section touches on the issue of backsliding. In involved language, this what it says is: if you have once tasted the heavenly food, but have turned away, it will be impossible to ever be reclaimed, because such backsliding crucifies Jesus all over again.] Going on with Hebrews 5:4-6: “4 It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, 6 if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” Of course, this edict goes against the idea of an infinitely forgiving God, but it confirms the idea that there is, in the cosmic design, a border, a frontier, a point of no return; and perhaps, rather than preaching vengeance, the author is merely telling it like it is? Next comes the parable of the two fields, Hebrews 5:7-8: “7 Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. 8 But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.” The unproductive field will be burned. An inexorable truth of life—you get what you pay for, and you pay for what you get. So be careful about what you produce, or you might get burned! But after this fearful warning, the author’s tone softens and he/she offers this disclaimer: but, hey, dear friends, you’re not going to be one of THOSE, now are you? You are definitely in line for salvation, because you have earned it, you are not lazy, and God is not unjust. Hebrews 5:9-12: “9 Even though we speak like this, dear friends, we are confident of better things in your case--things that accompany salvation. 10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure. 12 We do not want you to become lazy, but to imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.” And now the section on The Certainty of God’s Promise, Hebrews 6:13: “13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,” [I love this bit, “He swore by Himself”, the great I AM.] “13 When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself, 14 saying, "I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." 15 And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised. 16 Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. 17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. 18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20 where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.” Note the expression “inner sanctuary”. When I was first preparing for this sermon, when I was listening to Hebrews in the car, I heard the expression “inner sanctuary” as “inert” sanctuary; I thought that was a very interesting expression, until I realized that I was projecting it myself. Nevertheless, the idea of an “inert” sanctuary is very appealing, because it suggests peace, rest, bliss, removal from the articulate confusions the lower dimensions always seem to burden us with. Thank you Doctor Freud, for that tantalizing insight. Projection aside, an INNER SANCTUARY is just the haven of rest to which we may need to retreat, when the cards of Karma seem to be stacked against us. Faith is, was, and forever must be, an operation of the INNER, sometimes called HIGHER, self. It must also be noted, in passing, that the order of Melchizedek is a TRADITION, including time-honored articles of eternal value which never change, and historical articles which evolve like every other dynamic system. Thus, when there is a change in the priesthood, there must also be a change in the law. Jesus’ law was a radical departure from the law of Moses, and yet was a natural outgrowth of the TRADITION of Melchizedek. That will be the theme of the next sermon. In conclusion, I want to mention that I’ve been wanting to do a sermon on satisfaction. I've been wanting to write a sermon for my son, a brilliant though frustrated man. Fate has not been particularly kind to him, but I think his frustrations stem more from his perfectionist inability to be satisfied with anything that comes his way, rather than just plain bad luck. The horizon consistently presents situations one after the other, in which he is enthusiastically interested at first, but with which he later becomes dissatisfied; what, even just a few weeks ago, was his primary joy, becomes dross. This personality trait has appeared all through my son’s life, and goes all the way back to one Easter morning when he was five years old:  The entire town of Pullman (maybe 100-150 kids with their parents) was poised on this hill, ready, on cue, to plunge down into a field littered profusely with variously decorated, colored Easter eggs. We had our eye on this one beautiful egg not too far from us, but, when the signal went off, all the kids crowded forward leaving my son behind. Being shy, he held back, and some other more aggressive kid got the egg. Therefore, none of the eggs were any good, and he wouldn’t pick up a single one.  It may be that this discussion of Karma and the reward of good works, bears on the idea of being able to be satisfied by the gifts that come to us from the Promise of God. A humorous example of Karma/Satisfaction found on the internet goes like this: “There is a great deal of satisfaction from watching someone get what was coming to them.” But the wise author goes on to say: “But nothing is more pleasing than when it happens because of their own actions.” There is confusion here, because the phrase “gets what’s coming to them” usually has a negative connotation, whereas, “happens because of their own actions” implies a positive. In fact, both Karmic outcomes, the negative and the positive are the result of “their own actions”, thus yielding no difference between the two in terms of cosmic mechanics. What we have coming to us and what we WANT to have coming to us are two different things—thus Karma works sometimes in harmony with our desires, sometimes contrary to our desires, but always as a consequence of our actions. Another Internet page suggested this: Is there a word for satisfaction in others receiving justice? Is there a word for satisfaction of hearing about justice that does not affect you? e.g. you hear on the news that a diet foods company has been ordered to compensate customers for deliberately misleading customers into buying their products by making false claims about its benefits. This makes you pleased as justice has been served however ·         you have never bought or attempted to buy any of the diet products ·         you will not receive any compensation ·         no-one you know has been affected I suppose this is a mix of satisfaction, a restoring of faith in karma and a sense of the world being "put to rights" and better as a result..?” The website for ScienceDaily featured this short article: “If you believe in karma, you're more likely to have higher expectations, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research. Some consumers strategically lower their expectations in order to try to increase their satisfaction with a product or experience, write authors Praveen K. Kopalle (Dartmouth College), Donald R. Lehmann (Columbia University), and John U. Farley (Dartmouth College). But people who believe in karma tend to have a more long-term orientation, which decreases the importance of momentary happiness. The authors describe the doctrine of karma as having three main tenets.  First, is the notion of rebirth where actions in a particular life may bear fruit either in the current life or in the next.  Second, actions can be broadly classified into appropriate (good) or inappropriate (bad).  Finally, good actions in the present lead to good outcomes in the future. " The doctrine of karma links current conduct to future consequences either in this life or the next," write the authors. "Thus, a belief in karma entails, among other things, a focus on long-run consequences." "Individuals with a long-term orientation are likely to be less inclined to lower expectations in the hope of temporarily feeling better," write the authors. "With a long-term orientation, even those individuals who are most unhappy when a product fails to live up to their expectations of it have a limited incentive to artificially lower their expectations and hence have higher (and more accurate/realistic) expectations." The authors compared results in China with those in India and found that a significantly higher percentage of people in India believed in karma (64 percent versus 10.5 percent). It is important for companies to understand these types of cultural differences if they wish to reach consumers in a globalized marketplace, the authors write. "Perhaps most importantly, the findings are also encouraging concerning the feasibility of explicitly measuring cultural factors and assessing their impact on consumer behavior." One interesting sentence in the preceding article is: "Thus, a belief in karma entails, among other things, a focus on long-run consequences." Is the author of Hebrews suggesting any long-term consequences of virtuous action? He/She says in Hebrews 6:10-11: “10 God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. 11 We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure.” The phrases “God will not forget,” and “in order to make your hope sure”, both imply a FUTURE consequence. Remember, Hebrews is written to a group of people who are being persecuted—the letter’s purpose is to bolster these peoples’ courage in the face of adversity, by assuring them that their virtuous actions will be rewarded SOMEDAY. However, there is another aspect of belief in Karma that must not be overlooked: C.S. Lewis would say that a focus on the future is the most time-oriented, therefore the most worldly, perspective—as Screwtape reports: “It is far better to make them live in the future. Biological necessity makes all their passions point in that direction already, so that thought about the Future inflames hope and fear. Also, it is unknown to them, so that in making them think about it we make them think of unrealities. In a word, The Future is, of all things, the thing least like eternity. It is the most temporal part of time--for the Past is frozen and no longer flows, and the Present is all lit up with eternal rays. Hence the encouragement we have given to all those schemes of thought such as Creative Evolution, Scientific Humanism, or Communism, which fix men’s affections on the Future, on the very core of temporality.”  So the future (a basic article in the Law of Karma) is unseen, and therefore, sort of non-existent. But remember that belief in ANYTHING unseen requires FAITH, and it is FAITH which the author of Hebrews wants to encourage in his/her readers. So the rational component of Faith, in the form of Hope, resides in the future—perhaps our comfort in times of tribulation lies in this. The idea of obedience learned through suffering plays into this. If part of our experience of virtuous living in exchange for rewards is grounded in the future, so also must be the idea of obedience. Adam obeyed God, by staying away from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, because he did not want to be punished. Perhaps our punishments are tests of faith, and are put there to develop the exercise of faithful attitudes? It is easy to have a positive outlook on life when everything is going your way, but it is a lot harder to have faith when your life is falling apart. We wonder if our life is falling apart because of something we have done, or because of something we did, or because of something are going to do. There is no way of knowing for sure, but through Faith we can see our sufferings in a Karmic context, and see that there is a point to them. I suggest that FAITH, faith in the goodness of life, faith in the infinitude of the cosmos, faith in the eternal now that puts us in touch with God, might be the single most powerful index of success in life, and satisfaction with what we have. Here are some Karma quotes that are pretty fun: Steve Jobs: “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”  [Sidebar: This is Kierkegaard, mind you.] “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.  So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.” The following plays into the discussions we have been having about predestination and the transcendence of time: Yehuda Berg: “On one hand, we know that everything happens for a reason, and there are no mistakes or coincidences. On the other hand, we learn that we can never give up, knowing that with the right tools and energy, we can reverse any decree or karma. So, which is it? Let the Light decide, or never give up? The answer is: both.” [Sidebar: Do-be-do-be-do. The following remarks by Deepak Chopra link Consciousness, a certain level of consciousness, called HUMAN Consciousness, to Time, by virtue of its manifestation through Karma:] “Karma, when properly understood, is just the mechanics through which consciousness manifests.”  Chopra goes on to say: “Karma, memory, and desire are just the software of the soul. It's conditioning that the soul undergoes in order to create experience. And it's a cycle. In most people, the cycle is a conditioned response. They do the same things over and over again. “Situations seem to happen to people, but in reality, they unfold from deeper karmic causes. The universe unfolds to itself, bringing to bear any cause that needs to be included. Don’t take this process personally. The working out of cause and effect is eternal. You are part of this rising and falling that never ends, and only by riding the wave can you ensure that the waves don’t drown you. The ego takes everything personally, leaving no room for higher guidance or purpose. If you can, realize that a cosmic plan is unfolding and appreciate the incredibly woven tapestry for what it is, a design of unparalleled marvel.” ― Wayne W. Dyer “How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” ― Eckhart Tolle “Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”  [Sidebar: This is predestination again. The “best of all possible worlds” always seemed to me to be an empty slogan; and I hate it when people tell me they did the best they could. But if all these events were planned out before time began, and all effort of will takes place in a dimension OUTSIDE TIME, then it seems more plausible that the experience we are having at the moment is the best experience we could be having—in the eternal now it is the ONLY experience.] Paramahansa Yogananda, known as a hindu yogi, therefore associated with the whole idea of the karmic wheel of reincarnation makes this surprising statement in his The Second Coming Of Christ: “… That is why it is emphasized “he that heareth my word…hath everlasting life”; that is, he who listens to the Cosmic Vibration and intuitively feels Christ-wisdom flowing into him not only knows and believes in God and Christ, but becomes one with the imperishable life emanating from Them.  Such souls who are one with Cosmic Vibration and the Christ Intelligence in it, and with God’s Intelligence beyond creation, are free from condemnation; that is, from the law of action [karma] and its inscrutable judgement that governs man’s life.” [Sidebar: Note that “Such souls who are one with Cosmic Vibration and the Christ Intelligence …. are free from condemnation.” Immersion in the Christ Consciousness frees us from the penalties of original sin, and raises us out of the cycle of action and retribution.] ― G.I. Gurdjieff “Now everything that you do is written in red or black in Angel Gabriel's book. Not for everyone is this record kept, but only for those who have taken a position of responsibility. There is a Law of Sins, and if you do not fulfil all your obligations, you will pay.” The following quote of Daisaku Ikeda returns to the idea of ART. It links the operation of Karma on Human Concsiousness: “Life is painful. It has thorns, like the stem of a rose. Culture and art are the roses that bloom on the stem. The flower is yourself, your humanity. Art is the liberation of the humanity inside yourself.”  This whole idea of conscious reality being created by language plays into the whimsical notion, mentioned above, that art is REAL LIFE. It is not such an outrageous a stretch to say that much of our everyday experience is conditioned by experiences we have in the world of fiction. I just said the other day, of a foggy morning, “That looks likes Ives’ Housatonic at Stockbridge.” And which of us has not looked out on a field of flowers and not seen Monet? Clearly, the somewhat simplistic conclusion that virtue is rewarded, and sin is punished “17 Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised,” does not take into account all the subtle nuances of Karma, Faith, Hope, and Time; nevertheless, the Promise of God is a comfort and an encouragement as much to us today as it was to the persecuted Jew of Jerusalem in the first century Anno Domini. The 5th chapter of Hebrews ends with the words once again that Jesus “has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek,” thereby leading us into yet another chapter concerning Melchizedek, which we will deal with next week. Let us pray: Jesus, you know we are wheeler-dealers; you know we always try to get what we deserve, and that we hope others “get what’s coming to them.” Forgive us our debt, in the pence of Karma, in favor of the guineas of Faith. Amen.