Do You Have Will Power?

"DO YOU HAVE WILL POWER"

a message by Rev. Dr. Bruce Havens

Coral Isles Church, U.C.C.

July 14, 2024

Matthew 6: 17-20 NRSV

17“ Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. 19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

If you have ever had a need to lose weight or stop drinking or some other issue you have heard about “willpower.”  Mostly you probably heard from someone else how you lacked it.  Well, that may or may not be true, but breathe easy, that is not what I am talking about this morning.  In “The Lord’s Prayer,” we pray to God, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  This morning I want to explore what I believe this phrase means.  What is this “kingdom of God,” and what does it mean to do God’s will, and what will it mean for it to be fulfilled on earth as it is in heaven?  And ultimately, does God have the will and the power to fulfill this prayer?

Let me make a confession here.  I may have led you here under false pretenses.  Most of us pray this prayer as a personal comfort to our “spiritual” selves.  I hear it very differently.  I hear a prayer for revolution at every level of the world, not just our lives.  Let me give you three short theological reasons I say this.  I believe God always intended us to understand we cannot separate spirit from bodies, or earthly from heavenly realities.  The second theological base for me is that we live in connection with other people and together we participate in systems that function beyond us as individuals.  We live in a world of economic, religious, and governing systems that we create and cannot live separately from them.  I believe God gave us those systems and intended for them to bless and benefit all creation, not just a few individuals.  The third theological base I am operating from is that the definition of God’s reign, or God’s “kingdom,” is a spiritual reality that connects us, as both physical and spiritual beings, to every other being, and every part of creation.  And I believe God intends that “kingdom” to operate justly for everyone.

Let me repeat myself here: whenever I use the word “justice,” I mean an absence of oppression, not just “law and order.”  I believe this prayer is a prayer for this world to fulfill God’s vision of a creation where there is no oppression of anyone or anything in creation.  That is the nature of God’s love, and God’s love cannot be manifested without God’s justice.  To put it another way, anywhere there is oppression, it is in opposition to God’s love and purposes. It exists against God’s will and God’s power.

So if I were to restate this phrase we focus on today: “thy kingdom come, thy will be done,” I would pray this:  “Your reign of love and justice come.”  For me, Jesus’ message was - God does things differently than humans seem to do.  For me, when I read both the Hebrew Scriptures and the Christian Scriptures, I encounter a God very different from the one that seems to have become the norm in Christian religion.  Does that surprise you, given that I am passionate about us being pastor of an Open and Affirming church seeking to implement Creation Justice values, respect and compassion for persons struggling with mental health issues, and understanding the Bible differently from so-called “literal” readings?  Of course not. 

I believe God’s “reign” is a spiritual reality, as I said last week, but that doesn’t mean it does not exist in this world of time and space, in a world of flesh and blood.  I believe it exists right here right now whenever we demonstrate our commitment to God’s will.  Every time we exercise compassion, every time we practice justice instead of oppression, every time we act to love our siblings even when they hate us or misun-derstand us, we are doing God’s will and God’s reign of love and justice is present.

I chose the Scripture we read this morning to expand on the meaning of “God’s will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  In it, Jesus gives a warning.  When Jesus says, “don’t think I have come to abolish the law and the prophets” he is saying this:  The law and the prophets functioned together.  The law is a standard for both interpersonal and societal systems to function.  The prophets spoke out to the people who ran those systems for their benefit rather than to God’s standards.  God is committed to transforming our reality to God’s reality.  God is committed to a world where everyone is treated with love and justice.  God is not committed to human versions of faith or faithfulness that proclaim self-righteousness and ignore what God calls righteousness.  Jesus went on to demonstrate what God calls “righteousness,” again and again.  He healed the ones others called possessed by evil spirits.  He embraced the ones others called “unclean.”  He welcomed the most vulnerable – children – proclaiming that they really get what the reign of God is.  He tells us we must treat the most vulnerable as the most valuable.

Notice Jesus does not condemn anyone to hell in this passage.  Jesus does not even say they don’t get in to the “Kingdom of God.”  No, they just don’t get the big mansion, the Rolls Royce and the power to control everyone else like they think they will.  They will find themselves to be the least in God’s “Kingdom.”  Meanwhile those who understand what God’s love and justice are, and seek to live it, and see it implemented will be called greatest.  Because you can call those you think are losers snowflakes, and woke, and DEI beneficiaries, but be sure, God is not on board with you.

So while so-called “Christian” nationalists want to implement authoritarian and fascist laws as their 2025 Project, I believe they cannot, and will not ever succeed.  Not because they might not get elected, but because I believe in a God whose love and justice is more powerful than anyone’s hate and bigotry.  I believe in a God who has shown even when they crucify those they can’t control, God will raise his own up again.  I believe in a God who has proven again and again a commitment to a world where the economic, religious, and governing systems should be based on God’s values not human power, privilege, and prejudices. 

But now let me give myself a warning and, if you want you are welcome to listen in.  Because my self-righteousness can be just as demeaning, disturbing, and downright devilish as those I condemn.  So I want to be careful that I don’t believe in a diversity that only allows in those who are like me, think like me, love who I love.  That’s exactly what I am condemning in Jesus’ name this morning.  You see ultimately, church is supposed to be a mirror of that “Kingdom of God,” right?  But if our diversity only allows those are just like us then we are no better than those we hate, fear, or condemn.

Here’s what I mean.  We can be just as exclusive as those we fear hate, fear and condemn us.  We are being conditioned by all the noise in the world to believe that everyone who doesn’t think like us hates us and we should hate them.  But if we look around even in here there are some differences.  Some believe the world is flat.  Some believe in a different form of baptism or communion.  Some will vote differently in the next election, horror of horrors!  But believe this: that person is your sibling.  And all those folks sitting at the First Church of the Last Chance are too.  And all those folks sitting at the bar at 10:30 a.m. Sunday morning, or on the sandbar instead of church are our siblings too.  And Jesus was crucified for them too.

Now, remember I am not saying he was crucified for anyone’s private, personal little bad thoughts or actions.  He was crucified because he believed in their worth and value and that God loves them and those who didn’t think they mattered didn’t.  And when Jesus called them to accountability, they crucified him.  When Jesus didn’t give up and bow down to the power of Caesar they crucified him.  Be clear friends, Jesus didn’t come to bow down to Rome or to the Pharisees.  He didn’t come to bless consumerism, gun rights, Democrats, Republicans, Baptists, Jews, or Congregationalists.

He was crucified because he was too radical, talking about this reign of God.  He was too dangerous demanding God’s will and not Pilates or Caiaphas’ or even Caesar’s will.  They had no choice.  They had to kill him.  And they did.  And then they got a surprise.  He didn’t stay dead.  However you want to interpret the resurrection, he didn’t stay dead.  Now don’t get me wrong.   As soon as humans could turn what Jesus called the “kingdom of God” into an institution, an organization they called the church, the old power and control and status quo crowd took things over to try to control it all again.  But the revolution of love and justice will not be defeated.

So be careful when you pray this prayer.  You are praying for revolution, not just comfort.  You are praying for everything to change.  You are praying for God’s will, not your’s or mine or Trump’s or Biden’s or Putin’s or the Pope’s.  It asks not for my will, or your will, but for the will of the One who is Ultimate Love, Infinite Compassion, Perfect Justice, Provider, Creator, Renewer of Life and Souls.  When we pray Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven we are calling for things to change.  And God has the will and the power to bring it on.

I believe in a God committed to a new way, a new reality, to relationships of perfect love, compassion and justice at every level of creation.  In the meantime let us rise up with praise and celebration of God’s will power.  Let our songs and shouts of Hosanna ring.  Let joy overwhelm any fear, or anger or hatred.  Don’t let those things drive your lives.  God’s will, will be done.  In fact, I think we ought to start singing our Hosannas now, for I believe God has the will and the power to make it so!  AMEN.