A sermon
delivered by Rev. Peter T. Atkinson
April 30, 2015
at Gibson
Memorial Chapel
Blue Ridge
School, St. George Virginia
Matthew 5: 13-20
Let us pray,
Help us to see despite our eyes
Help us to think outside of our minds
Help us to be more than our lives
For your eyes show the way
Your
mind knows the truth
Your
being is the life.
Amen.
13 “You are
the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness
be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and
trodden under foot by men.
14 “You are
the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Nor
do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives
light to all in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men,
that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in
heaven.
17 “Think not
that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to
abolish them but to fulfil them. 18 For truly, I say to you, till
heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law
until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then relaxes one of the
least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the
kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall 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.[1]
Back
in February I spoke to you about my belief that you are all amazing creatures,
with infinite potential, but how we often choose the safety of chains rather
than reaching and actualizing that glorious potential we were each made with
and for. I have to admit today's message is very much on that same theme, back
then I said how it fuels me to get you all to see that potential that I see,
and I still believe that to my core, but on Monday I was having one of those
cynical days of doubt where the circumstances and the evidence I was seeing all
around me, made me question that faith if only for a moment. . . and as a
perfect testament to the powers of Providence, I was asked yesterday to speak
here this morning, and so all at once I had to address and fight against that
cynicism head on, and put to mind and words the hope of my faith beyond that
moment of doubt. I can tell you I have done so, and it is quite a journey, and
I want to take you on that journey with me this morning.
The
driving catalyst for my cynical feelings on Monday was excuses. I kept hearing
them, and they all turned my stomach because they just hung in the air
unquestioned, unchallenged, and completely accepted as, "just the way it
is," and I felt the pressure on Monday to just throw in the towel and
accept it myself, but I just can't do that because I know deep down what
exactly excuses are, and the destructive force of them in our world.
A
former colleague of mine, brought with him a definition of excuses, that I have
used again and again, some of you may have heard this before during one my
tirades either in class or on the football field, but he told me that excuses
can be defined as "tools of incompetence that build monuments of
nothingness, people who use them seldom accomplish anything." I want to think
about breaking that down into its parts for a moment before I go further. . . if
you think about the first part, "tools of incompetence." Tools are
obviously things that you use to build, fix, repair, but the OF there, "of
incompetence," does that mean that the tool builds incompetence, or does
it mean that tool is built by, or owned by incompetence?. . . I think it is
great to see it both ways actually, because it becomes a self perpetuating
circle. . . incompetence + excuses breeds more incompetence which leads to more
excuses, then so you have incompetence built by and building more incompetence.
. . it is a vicious downward spiral. . . a self perpetuating system of failure,
but the irony is that these tools are actually building something, they are building
beyond mere incompetence, these things he calls monuments.
Now
a monument is a structure, a marker, and a symbol, a witness, a testament, and
that is what these really build, but these monuments are made of nothing, again
more irony, a monument suggests size, scope, wonder, memorial, immensity, but
nothingness suggests it is all a sham, invisible, fake, flimsy, and not real. The real shame though is that these monuments
of nothingness, these fake testimonies of accomplishment, become so real, so
real at least seeming, that they become true for people, and like the great
monuments and pillars of our society, that we look to for truth, and identity,
and greatness, and self worth, we end up building our lives based on these
empty monuments of nothingness, the mirages of seeming truth. It's sad. It's
sad, and it is a disease that has reached almost every corner of our country,
of our institutions, and especially through our schools into our youngest
generations, you guys.
And
I may offend, because no one likes to hear that what they built with their
lives is a monument of nothingness, and no one likes to believe that what their
lives are built upon are monuments of nothingness. . . but the evidence is
glaring, and it slapped me in the face on Monday. I heard stories of seniors who
are in danger of graduating because they've built their lives on excuses,
seniors, whom we are about to send out into the world, with our stamp of
approval on them, I heard from my students, student after student about why they
can't write, why they can't do math, why they can't get to class on time, why
they can't, can't, can't. . . and I saw people accepting those excuses,
building up those excuses, allowing, fostering, serving those excuses, building
a culture of excuses, rather than accomplishment, excusing those excuses and it
turns my stomach, not because my homework wasn't done, but because the
reflection of self it shows, and the lie it perpetuates. . . that it doesn't
really matter, no one checks anyway, the rent never really comes due, it's just
a monument of "nothingness" after all, all of life is, thinking
otherwise is merely subscribing blindly to an artificial set of standards that
someone just made up years ago, the chains of the past, and therefore it is ok
to be less, and not only is it ok, but it's easier, it's the path of least
resistance, it's comfortable, and safe, and therefore good, or at least the
emptiness of "fine." How are you. . . O I'm fine. . . if you've ever
said that you know just how empty such phrases and ideas actually are.
And
then I go home, Monday night, and the effects of such things hit me in the
face. I had gone to bed on Saturday night disgusted that the fans at the Oriole
game Saturday night were told not to leave the stadium, because they'd be in
danger, and I prayed for the situation on Sunday at church, but Monday night, I
saw it escalate, protest turned riot, violence, looting, fires, destruction. .
. and it hit me in the face again, the same cynicism that hit me here, the
monuments of excuses coming home to roost, the rent coming due, and the
character checks coming back with insufficient funds. And I thought excuses
again, because if you followed the conversation on twitter, or facebook, or
instagram, or on the news, you saw two sides forming quickly, and both sides
looking to excuse these behaviors of destruction. For the rioters, you heard,
well they are poor, they see no way out, they lack education, they are just
young, they are black, and disenfranchised, and all that excuses their
behavior, they might be acting rashly, out of anger, passion, frustration, but what
else can they do, being what they are, their situation, their plight, excuses
their behavior. They are just victims. Excuse me, but those are monuments of
nothingness, and that leaves people bankrupt when it comes to character. Making
excuses for people does nothing for them except chaining them to their plight.
. . for they've sold out their future, in favor of an empty monument of
nothingness, the kind you can build with violence, and the false empty promises
of the pandering politicians, and we need our cities, our culture, our country,
we need our world built not on monuments of nothingness, but on cornerstones of
character, and nothing undermines a foundation like an excuse. It may seem to
be loving, and accepting, and open, and tolerant, and all the other buzzwords,
but the truth is it simply destroys people.
But
they aren't alone because there are alot of people excusing the cops, too.
Well, they are under alot pressure, and
it's a tough job, and they get frustrated, and. . . and. . . and. . .
monuments. We should expect more, because if we are satisfied with less, less
is exactly what we are going to get. But that would mean sacrificing our
agenda, and facing the truth, the actual, entire, challenging truth, and the
lies are easier, it'll be fine. . . monuments.
Ernest
Hemingway wrote, in The Old Man and the Sea, that "man was
not made for defeat, man can be destroyed, but not defeated," meaning that
you can destroy the body, but you can't defeat the spirit, the fighting,
grasping spirit. . . . I think he hadn't considered the power of excuses, for
they don't destroy, instead they more sinisterly seek to defeat, and then
enslave. Defeat the aspiration, and enslave to mediocrity. . . and it becomes a
disease, like that which leaves our cities in flames, and our society, lost and
looking for answers, and leadership, and character.
Now
I have to be honest, sometimes there are reasons, and reasons are different
from excuses. They do exist, and they are true, weakness and frailty are truly
a part of being human, and that just
makes it all harder to deal with, because excuses are just the imposters of
these reason. . . and it is hard to tell the difference. Which is really the
other sinister quality, because those who truly need our compassion don't
always get it because people are selling these "Wolf Tickets"
(another saying by the same friend who told me about the monuments), wolf
tickets comes from the story about the little boy who cried wolf, he lied so
much that no one could see the truth, and that is the horrible other ugly side
about excuses. They blind us to the distinctions. . .
"Lies unremmittingly repeated, can make us believe heaven is hell and hell is heaven" --- do you know who said that, Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf, which was a rephrasing of something Milton wrote Satan saying in Paradise Lost. And the greatest repeater of lies that we face is ourselves. . . I just can't do math, I'm not a good writer, I'm not smart enough, I'm a victim, I can't do it, you tell yourself that enough you'll believe it. There is a great song by Nickel Creek that says, "Others have excuses, but I have my reasons why." So true. . .
"Lies unremmittingly repeated, can make us believe heaven is hell and hell is heaven" --- do you know who said that, Adolf Hitler in Mein Kampf, which was a rephrasing of something Milton wrote Satan saying in Paradise Lost. And the greatest repeater of lies that we face is ourselves. . . I just can't do math, I'm not a good writer, I'm not smart enough, I'm a victim, I can't do it, you tell yourself that enough you'll believe it. There is a great song by Nickel Creek that says, "Others have excuses, but I have my reasons why." So true. . .
How
do you tell them apart? How do you tell the difference between a reason and an
excuse in a world overrun with imposters, a world overrun with people selling
and buying up these wolf tickets even from themselves? Man it is hard. . .
But
I believe the answer resides in grace. Wait a minute, isn't grace just
forgiveness, and isn't forgiveness, the same thing as excusing, not holding
people accountable. No, and here is the subtle but so important difference. . .
grace forgives, grace gives second chances, grace understands, but grace never
lowers standards. . . "Not one iota
will pass from the law, and woe to him who relaxes one of the least of these
commandments, and teaches others. . ." now there is a danger here, especially
for me, the old notion of practicing what you preach. . . because I like many
of you fight the battle of excuses. . . so I could ask myself, who are you to
preach such a message, for you certainly do not live up to it?. . . and I
fought with that last night, but I had this thought, practicing what you preach
is impossible if you are preaching perfection, and if you aren't preaching
perfection, you are accepting less. . . no, grace is needed, especially too for
me, but I cannot allow myself to preach the truth as limited by what I have
achieved in my life so far, because it ain't much, but instead only limited by
what I, and all of us, have the potential to reach and be. Mr. King and I were
talking about the word Amazing, as it is in Amazing Grace, and I would like to
think, that the word could be taken apart, into the root, a - above, without,
apart from, and then "maze," the lost and struggling, twists and
turns of this world. . . grace seeks to lift us up, beyond our excuses, and
monuments, and wolf tickets, into our real potential. . . to be the salt of the
earth, and the city on a hill, and shining our light for the world. . . don't
let your light be darkened and snuffed by destructive forces of excuse. . . monuments
of nothingness.
And
the minute the excuses of Monday night were over, the sun rose on Tuesday, and
it was my daughter Clara's birthday, and I was thinking about how I wanted her
to see and be prepared for all the stuff she'll face in her life, I thought I
want to wrap her in the armor of hope, and just then the stories of character
began to come to light, people in Baltimore, not bound by excuses, rose to
amazing heights of greatness, with simple but powerful acts. . . selfless acts.
. . acts that raise the standards, building monuments of love. . . such is the
amazing power of grace, it makes it possible for fallen creatures to once again
rise from the ashes and live up to the image in which we are created, the
kingdom of heaven is not built with monuments of nothingness, but instead the
ever reaching, infinite, never faltering one iota, monuments of love. Which will you build today? Monuments of Nothingness or Monuments of Love. . . May it be
so, Amen.
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Here is the poem I referenced I wrote on Tuesday for Clara
http://revcoachatkinson.blogspot.com/2015/05/armor-of-hope.html
Here is the sermon I referenced I gave in February for the boys: "Chains: Why it sucks to not do your homework!"
http://revcoachatkinson.blogspot.com/2015/02/chains.html
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Here is the poem I referenced I wrote on Tuesday for Clara
http://revcoachatkinson.blogspot.com/2015/05/armor-of-hope.html
Here is the sermon I referenced I gave in February for the boys: "Chains: Why it sucks to not do your homework!"
http://revcoachatkinson.blogspot.com/2015/02/chains.html
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