Trinity Episcopal Church-July 2008

July 2008

Mt. 10:39

This morning we have a collection of sayings; again, Jesus is talking about gaining our true self by losing our false self.
Many people find this difficult to understand. What Paul and Jesus are talking about is breaking down the ego, our false self. When the ego dominates, the focus is on “me” & “mine,” and not on our true self. We run around like a narcissistic opera singer---
“me, me, me, me.”
Jesus reveals a deep truth about consciousness; the spirit should be first not last. Jesus wants us to seek union with God, and when you make this union the most important, worthwhile pursuit in life you discover your true self.
Eastern religions talk a lot about ego.
Hinduism calls it maya=the veil of delusion.
Buddhism calls it dukkha= which means we suffer because we cling to our possessions.
Tao explains ego as “getting trapped in the world of ten thousand things.” Of course that was written centuries ago, so today it would be 10 million things.
In my preparation I found some Zen sayings:
* Duct tape is like 'The Force'. It has a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together.
* It's always darkest before dawn, which is a good time to steal your neighbors' newspaper.
* Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes.
* Change is inevitable except for vending machines.
* Never, under any circumstances, take a sleeping pill and a laxative on the same night.
* Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish, and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day.
Buddhism says the whole world lives and operates by the ego---one big collective ego---and that’s why the world is so messed up right now. Of course, for centuries the bible has called humanity’s messiness “sin.”
In the Greek, to sin means to miss the mark, as an archer misses the target, so to sin means to miss the point of how God wants humans to live. Sin means to live selfishly, blindly, wastefully, and thus causing suffering.
And all we have to do is watch the news on TV and we see group ego: companies and organizations and governments and tyrant regimes. They’re all making decisions and taking actions based on short-sighted, “I’m right and you’re wrong, this is mine and that is mine too,” ego.
And to change the world, we have to start with ourselves, and follow Jesus’ challenge to lose our life, and Paul’s admonition to crucify our old self (i.e., the ego), in order to gain life.
There’s a character on TV who represents the ego---George Kastanza from Seinfield. His whole life is about having this or that or finding a new job or complaining about his weird parents, or lying to his girl friend to get out of trouble, or scheming to get something better. George is loud, explosive and reactionary, and we laugh at him because we can sometimes see ourselves in him.
George Kastanza is ego; he’s always looking for some else’s approval, which is a prevalent addiction in our culture. When we listen to the voice of ego we are at the mercy of other people’s opinions.
I remember a priest who was leaving a church, and at the reception a woman was teary-eyed. “Don’t be sad” he said, “I’m sure the next pastor will be better than me.” “That’s what they said last time, she cried, “but they keep getting worse.”
Ego is the false self. Ego wants you to live in a state of self-importance, but Jesus wants you to align yourself with God’s Spirit. Therefore, anything that’s not Spirit---like fear, worry, violence, sudden anger, hate, negativity---all comes from your ego. That’s why the acronym for ego is Edging God Out.
And when I say things I wish I hadn’t said, or if I’ve done something selfish without thinking, I know it’s my ego. But recognizing my ego is the beginning of becoming aware of God’s Spirit, and that takes practice.
To me, becoming aware of my ego was like realizing I was possessed---possessed by George Kastanza!
Ego started when I was young. All those patterns and behaviors I learned as a kid are still with me.
I think the first 10 or 15 years of our lives is like making candles. Candles start with a pure wick center. Then you dip it in hot wax and then water to cool the wax, and repeat the process. So after about an hour you have layer upon layer of wax, and therefore a candle.
The wick is our pure center, our spirit breathed into us by God, and the layers of wax are like the layers of our ego; all the habits and influences and hurtful experiences and stuff we’ve been dipped in through the years.
And by the time we’re an adult, we can forget about our source of being, our pure center. We can forget Jesus’ words, you are in the world but you do not belong to the world. We forget.
I like how George Foreman explained why he named all his kids George. He said, “You try getting hit in the head by Muhammad Ali and then see how many names you can remember.” Well, when life hits us in the head it’s difficult to remember our center.
“More” is the mantra of the ego. People go through life, getting stuff, and then they die, leaving all the stuff behind for the kids to argue over it. (Old furniture and banged up TV sets and velvet pictures of Elvis).
Then they say, “This is my stuff” and some day they will die, and someone else comes for the stuff, and eventually it ends up in a local antique shop.
Nations go to war over stuff, families split apart because of stuff; jails are full of thugs and CEOs who commit crimes to acquire stuff; husbands and wives argue over stuff more than any other single issue.
I think life is like the game Monopoly; the moment the game ends, all the hotels and houses go back in the box. Same in life.
So it is with our stuff.
Jesus said, Where your treasure is there you heart will be also.
So the first step to diminishing our ego is to stop clinging and identifying yourself with your stuff.
You don’t belong to the world of ten thousand things. You belong to God! He created your inmost being; He knit you together in the womb; you are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139
Look at Solomon from the O. T. He was the king of stuff. He threw large parties, surrounded himself with beautiful parks and gardens and vineyards and orchestras and velvet pictures of his favorite singers. He constructed a palace so magnificent it defied description. Solomon’s palace took a construction crew of 150,000 men thirteen years to build. It was a really nice house!
He had 1000 wives. He was supposed to be the smartest guy in the world, yet he had 1000 wives. I wonder how many times he heard, “Honey, it’s time to take out the garbage.” in a day?
Solomon wrote, “I denied myself nothing---no-thing---I refused myself no pleasure.” This smartest guy in the world went farther down that road than you and I will ever go, and yet he concluded, all is vanity. Nothing brought lasting satisfaction. The happy wears off!
Society is filled with people living like Solomon.
That’s why we have all those cable shopping channels---
they sell what no body needs;
but the problem of the human heart is
we need what nobody sells.
Our deepest hunger is spiritual. Our deepest longing is for meaning, for love, for redemption.
And the condition underneath all my wanting is---what I really want is God.
The secret of the art of living, the secret of all success and happiness is being---not having.
Jesus called this awareness the Kingdom of God, and He said it is within you.

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July 2008