William Blake’s poem, “The Garden of Love” seems to resonate with Jesus’ disagreements with the organized religion of his time. So, writes the poet:
I went to the Garden of Love, And saw what I never had seen: A Chapel was built in the midst, Where I used to play on the green. And the gates of this Chapel were shut, And 'Thou shalt not' writ over the door; So I turn'd to the Garden of Love, That so many sweet flowers bore. And I saw it was filled with graves, And tomb-stones where flowers should be: And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds, And binding with briars, my joys & desires. Rules exist to set things and people in order. Rules regulate, restrict, and control human behaviors. In the gospel lesson today, Jesus talks about ancient rules and makes them stricter. His standards are much higher than ancient ones because they require one’s true intentions, motivations, and examination of conscience. These newly added rules of Jesus would not attract his potential followers. More so if they have been tired of all the Jewish laws they have not been able to keep up with. Jesus’ teaching is supposed to set people free but seems worse than how it has been. But is this really the case? While I have no urge to defend Jesus, especially on his view on divorce which should be approached critically in his context and ours, it seems to me his stricter standards and requirements to be his follower can lead us beyond the rules and to live truly free of restrictions. All the ancient precepts Jesus mentions in the lesson still apply to our situation: no killing, no harmful relationship, and no lying. Keeping them helps us stay away from serious troubles. But the purpose of keeping these precepts and many others is not merely to stay out of trouble, which is motivated by fear. For us Christians, these precepts create a basic contemplative environment so that our unskillful actions are not in the way of deepening our sense of God’s presence. Jesus, however, urges us to go beyond. Don’t be satisfied with these minimum requirements. These are the boundaries that we’re to stay within for our own sake first and for others’ sake in turn. Jesus takes us to look much deeper inside. Before any murder takes place, before any lustful desire comes, before a lie is about to be constructed, look what’s underneath. Resentment and fear may fuel a thought of hurting someone. The desire for sensual pleasures to find a sense of satisfaction and fulfillment may drive us to be in a relationship that would eventually destroy relationships rooted in mutual trust. Dishonesty may arrive from serving one’s interest only at the expense of others. Jesus doesn’t call for a stricter form of religion but for the purity of the heart. The purity of the heart is the core of his good news: “Change your heart.” What matters then is how. Think of this process as gardening. Before planting anything, testing the soil of our hearts comes first. Simple questions would be whether our soil has rocks, silt, clay, sand, or mixed and if our soil is acidic, alkaline, or neutral. Contemplation invites us to see what kind of soil we have in our hearts. See what’s in there. We then want to build a deep, well-drained, fertile soil as we sort out or detach ourselves from clinging to unskillful emotions. Rocks and roots that we dig out may come from painful memories in the past that we may have buried deep inside or that are just there as a big rock we often stumble upon. Removing those rocks and roots may be quite challenging. This is similar to the experience of contemplation in which we can see in silence how busy the mind is. Yet, deep contemplation comes with a sense of refreshment and joy. (Recall those moments after physical exercise or labor. We might have some body aches yet there’s something that feels quite good about it.) In this spiritual exercise of contemplation, all the rules become secondary. The Spirit helps us pull out the weeds. The Spirit grows a seed and waters it. This work of the Spirit is to get rid of tombstones and resurrect sweet flowers from graves, to build the garden of love in our hearts. |
Paul"...life up your love to that cloud [of unknowing]...let God draw your love up to that cloud...through the help of his grace, to forget every other thing." Archives
January 2025
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