Eighth and Final Sermon at St. Paul's K Street

Sixth Sunday After Easter, Year C
John 14:23-29

I want to take a second here to acknowledge all the moms with us, Happy Mother’s Day. Looking at the readings for today, before even knowing that today was going to be Mother’s Day, I had started thinking about the Gospel reading in relation to what could be described as behaving ourselves, pretty appropriate I’d say, talking about behaving ourselves or good behavior on Mother’s Day.
When I started thinking about the Gospel reading I was reminded of some of my classes as a philosophy student at the University of Rhode Island, specifically I was reminded of the work of Michel Foucault. Michel Foucault was a French philosopher who died in the 1980’s. He is known for his work having to do with power relations. In his work he talks about how different social institutions are at their core about exerting power over people, all the institutions that make up our society, according to Foucault, are concerned with control and dominance. In his book Discipline & Punish he discusses how knowledge equals power. As an example of this he uses the idea of the panopticon, a prison structure that allows the prisoners to be seen at all times but does not allow the prisoners the ability to know whether or not they are being observed at any given moment. The idea is that the prisoners live in a constant state of uneasiness unsure if they are being watched, and because of this they behave. The idea that someone might see what they are doing, the idea that someone might know what they are doing should influence their behavior, knowledge of their behavior is thus translated into power over them, translated into control and domination. According to Foucault’s thought people act the way we do because of power relations, because we have been manipulated to act in a certain way, because, whether we are aware of it or not, we are controlled to act as we do.
As Christians we have to disagree with this idea that what we do is a product of someone or something else controlling or forcing our actions. As Christians our actions should not be forced or be the product of manipulation, but they should be our own. I am not claiming that we act or make decisions without any influences over us, that would simply be untrue. There will of course always be countless factors influencing our decisions and actions, what I am saying is that ultimately we make the decisions ourselves. Except in extreme circumstances, we are not forced or coerced into acting or deciding.
In today’s Gospel reading Jesus tells us that “those who love [him] will keep [his] word”. Jesus gives us a basis for our action in stark contrast to that given by Foucault. When we act it is love that guides us, not power that dominates and controls us. Certainly, Christianity has not always gotten this right. Indeed, there are many instances where we have gotten this wrong, where we have forced our ideals and beliefs upon others. And while these have been done with good intentions, with the salvation of the other in mind, it is ultimately not how we are to act. Jesus tells us that we do not follow him because we are forced to. No, we follow Jesus because we love him. It is our love for Jesus that makes us want to follow the way he has set before us. It is this love for Jesus that pushes us to become his disciples. Christianity is about love not about domination and control.
So we act how we do, we follow Christ, not because the Church or scripture or anything or anyone else tells us that we must do so, but rather out of our love for Christ. In thinking about this I am reminded, appropriately enough for today, of my Mom. Growing up there were plenty of times when my Mom sought to influence my behavior. Some of these times she would act more in line with Foucault’s thought, telling me that I had to do something or another, usually with consequences if I failed to do so or did otherwise. This happened quite a lot actually, and sometimes I would do as she wished and sometimes I wouldn’t. There was another way, however, that my Mom influenced my behavior, and still does. Growing up, my Mom modeled certain ways of behavior, or would teach me appropriate ways of acting in different situations. She wouldn’t try force me to act in these ways, but she told me or showed me that they were right and good ways to act. My love and respect for my Mom, made me realize the rightness of what she showed or taught me, and this love and respect influenced me to follow her examples and teaching.
The main difference between these two types of ways that my Mom has influenced my behavior is in their long-term effects. I cannot tell you how many times I was told to make my bed when I was growing up, but regardless of how many times she told me to do so I rarely make my bed. On the other hand, I grew up watching my Mom interact with family and friends and seeing how much she cared and loved for them, and that has stuck with me, that has shaped who I am and who I strive to be.
This is why Jesus does not say, as Foucault might suggest, ‘you will keep my word, or else’, but rather that those who love him will keep his word. It is through love and not through force or coercion that we are truly shaped and formed by Jesus’ word. Over the past two years that I have been at St. Paul’s with you all, I have heard Fr. Sloane talk about metanoia a number of times. If you don’t remember, metanoia is the Greek word for repentance. As is the case with most translations, our word, repentance, does not capture the fullness of metanoia. Metanoia is not just saying “oops, my bad, I’m sorry” and then continuing on like nothing has happened. Metanoia speaks more to a changing of mind, a reorientation, and as Christian’s that reorientation is a reorientation towards Christ.
Metanoia is not something that can be forced, something that can happen through control and domination, it is something that happens through love. If we are to truly reorient ourselves towards Christ we must do so freely, and we are able to do this because of our love of Christ. To keep Jesus’ word means that we are constantly reorienting ourselves towards Christ. In keeping his word we are not seeking to avoid or gain anything, but out of our love of Christ we are recognizing that he will not lead us astray, we are recognizing that following him is simply the right the to do.
I want to end here by thanking you all for over the past two years helping me to better understand what it means to reorient myself toward Christ. I want to thank you all for welcoming me into this family and sharing with me the love that you have for Christ. I have learned a lot in my time here, but what will stick with me as I enter into ordained ministry in a couple of weeks is the love of Christ you all share, the reorienting and focusing on Christ that continues to happen in this parish day in and day out and how you show that in your lives and ministries. Thank you so much. Amen.