Church of the Holy City

We Are Not Wholly Bad or Good

We Are Not Wholly Bad or Good
Rev. Dr. David J. Fekete
June 3, 2012

Isaiah 6:1-8 John 3:1-17 Psalm 29

I’d like to open today’s talk with a short poem by Dylan Thomas. It’s from a play called, “Under Milkwood.” The poem is actually a prayer recited by the town’s priest, and it goes like this:
We are not wholly bad or good
Who live our lives under Milkwood
And thou, I know, wilt be the first
To see our best side, not our worst.
This poem captures our theme beautifully. For we are not wholly bad or good. We have traits of both in us. This is why Jesus tells Nichodemus that we must be born again in order to see the kingdom of God. This is an all encompassing statement. Jesus doesn’t say some of us must be born again. His statement includes all of humanity, “Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John3:3). We need to be born again of water and the Spirit. This suggests Jesus as the Source of living water, which He told to the woman at the well in Samaria. And it suggests our need to accept God’s Holy Spirit into our hearts in order to receive spiritual life.
We find a similar theme in Isaiah. In our reading this morning we find sin and redemption, or in other words, rebirth. When Isaiah has the vision of God enthroned on high, his first response is consciousness of his own shortcomings. He cries,
Woe to me! I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty (6:5)
God’s response is not one of punishment or anger, but one of redemption and salvation. Isaiah’s mouth is purified with a coal taken from the altar of the temple, and then he is ready to serve God.
We need a healthy humbleness in our spiritual life. We need to remain conscious of our need to be reborn. However unattractive it may sound, we need to be aware of sin in our lives. The Bible teaches us not to hold ourselves above others, not to see ourselves as wholly righteous, and to recognise that we live only from God. Furthermore, it teaches that we receive the power to do and love good from God alone. I think of that passage in Luke. It warns us against self-righteousness. The story begins with the important words,
To some who were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable” (Luke 18:9).
A Pharisee goes to the temple and says,
God, I thank you that I am not like all other men–robbers, evil-doers, adulterers–or even like this tax collector (18:11).
While the tax collector’s prayer is opposite. He says, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner” (18:13). Jesus says that the tax collector went home justified before God.
I think, too, of the sinful woman who shows her love for Jesus. Luke tells us that she was, “A woman who had lived a sinful life.” She anoints Jesus’ head with oil, cleanses His feet with her tears, wipes them with her hair, kisses them and pours oil on them. The Pharisee challenges Jesus about this. He doesn’t think that Jesus should have let her do this. He says to himself,
If this man a prophet, he would know who is touching Him and what kind of woman she is–that she is a sinner (7:39).
Jesus’ reply is, “Her many sins have been forgiven–for she loved much” (Luke 7:47).
The relationship between sinfulness and righteousness is not black and white. There isn’t a clear line between good and evil as we find them in a person. Like the Dylan Thomas poem, we are not wholly bad or good. A little introspection will show us that we have both in us. Swedenborg teaches that,
With every person there are good spirits and evil spirits; by good spirits a person has conjunction with heaven, and by evil spirits with hell (HH 292).
We have both good and evil spirits around us because we have both qualities in us. We have evil spirits with us because we have evil in us that is part of our life. Not a pretty thought, but an honest one. Swedenborg gives us the following unpleasant news,
That spirits that communicate with hell are also adjoined to a person, is because a person is born into evils of every kind, and so his first life is only from them; for this reason, unless there were adjoined to a person spirits like himself, he could not live, nor indeed be withdrawn from his evils and be reformed. Wherefore he is held in his own life by evil spirits, and is withheld from it by good spirits; by means of both he is also in equilibrium; and because he is in equilibrium, he is in freedom, and can be withdrawn from evils and inclined to good, and good can be implanted in him (HH 293).
Being reborn, as Jesus says we must be, is a process. It is not a magical transformation that happens in the twinkling of an eye. It is a process in which we see, fully acknowledge, and turn away from our character flaws. In fact, as we let God’s love into us, we no longer crave our former lusts. We love heavenly delights instead. Loving God and loving the neighbor become pleasant to us. Aristotle claimed that a person isn’t truly virtuous until he or she enjoys virtue. Swedenborg describes this process succinctly,
That a person cannot be reformed unless he has freedom, is because he is born into evils of every kind, which yet must be removed in order that he may be saved; nor can they be removed unless he sees them in himself and acknowledges them, and afterward ceases to will them, and at length holds them in aversion; then they are first removed (HH 598).
Seeing our character defects, and turning away from them opens us up to receive their opposite. For when we realise that we aren’t the centre of the universe, we first begin to live for God and for our neighbors. When we first realise that the short-lived vanities of the world like fame or wealth or popularity don’t make us truly happy, then we first begin to seek out treasures for ourselves in heaven. Then we come to value honesty, truth, wisdom, and all the varieties of good service we can do. This is how the process of spiritual rebirth happens.
God is continually lifting us upward to Himself all through our lives. Swedenborg says,
There is actually a sphere elevating all to heaven, that proceeds continually from the Lord and fills the whole natural world and the whole spiritual world; it is like a strong current in the ocean, which draws the ship in a hidden way. All those who believe in the Lord and live according to His precepts, enter that sphere or current and are lifted (TCR 652).
Everyone can be lifted up into heavenly love and into God’s kingdom. Swedenborg is very clear on this, “Since all men have been redeemed, all may be regenerated each according to his state” (TCR 579). We all have our own path to God. Since we all have unique personalities, hereditary dispositions, and different upbringings, our regeneration is unique to each one of us. Swedenborg explains,
All may be regenerated, each according to his state; for the simple and the learned are regenerated differently; as are those engaged in different pursuits, and those who fill different offices . . . those who are principled in natural good from their parents, and those who are in evil; those who from their infancy have entered into the vanities of the world, and those who sooner or later have withdrawn from them . . . and this variety, like that of people’s features and dispositions, is infinite; and yet everyone, according to his state may be regenerated and saved (TCR 580).
Meanwhile, we live in between heaven and hell. We should not be surprised to see some character traits in ourselves that are unhealthy and need amendment. We don’t want to put our head in the sand and cower under a supposed spiritual perfection. To do so would prohibit us from the primary means of our salvation. Our sins are removed to the extent that a person, “sees them in himself and acknowledges them, and afterward ceases to will them, and at length holds them in aversion” (HH 598).
Finally, I need to say something about self-esteem in the light of character defects and the theological word “sin.” Nearly every spiritual program has a confessional component to it. And this also includes 12-step programs like AA and Al-Anon. Step 4 in AA and Al-Anon talks about making a rigorous moral inventory of ourselves. In Catholicism, there is confession to a priest and absolution. In our religion, we talk of self-examination and confession privately before God. But when taking these confessional steps, a rigorous moral inventory is a true inventory. It is an assessment of strengths as well as weaknesses, character virtues and character defects. It is not a place for crushing guilt or shame. But an assessment and amendment of life is required in all these systems. “Unless a person is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God.” It is in our best interest to do so. For instance, in Al-Anon they talk about coping mechanisms that may arise under alcoholic environments that no longer work, or that interfere with more healthy ways of showing and receiving love. Where would a person be if they continued to live out behavior patterns from childhood in adulthood? Where would a person be if they continued to practice unhealthy coping skills when they have the opportunity to live in open, healthy, and loving relationships?
Change is hard. But as they do in other programs, I urge us all to be fearless in our self-appraisal. Ask God to shine a light on our lives and to give us the wisdom to see where and how we can amend our lives. Admitting that we may be able to live a better way does not mean we need to lose self-esteem. In fact, it takes true self-esteem to embrace our shadow. It takes psychological strength to accept who we truly are. For we are not wholly bad or good. Embracing our whole self is the way to true self-esteem, and to spiritual growth and progress.

PRAYER

Lord, we trust in your care and in your providence. We know that you hold us all in your loving embrace. We know that you continually lift us upward to you. We ask that you give us the courage to look at ourselves, to see where we are strong in our faith and where we have weaknesses in our spiritual program. Let us fearlessly see where we have fallen away from your heavenly delights. And give us the power to change and amend our lives so that we may fill our hearts with the good things of your kingdom. As we turn away from sin and darkness, we pray that you inspire all good delights in us. Fit us to receive the heat and light that make up heaven’s environment, and bring us to you and to our eternal home with you.

Lord, we ask for your peace to descend upon this troubled world. Where there is conflict and war, let there be understanding and peace. Inspire our leaders, and the leaders of other nations to govern their people with compassion and with your Holy Love. Where there is famine and thirst, may good hearted aid come and satisfy the needs of those who want. Where there are natural disasters, may help come from good neighbors and from compassionate governments. Where there is hardship and unemployment, lend your patience and hope.

Lord, send your healing love to all those suffering in body and soul. We ask you to give the gift of health to all in need. Heal all of our loved ones and comfort us as we wait with them.

Your smallest or most generous free-will offering would be greatly appreciated for this important work. Cheques may be made out to The Edmonton New Church Society, and mailed to:
Church of the Holy City
9119-128A Avenue
Edmonton, AB T5E 0J6
Canada