September 1 | Pentecost 15, Year B
Song 2:8-13 or Deut. 4:1-2, 6-9
Ps. 45:1-2, 7-10 or Ps. 15
James 1:17-27
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
Building and maintaining bonds of goodwill and peace is a perennial Christian practice. We will never, in this life, arrive at the point that vigilance may be set aside. In the appointed Collect, we pray, “Graft in our hearts the love of your Name; increase in us true religion; nourish us with all goodness; and bring forth in us the fruit of good works.” Of the many fruits of the Spirit, perhaps nothing is more important than unity, peace, and bonds of love. In the important quest to hold the body of Christ together, we must, with prudence and knowledge, and the assistance of the Spirit, discern what ought to be done. What do I owe my neighbor? Perhaps even more important is a keen awareness of those things we should refrain from doing. Strangely, we can do a lot of good by what we don’t do.
St. James advises, “You must understand this, my beloved: let everyone be quick to listen, slow to speak, slow to anger; for your anger does not produce God’s righteousness. Therefore rid yourselves of all sordidness and rank growth of wickedness” (1:19-21a). He adds, “If any think they are religious, and do not bridle their tongues but deceive their hearts, their religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (1:26-27).
Just as there are things to do, there are things we should not do. Do not speak too quickly, do not be given to fits of anger, do not pursue what is sordid or wicked. Jesus mentions evil intentions arising from a deviled human heart: “fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly” (Mark 7:21-22). Again, we have a list largely of prohibitions because certain actions are profoundly damaging to human community. If “the human heart is devious above all else,” what hope do we have of thwarting those thoughts and actions that are the ruination of all love and peace?
We need a new heart. “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:11). This renewal begins with the Advent of Christ and the dispensation of the Spirit of love. God changes our hearts by a divine love of profound intensity, a love that makes us new beings. Imagine Christ coming to us as the One who loves, the One who comes at just the right time, the time of renewal and fragrant beauty.
Imagine that Christ comes as your beloved. “Look, he comes, leaping upon the mountains, bounding over the hills” (Song 2:8). He comes not only willingly but joyfully. “My beloved is like a gazelle or a young stag” (2:9). Christ makes speed to save you, moving with an agile step. “There he stands behind our wall, gazing in at the widows, looking through the lattice” (2:9). Christ is courtly, looking through the door of the heart to evoke a free and willing reply. Then he tells you the hour is at hand. “Arise my love, my fair one, and come away; for now the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land. The fig puts forth its figs, and the vines are in blossom; they give forth fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away” (Song 2:10-13).
Who would have expected so ravishing a love? Touched by this love, we discover in ourselves a clean heart and a right spirit. In this way, we become light and salt; we emanate peace and concord.
Look It Up: Psalm 45:9
Think About It: The time is right (fragrant), and so your very life becomes fragrant with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. The music of love makes you glad.