“Setting Your Mind on the Things of the Spirit”
March 19, 2023
Dear brothers and sisters, grace and peace be to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
Anyone here ever played the game King of the Hill? Not long ago, at the school bus stop, I got to see some kids playing it on top of a snow hill which had formed near the curb. It was actually really fun to watch.
And, for those of you who remember, the rules are actually really simple: one person stands at the top of the hill, and proclaims him, or her, self to be King or Queen of the Hill. Then, everyone else tries to run up the hill and push the person already on top of the hill off. The one person who succeeds both in pushing the person already at the top off, as well as fending everyone else trying to get to the top off as well, gets to proclaim him or herself the winner. And, if you think about it, life has basically become one giant game of King of the Hill. We’re always in competition with each other, trying to outdo everyone else. We compete for the top grade average in our class. We try to be the top player on our teams, as we try to, along with our whole team, outplay the other team. We try to get the raise or promotion ahead of everyone else at work, and get noticed above everyone else. We try to assert ourselves as the most important people in our communities or neighborhoods in certain ways. We try to make ourselves superior by looking down and judging others because of their appearance, lifestyle, or background. In other words, we’re always trying to find excuses to push other people down, or push other people around, to satisfy some sort of need to feel better than, or superior to, everyone else.
And, whether or not we realize it, or even intend to, a lot of the time we’re looking down on other people. We may get a passing glance at someone, and try to figure out the kind of person they are based on their appearance or dress. And, when we do so, we may try to feel good about ourselves by thinking that we’re not like them because of who we think they are. You will also probably notice I’ve been using the phrase “try to” a lot – because a lot of the time, we’re attempting to find ways to look down on, judge, and feel superior to others – and even though we may feel like we succeed, we actually don’t. In fact, we end up seeing things for how they really are.
Also, since I can imagine many of you are wondering where exactly I’m going with all this, I want to emphasis that none of this is meant to point fingers or blame at anyone, or especially anyone in particular. I include myself in all of this, because I have struggled, and still continue to struggle, with forming opinions about people just based on appearance or other factors. I have also been just as guilty of trying to put myself at the top, above everyone else, or trying to feel superior to everyone else. I have also had several life experiences, including just in the last few years, which have shown me the consequences of my trying to put myself in a position of superiority.
And one of the things I’ve learned, especially after years of having to come to terms with what has happened, is that the reason we have a tendency to almost automatically want to put ourselves in a position of superiority over others is because our perspective on ourselves, and on life in general, is skewed. More about that in a few minutes, but for the moment, just keep in mind that, whether we’re actually aware we’re doing so or not, we’re looking for ways to make ourselves superior to everyone else. Even trying to make ourselves look better than everyone else in the eyes of God.
In today’s Gospel reading, that’s what the mother of James and John (whose father is Zebedee) is doing. She thinks her sons are superior to the other disciples, and so she wants to have them look better than everyone else in the eyes of God – in this case, Jesus. And who can blame her? After all, she’s their mom, so of course she’d think that her sons are better than anyone else. So she tries to have them put in a position above the others by asking Jesus to have them sit on two thrones: one at His right, and one at His left, in positions of prestige, power, and importance. But what she doesn’t realize is the true nature of who Jesus is and what His mission really is. He has even just flat out told what His purpose for being on earth ultimately is: He will be betrayed to those who believe themselves to be superior over others, namely the chief priests and teachers of the law. They will condemn Him to death, and turn Him over to others who believe themselves to be superior, the governing authorities, to be mocked, flogged, and crucified. His cross will be His true throne, because on it He will show Himself to be the true God and King. He will also be put to death as a common criminal, with two criminals crucified at His right and left – the places which, Jesus says, are already reserved for them. So He does not seek power and prestige for Himself, but instead, He has come to die.
But the reason He has to die is to serve all people by dying as a sacrifice for all sins; and freeing all people from the power and control of sin. He furthermore, as Paul says in today’s Second Reading from Romans, died to free us from the condemnation of sin. Because the law could not save us or free us from sin, Jesus had to do it Himself, fulfilling all the requirements of the law. Then to rise again, to show that, in that way He is the greatest and above everything else: by defeating what nothing else could defeat, death, He showed Himself to be the ultimate victor. And it is for this reason, because of His humiliation, death, and resurrection, that He, and He alone, is the King and supreme over all. Jesus’ Kingdom also cannot be identified with any particular political system, party, or ideology, because it is beyond and above earthly rule and politics. Nor can Jesus’ Kingdom be identified with any one particular country, because Jesus rules over the entire world.
And why is all this important? Because of what we hear about in today’s Second Reading: the sinful nature versus the spiritual nature. Unfortunately, we do still struggle with our sinful nature. The world itself is not the problem – God has created the world to be good. The issue is that the sinful human nature still runs rampant at times. What is sin exactly? Well, the original sin in the Garden of Eden, which we heard about just a few weeks ago, was trying to be like God. Basically, trying to play King of the Hill with God, and push Him out of our lives, living without Him. This also means we try, at times, to put ourselves in the place of God. Which means trying to see other people, or see ourselves, as how we think God sees us, or them. But when we do so, we are actually letting our minds be hostile to God, because we are trying to put ourselves in the place of God. It is therefore time for us to claim what Jesus died for in the first place: to free us from the power and control of sin. As Paul says in verse 9, “You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit if the Spirit of God lives in you.” So it is time to let the Spirit of God live in us again, and let Him take control of our thoughts, attitudes, and feelings. Paul then goes on in verse 10, “But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.” Even though our physical existence is someday destined to end, and even though we continue to struggle with sin while in this life, we have the promise that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to overcome all those things which are opposed to God. And, we also have the promise of eternal life after death, which has been won for us by Jesus Himself by His own resurrection. So the good news, the Gospel, here is that, in Jesus, we have been forgiven of our sins, especially those where we have tried to put ourselves in the place of God. We have this forgiveness because Jesus has died and risen again as our substitute: today’s First Reading from Hosea is actually a prophecy about Jesus. He allowed Himself to be torn to pieces, but He was healed; He was injured, but His wounds were bound up; and He was raised again after two days of being dead. He was then restored to full life on the third day, so that we all would be able to live in His presence. He promises forgiveness to all who seek Him and ask to be restored. So it is time for us all to ask Him for forgiveness, and the ability to see life as He sees it.
There are two dimensions to life: the vertical and the horizontal. Unfortunately, our vertical view has been focused on looking down on others, or looking up to figures we feel are important. But notice that, in this particular picture, the vertical and horizontal lines form a cross – and this is on purpose. Our only real vertical relationship is with Jesus; our vertical view ought to be looking instead up to Jesus Christ alone. And once we look to Jesus, we see ourselves for who we are, and others for who they are – we are all people loved and valued by God. This is what is meant by horizontal relationships: to have a truly spiritual view means to be looking vertically to Jesus, and then horizontally to others. Seeing horizontally means seeing everyone else as being equal to us, and valuing each other’s uniqueness, struggles, experiences, and We also have to remember that when we were baptized, we were united with Jesus, and so we were united to His purpose. This means that, just as He came to serve, we share in His serving. As the saying goes: “Never look down on someone unless you are helping them up.” We are to be in the position – literally and figuratively – of being able to help people up, by encouraging, building them up, and helping them in every kind of need. No longer playing King of the Hill, and pushing people down, or out of the way, but instead being of help and service to everyone. So as we are changed by God each day, we are learning more and more to see ourselves and others not just as “us” and “them,” but those whom God wishes to serve – us and others. Jesus gave His life as a ransom for many, and everyone. In fact, it's helpful for us to remember that, even though there may be those we may be tempted to look down on, Jesus died for such people as well. And let us always remember that, just as Jesus died for us and all people, we are to live for all people as well. As we look up to Jesus, let us look at everyone next to us, and around us. And let us ask for a mind controlled by the Spirit, so we may live in life and peace, and especially live a peaceful life with each other as equals.
Now may the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.
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