Seems I have come full circle in my life.   In 1977, I signed up for a hitch in the Navy and ended up staying in eight years.  The first five years I detested the service and then, after advancing through the ranks, grew to like it more each year.  Then I hurt my knee and out to the civilian world I emerged, forever changed by my experience.

Now, after twenty-six years, I find myself working for the Navy again, albeit as a civilian.  I used to think of Naval Reactors as the bad guys while I was in the service.  They always seemed to cause us consternation and stress.  Now I am one of them, although so far down on the food chain as to be almost invisible.  I started my career in the Navy and I hope to end my career supporting the Navy.

Of course, the journey has not been without a few interesting twists and turns.   After my discharge from the Navy, I helped clean up the mess at Three Mile Island; twenty-five years later, I was cleaning up the mess at Hanford.  In between, I fathered a beautiful daughter, worked in two nuclear power plants, garnered two college degrees, and became a writer.  Somehow, this entity called the Holy Spirit called me, guided me, and comforted me the entire time.  No matter how bad thought things were, the Holy Spirit prevailed against the temptations and tribulations thrown my way.  Not every time mind you, but enough to win the war, despite losing a few battles along the way.  Now, I realize that not every lost battle is a defeat; no, it is a learning experience, and makes us stronger for the future.  The best is yet to come!  

And then I hear the price of peanut butter is going to skyrocket!  Must be Jimmy Carter's revenge.

The following is a sermon I preached at Trinity Episcopal Church today.

O Lord Open My Lips, and My Mouth Will Declare Your Praise

(Psalm 51:15)

In the Gospel reading today, the Pharisees try to trick Jesus with a question about paying taxes.  Jesus responded with the famous render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God things that are God’s.  (Matthew 22:21)

Although this seems a simple premise, what does it mean to give unto God the things that are his?  God’s currency is not money, nor does he collect a tax.  What then does God demand of us?

Jesus tells us there are only two commandments we need obey.  In Mark 12:30, Jesus tells us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.  The second is to love your neighbor as yourself.”

The old practice of sacrificing animals was no more.  In the past, the sacrifice of animals and of the harvest was an honor that God had required. However, with the arrival of the Son of God that requirement changed.  Jesus sacrificed himself for all of mankind.  He did not sacrifice a ram or a goat or a portion of his food … no, he sacrificed himself.  No greater love does a man have than to sacrifice himself to save his friends.

Therefore, if we owe our taxes to the government of man, what do we owe God?  The answer is simple and in the words of Jesus.  “Love God!”  Nothing less is accepted and nothing more is required. 

Seems like a simple answer does it not?  Nevertheless, as every person sitting in this church knows, it is not that simple.  We have a hard time showing love for our neighbors and some of us cannot love others as we love ourselves because we do not love our self.   And if we cannot love our neighbor how can we love God?

Thus, such a simple concept of love becomes such an ominous burden that we seem incapable of ever fulfilling the commandments of Christ.

God so loved the world that he sent his only begotten child to sacrifice himself for us.  Yet we find it burdensome to love him back.

First, we must look inside and realize that God in an act of love created us.  God loves us and wants us to love him back.  We are his children and he sent Jesus to show us the way, to teach us how to love him.  When we realize that God created us in love it is easier to love ourselves, despite our flaws and our sins.  We are each unique and yet we are each the same.

You cannot love a government for if you try the love is unrequited.  The love of God is not unrequited, it is real, it is sustainable, and it is eternal.  Governments rise and fall, the face on the coin changes every so often.  However, God does not change, he just is!

Once we love ourselves, it becomes easier to recognize our spiritual gifts.  These are gifts given by God to help us help others in the journey on this rock we call Earth.

In Corinthians 12:8, Paul talks about the Spiritual Gifts that the Holy Spirit has distributed among the believers of God.  There are numerous gifts that the Spirit has given, the power of persuasion, writing, counseling, prophecy, even the gift of getting in front of a group and speaking about the Lord … that is a gift which can be frightening, but with the help of the spirit the fear disappears and the love of God shows forth.

Henri Nouwen talks about the gifts that God bestows upon on at our Baptism; God gives us the Holy Spirit as our Counsellor, Helper and Comforter. God’s gifts to us at our baptism are:

• Love
• Joy
• Peace
• Hope

But for us to fully enjoy these gifts, we have to accept the fruits of the Holy Spirit [which are “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, trustfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:22-23 NJB)] into our hearts. How do we do that? We have to chew, mull, reflect and understand these fruits and let them sink into our hearts so that they become ours. Every morning we should then pray for the Holy Spirit to help us to do His will and not our will. We must spend time to ask for God’s help and to consistently concentrate on nurturing these fruits and, whenever the occasion arises, choose to:

· Be gentle

· Be patient

· Be kind

· Be good

· Be faithful

· Have self-control

As we focus on the Holy Spirit to generate these spiritual gifts in us, we will in time find that our lives will be more loving, joyous, peaceful and hopeful

So if God has given each of us a gift, how do we repay him?  Do we hide the gift?  If you give your spouse, a special gift and they throw it in the back of the closest how does that make you feel.  If we ignore the gifts, delivered by the Holy Spirit how do you think God feels?  Do you think he feels loved?

In order to use your gift to please God, you must first love yourself, for only with love can you gift be manifest.  I was raised a Baptist and I heard the fire and brimstone speeches when I was very young.  I had a nightmare of hell on Earth.  In retrospect, I think that preacher did me a favor, because when I later heard the message of love that Jesus preached it was if a flower bloomed in my soul.  I realized I did not need to be afraid of evil, nor the Devil, nor of going to hell.  And all because I believed in Jesus and his message and I felt his love.

When I was thirteen, I thought I would grow up to be a preacher.  The Holy Spirit had other plans for me though, and for a while, a long while, I stumbled in the dark and I hid my talents, and wallowed in sin.  My spirit though bound in darkness, yearned to be free and to find Jesus again.  The journey was long, there was a time that I knocked on the proverbial door, and a voice said, “Not yet, you are not ready.”

So I stumbled on, blinded by sin, corrupted by the world, yet longing to be one with God.  The journey has not been easy, for the longest time I did not love myself, nor could I love others.  Despair gripped my soul and depression set in. Oh how insidious the power of the Devil.  Through our despair, he makes us loathe ourselves, and that loathing becomes hate for ourselves and for the world. 

Love does set us free.  Love sets us free in so many ways.  Once we let Jesus into our heart, the Holy Spirit into our Soul, and God into our Mind, then we find the strength to love the Three-In-One with all our being.

Once I found love, once I opened my heart, and my mind, and my soul, I found the door opened for me.  I know my final destination even though I  do not know how long the journey will last.  Once I discovered the love of Jesus, I found the strength to use my spiritual gifts.  My gifts are still evolving and the strength of my soul has become a fortress for God.  The Devil still attacks, and sometimes with a vengeance, for he does not like to lose, but there is truth in the statement that Love Conquers ALL.

God gave us free will.  I believe this planet we live on is a test.  We can choose love or we can choose hate.  For most of mankind’s existence, it seems hate has won.  When we die, we do not take anything physical with us.  The body remains here, where it was created.  Our spirit goes on and it is love or hate that determines the direction we go.

Tomorrow morning when you wake up, look in the mirror, and ask yourself this simple question, “Do I choose love?”   

AMEN