August 30: Sermon Addendum (a few more thoughts about the Gospel)…

Jesus said, “For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come.”

I recently watched the movie, The Giver, based on the book by Lois Lowry (my daughter Hannah had to read this book for 6th grade (her summer reading project!)). I was struck by the ending sequence below and how it coincided with Jesus and his words about our hearts.

This is from the movie The Giver:

The Giver - You should stop this.

Chief Elder - Stop what? If you don't want to see it, sit with the other Elders. Close your eyes.

The Giver - Her name was Rosemary. She was my daughter. I loved her.

Chief Elder - Precision of language!

The Giver - Ha, ha. Could not be more precise. Do you know what that's like? To love someone? I do. I cried. Don't you sorrow? Love, song, dance. Oh, real joy.

Chief Elder - Then you should know better than anyone. You have seen children starve. You have seen people stand on each others' necks. Just for the view. You know what it feels like when men blow each other up.

The Giver - Yes.

Chief Elder - All for a simple lie?

The Giver - I do, I do.

Chief Elder - And yes, and yes. You and Jonas want to... open that door again. Bring all that back?

The Giver - If you could see the possibilities of life.

Chief Elder - Why?

The Giver - Of love. With love comes faith with comes hope!

Chief Elder - Love is just a passion that can turn. And with turn we have contempt and murder.

The Giver - You could choose better.

Chief Elder - People are weak. People are selfish. And if people have the freedom to choose they choose wrong. Every single time....

The Giver - We are living in a life of shadows. Of echoes of faint distant whispers of what was once made real!

It was supposed to be Utopia, but without love?

When Jesus talks about our hearts, he is telling us we have a choice, will it be the seat of love or will be it the place of evil intentions. There are such great possibilities of life, but will we love?

I disagree with the Chief Elder and we must let people choose love, they might just surprise you…

“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. That is not our business and, in fact, it is nobody's business. What we are asked to do is to love, and this love itself will render both ourselves and our neighbors worthy if anything can.” --Thomas Merton, in a letter to Dorothy Day