Wandering Christian

What you have come to is nothing known to the senses: nor heat of a blazing fire, darkness and gloom and storms, blasts of trumpets or such a voice that the people pleaded that no further word be spoken.
But you came near to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, to the heavenly Jerusalem with its innumerable angels. You have come to the solemn feast, the assembly of the firstborn of God, whose names are written in heaven. There is God, Judge of all, with the spirits of the upright brought to per­fec­tion. There is Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, with the sprinkled blood that cries out more effectively than Abel’s.
Be careful not to reject God when he speaks. If those who did not heed the prophet’s warnings were not spared on earth, how much more shall we be punished if we do not heed the One warning us from heaven? His voice then shook the earth, but now he says: Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.
The words once more indicate the removal of everything that can be shaken, that is, created things, and only those that cannot be shaken will remain. Such is the kingdom that we receive. Let us then be grateful and offer to God a worship pleasing to him with reverence and awe. Our God is indeed a consuming fire.

Jesus went through towns and villages teaching and making his way to Jerusalem. Someone asked him, “Lord, is it true that few people will be saved?”
And Jesus answered, “Do your best to enter by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has got up and locked the door, you will stand outside; then you will knock at the door calling: ‘Lord, open to us.’ But he will say to you: ‘I do not know where you come from.’
Then you will say: We ate and drank with you and you taught in our streets! But he will reply: ‘I don’t know where you come from. Away from me all you workers of evil.’
You will weep and grind your teeth when you see Abraham and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves left outside. Others will sit at table in the kingdom of God, people coming from east and west, from north and south. Some who are among the last will be the first, and others who were first will be last!”

Hebrews 12:18-19,22-29 and Luke 13:22-30 - Proper of the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (year C)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

My 88-year old grandmother carries what I call the Portuguese melancholy gene. This is a term I invented after realizing that it is culturally Portuguese to have this growing nostalgia and sensibility as older one gets.

The point is that, more than that, my grandmother has a spiritual sensitivity that often makes her cry over daily issues. She cannot watch the news sometimes, because the dramas of the world make her suffer much more than what she can handle. And when it comes to spiritual matters, it can get even worse. If she looks at a crucifix, just the idea of imagining Christ's pain, hanging on the cross, makes her blood pressure rise and her eyes get full of tears.

For years, I joined the crowd of relatives who would mock her for her “silliness and juvenile behavior”. For years, I myself could not cry. From my mid-adolescence to some years ago, I promised myself I would not cry again. All those who had caused me so much pain would not see my tears anymore. And then I started crying from the inside, until God rescued me and I came back to the Church...

This week, I understood granny. Three days ago, a series of events in my life triggered an extreme sensibility to people's pains. I caught myself crying because a priest I didn't even know in this life died of cancer. I cried when I knew of a young woman in Curitiba (which is not even a violent city) who was murdered this weekend. I cried when I saw the beggars on the street, asking for food. I cried because a friend was expelled from his home. I cried when I realized Christ took all this pain on that cross. It is too much pain...

God is crying too. Can't you see?

Every thirteen minutes, a Brazilian is murdered. US$ 100,000.00 per year is the amount of money that the National Health Service expends treating people injured by firearms. When this year finishes, 25,000 Brazilians will have been killed because of car accidents, many of them so easily preventable! In São Paulo, about 60% of all murders happen for futile reasons. Only in Rio, urban guerrilla kills eight times more than conflicts in Palestine. 30% of all murderers here are teenagers.

There is more! In the whole world, there is one gun for every twelve people. Every minute, one child dies from AIDS. Eight million children in this planet die from hunger every year. One million people worldwide commit suicide in this same period. For every two babies that are born in the world, there was one abortion... 126,000 abortions per day, many of them for stupid reasons. Wars, many of them in the name of God, have taken away 185,000,000 people in the XXth century – one in every 22 deaths.

In our country, we have seen a Native American being burned by rich youngsters in Brasília. A teacher, who happened to be homosexual, was heavily beaten by a nazi-gang while walking home, alone, in São Paulo. Some days ago, a maid was spanked by wealthy teenagers in Rio. An American nun, Sr. Dorothy Stang, was shot dead years ago, for being a human rights activist in the Amazon.

We waste... resources, food, water... We live as if our descendants did not need this world. We destroy this giant Garden of Eden named Earth. Gaia, this organic complex composed of all God's creation, is severely ill. And we do not care.

We do not share. Not even a hug sometimes! We see people in need every single day, but we got used to their existence. They do not bother anymore.

I did not want to be God. It is too much pain and too much destruction for anyone to handle.

God is crying. Can't you see?

I must confess my greatest weakness is hatred. I tend to hate people I consider evil. Throughout my life as a Christian, I have struggled with this recurring feeling of hatred I feel when I see some of those actions (and many more) I have cited before.

I cannot be God! I would exterminate all of them with my magic wand. They would have no second choice, nothing! I would purge the world from evil, by all means necessary.

God, however, has given us a choice. There is a narrow door through which anyone can enter, as today's Gospel tells us. But why a narrow door? In ancient times, cities had walls, for protection against eventual invaders. During the day, the big, main doors, were kept wide open; but when night came, they were shut, and only some small side doors could be used as an entrance, especially for merchants and caravans. So, if one were planning to get inside the city, this person really needed to find these small passages.

It is not very pleasant to spend a night in the desert. Temperatures can get very low and the wind is violent in such places. But if one could not find the narrow door, that would be her/his destiny. No city guards would let someone in through the main doors at night.

It is interesting to notice that the lesson from Hebrews tells us about a Heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, where Jesus celebrates the feast with the saints and angels. The imagery of Heaven as a city was also explored by many Christian theologians. St. Augustine of Hippo wrote a whole book, coincidently called City of God, in the Vth century. By then, Rome was sacked by the Visigoths, and many Romans were in dismay, since they believed that, after Christianity's designation as the official religion of the empire, Rome would triumph as the new Israel.

St. Augustine, however, argued that Christianity should be concerned with the mystical New Jerusalem only. Religion should not hold hands with organized politics. In fact, they would be constantly in conflict: the City of God against the City of Man. Those who were committed to Christian values, such as peace, justice and reconciliation, composed the City of God. Those who had strayed from it were the City of Man. Ultimately, the City of God would triumph.

Jesus wants everybody to enter the City of God. And it is a bold and strong statement to say this in this community called Cidade de Deus (City of God, in Portuguese), but where so many are still in the City of Man. But as our lesson says, everything that can be shaken will be removed, and only what cannot be shaken will remain.

It is my deep desire that all have a chance to find the narrow door. I hope the punishments people inflict to themselves will convince them of their sins and urge them to repent from their unrighteous ways.

God cries when one of these beloved children does not find the narrow door. Can't you see?

The door is narrow not because God does not want us to find the way to it. It is narrow because the City of God is so precious it cannot be invaded by those who are not committed to Christ's kingdom. Unfortunately, many claim to be Christ's disciples, but fail to put into practice his message. They claim they have eaten with him, and had him preaching on their streets, but still have not found the way through the narrow door.

Abp. Tutu, Bishop Emeritus of Cape Town, once said that “not to take a stand against injustice is to take a stand for it”. Sometimes, we feel safe and comfortable in our churches. We do not care about the pain and suffering this world around us feels. What we do not know is that, when we do that, we miss the narrow door.

We are so close to the City of God! This is what the epistle reading says... We are by its door and invited to come in. All we have to do is to take a stand. A stand against prejudice, opression and violence. A stand against incredulity and lack of hope. A stand against hunger, poverty and misery. A stand against everything that is un-christlike.

Our Lord Jesus Christ wants everybody, from east, west, north and south, to come in and celebrate the feast. As his followers, it is our duty to reach as many people as possible and show this path of light to them.

Yesterday I woke up with a song in my mind. Like +Tutu, the song is from South Africa and is sung in Zulu, one of their many languages. It is composed of one simple sentence: Siyahamba ekukhanyen' kwenkhos' (in English: “We are marching in the light of God”). Last week I saw our primate dancing to it on an Internet movie and it made me remember of a choir I joined years ago. Siyahamba was one of my favorite hymns. It fits so well this community, because one cannot listen to it without busting a move!

I hope, with all my heart, that we all will march even more in the light of God, taking as many people as we can find along the way to the Heavenly City.

The New Jerusalem is right there. Can't you see? All we need is to take a stand.

And then God will smile. Forever. Can you see?

Sermon preached at Christ the King, a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro, in 08/26/2007.

What a cloud of innumerable witnesses surround us! So let us be rid of every encumbrance, and especially of sin, to persevere in running the race marked out before us.
Let us look to Jesus the founder of our faith, who will bring it to completion. For the sake of the joy reserved for him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and then sat at the right of the throne of God. Think of Jesus who suffered so many contradictions from evil people, and you will not be discouraged or grow weary. Have you already shed your blood in the struggle against sin?
Do not forget the comforting words that Wisdom addresses to you as children: My son, pay attention when the Lord corrects you and do not be discouraged when he punishes you. For the Lord corrects those he loves and chastises everyone he accepts as a son.
What you endure is in order to correct you. God treats you like sons and what son is not corrected by his father?
All correction is painful at the moment, rather than pleasant; later it brings the fruit of peace, that is, holiness to those who have been trained by it.
Lift up, then, your drooping hands, and strengthen your trembling knees; make level the ways for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but healed.
Strive for peace with all and strive to be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord.

I have come to bring fire upon the earth and how I wish it were already kindled; but I have a baptism to undergo and what anguish I feel until it is over!
Do you think that I have come to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on, in one house five will be divided; three against two, and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father; mother against daughter and daughter against mother; mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.”
Jesus said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once: ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. And when the wind blows from the south, you say: ‘It will be hot’; and so it is. You superficial people! You understand the signs of the earth and the sky, but you don’t understand the present times.”

Hebrews 12:1-7,11-14 and Luke 12:49-56 - Proper of the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (year C)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

This is, for sure, one of the (apparently) most contradictory passages of Jesus. When we think about his ministry among us, ideas such as peace, calmness and reconciliation always come to our mind. How can, then, Christ himself announce division? We have also learned about divine punishment, from the lesson of the epistle to the Hebrews, and then, someone could think: “who is this God today, so different from other sundays?”

The kernel of the message, however, is the dialectics between present and future – between things that belong to the present times (and to the immediate future), things that belong to the future times, and, of course how we should react towards the challenges that appear before us.

Jesus knew already what would happen after his baptism on the cross. Practically all of his disciples were martyred because of the Gospel. At that moment, a blood trail started in Christianity, and this trail still endures nowadays. Christ's message was so radical that it could not harmonize itself with the structures of a cruel and assassin world. Those who preached it were most of the time persecuted, hummiliated and even tortured and murdered. These are the signs of the present times.

In the present times, all of us have small choices. Some of them, however, determine our posture of obedience or disobedience towards God. Eventually, we suffer the consequences of our own disobedience, not as a “cruel persecution” of a selfish god, but as and admonishment, so we will be more and more like God.

These choices, in present times, cause divisions. In some cases, they happen in the same family. And, unfortunately, History has plenty of examples of faithful Christians who were denounced to the authorities by members of their own family. Such facts still happen nowadays.

Christ's family also lives a division in present times. Currently, we see a group composed by those that still preach old paradigms, in many occasions disguised with a contemporary outfit. They see the Holy Scriptures in a fundamentalist and literal way. They defend their doctrinal “purity” and their “sane” doctrine against the heresies of other churches. Frequently, they try to take advantage of politics in order to gain power, funding and even manipulating eventual civil punishments. They preach a gospel of exclusion, according to which only some, many times living of appearances, have access to the ecclesiastical structure, while ethnic, social, sexual and economic minorities are put aside. This group, most of the time, crashes with those who have tried to pursue justice and reconciliation; who have seeked to value each one's experience of the sacred and to listen to the good new things that the Holy Spirit is announcing to the Church. Such group does not intend to claim they are the owners of the ultimate truth. They do not see the Bible either as a closed code, disconnected from human beings' lives. They understand that the Gospel is for all creatures and that the Peace of Christ is the ultimate arbiter in the heart of every person who accepts Him.

Jesus predicted those divisions. He knew they would appear – even inside the Church. Such present time dividions, however, must not cause fear or dispair. They predict, truly, a future time which will be much better for all of us.

In the future times, there will not be tears, fear or persecution, because Christ will be humankind's guide. There will be only peace and justice.

In the future times, what today is apparently a reason to be sad, will be a reason for joy, because God treats us as mother and father, admonishing us now so we will not suffer later.

In the future times, the ways will be leveled, the sick will be cured and the kingdoms of this world will become the Kingdom of God.

In the future times, every tongue will confess and every knee will bend before Jesus Christ, our Lord.

And then the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews tells us about this great cloud of witnesses, who are the saints of the Triumphant Church, the angels and heavenly creatures who are among us, supporting us through this long run towards God. This image was very much explored by Eastern Christian Theology, as a concept called, in Greek, Theosis (or deification). This is a process through which we become like God, following his example and trying to be like him.

Saint Athanasius synthetizes this concept in two sentences I cite now: “God was made man, so that we might be made God”, and also: “As the Lord, putting on the body, became man, so we men are deified by the Word, and henceforth inherit life everlasting”. Saint Iranaeus also cited theosis. He said that “For this the Word of God became man, and the Son of God Son of man, that man, mingled with the Word and thus receiving adoption, might become a son of God.”

This is the acknowledgement that God has donated himself to humankind, became flesh and has redeemed all of us from our sins, so, we would, through his body, achieve deification.

We were created in the image and likeness of God. All creation is God's work. If we are God's work, there is grace in us. Of course, sin covers the original divine bright. But God, in order to restore the glory of his creation, gives us the opportunity, through his incarnation, death and resurrection, of being cleansed of these layers of dust that separate us from him.

And then, deification interacts with the concept of santification and also with Church unity. In Christ, there is an open way to be one with God again, and one with our brethren. It does not mean that we will be “gods” of a celestial pantheon – but that we will, at a certain moment, be in such harmony with God that we will be one with him. We will have been absorbed by God's wondrous grace. Conversion is a continuous process, according to which we gradually become like God, until we will all be one with him. Unfortunately, this cannot happen in this world right now, but it is our duty to work so we will, in this life, come the closest to this ideal, joining this cloud of celestial witnesses.

Humankind is covered by sin when people intend to be “God” on their own (eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, according to the Genesis myth). Humankind is redeemed from sin when people accept the reconciliation of the world through Christ, and take the path of deification through his imitation. The road is dull, and there will be pain and persecution. These are signs of the present times. However, we are certain that, at the end, we will win this run with our eyes firmly looking at Jesus, the founder of our faith, who will bring it to completion. The victory in Christ is a sign of the future times, which we can experiment, even today.

I always get emotional when I think about the possibility of eternal life. Having been part of my life in a conservative Christian tradition, I have dealt with the fear of going to hell, thinking that God had given up on me, or even predestined me to damnation. And when I think that, at the end of this long run, I will win, I get emotional. Then, two hymns come to my mind, both very moving. One of the is 238 of the Brazilian Episcopal Hymnal (lyrics by a Brazilian Priest, using King's Lynn as its melody), which says: “it will not take much time and the world will pass, as subtle as a flower; but the faithful will remain forever with Christ, the Savior”. The other hymn is the well-known “Amazing Grace”, which ends with: “when we've been there ten thousand years, bright shining as the sun; we've no less days to sing God's praise, than when we'd first begun”.

So, my brethren, let us keep our rhumb, empowering our neighbors and aiming at the ultimate objective, which is Christ, so we will understand the signs of the present times and rejoice in the hope of a more righteous, fraternal and divine future.

Sermon preached at Christ the King, a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro, in 19/05/2007.

I, the teacher, have been king of Israel in Jerusalem. I set my heart on studying and examining critically all that is done under heaven. It is a burdensome task which God has given to the humans! I have seen everything that is done under the sun, but all is meaningless: it is chasing the wind.
I said in my heart, “I will try plea- sure! taste happiness!” But I found that was useless. Laughter is foolishness! As for pleasure, what good is it? I thought of cheering my body with wine while my heart searched for wisdom. So I gave myself to folly in order to find out what would be good for man to do under the sun throughout his life.
I did great things: I built houses and planted vine­yards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees. I constructed reservoirs to irrigate the orchards. I bought slaves and servants and had slaves born in my household. I had flocks and herds in abundance more than anyone before me in Jerusalem.
Then I considered all I had achieved by my work and all the toil it had entailed and found that it was all meaningless and chasing wind. There is no profit under the sun.
I hated all I had labored for under the sun and which I must leave to my successor. Who knows whether he will be foolish or wise? Yet he will be master of all I have achieved by my own efforts and wisdom: that too is meaningless.
And I began to despair in my heart over all my labor under the sun. For here was a man who toiled in all wisdom, knowledge and skill and he must leave all to someone who has not worked for it. This is meaningless and a great misfortune. For what profit is there for a man in all his work and heart-searching under the sun? All his days bring sorrow, his work grief; he hasn’t, moreover, peaceful rest at night: that too is meaningless.

Therefore, put to death what is earthly in your life, that is immorality, impurity, inordinate passions, wicked desires and greed which is a way of worshiping idols. These are the things that arouse the wrath of God.
For a time you followed this way and lived in such disorders. Well then, reject all that: anger, evil intentions, malice; and let no abusive words be heard from your lips.
Do not lie to one an­other. You have been stripped of the old self and its way of thinking to put on the new, which is being renewed and is to reach perfect knowledge and the likeness of its creator. There is no room for distinction between Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, foreigner, slave or free, but Christ is all and in all.
Clothe yourselves, then, as is fitting for God’s chosen people, holy and beloved of him. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meek­ness and patience to bear with one another and forgive whenever there is any occasion to do so. As the Lord has forgiven you, forgive one an­other. Above all, clothe yourselves with love which binds everything together in perfect harmony. May the peace of Christ overflow in your hearts; for this end you were called to be one body. And be thankful.
Let the word of God dwell in you in all its richness. Teach and admonish one another with words of wisdom. With thankful hearts sing to God psalms, hymns and spontaneous praise. And whatever you do or say, do it in the Name of Jesus, the Lord, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Someone in the crowd spoke to Jesus, “Master, tell my brother to share with me the family inheritance.” He replied, “My friend, who has appointed me as your judge or your attorney?” Then Jesus said to the people, “Be on your guard and avoid every kind of greed, for even though you have many possessions, it is not that which gives you life.”
And Jesus continued with this story, “There was a rich man and his land had produced a good harvest. He thought: ‘What shall I do? For I am short of room to store my harvest.’ So this is what he planned: ‘I will pull down my barns and build bigger ones to store all this grain, which is my wealth. Then I may say to myself: My friend, you have a lot of good things put by for many years. Rest, eat, drink and enjoy yourself.’ But God said to him: ‘You fool! This very night your life will be taken from you; tell me who shall get all you have put aside?’ This is the lot of the one who stores up riches instead of amassing for God.”

Ecclesiastes 1:12-14,2:1-7,11,18-23, Colossians 3:5-17 and Luke 12:13-21 - Proper of the thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (year C)
The Bible (Pastoral Community Version)

According to Greek legends, there was a Great Oracle from prehistoric times in the city of Delphi, in Ancient Greece. During the Classical period, the temple became a center of the worship of Apollo and female priests were added who continued to prophesy in the Delphic Tradition. The Delphic Oracle, was very influential in the ancient Hellenic culture. These Pythia were believed to speak the words of Apollo once they went into a trance and received the breath of Apollo. All Greeks consulted her before making major decisions or before waging war. Croesus, the king of Lydia, who was considered to be the richest man in the world, consulted Delphi before attacking the Persians, who were approaching Asia Minor. Herodotus records that the priestess responded to him, saying "If you cross the river, you will destroy a great empire." Believing the response favorable, Croesus attacked, but it was his own empire that was ultimately destroyed by the Persians. Soon, all his wealth was in the hands of a foreign people.

King Solomon was also a very wealthy man- one of the wealthiest kings of his day. He collected all sorts of treasures: palaces, farms, women... and also wisdom: much wisdom. He was considered the Qoheleth: a preeminent teacher, philosopher and wise man of his day. Solomon lived intensely, as youngsters say nowadays: he earned so much, he experienced so much, and he lived so much. He ate well, got drunk, and experienced all possible sensations that money could buy. He accumulated wealth and conquests for the future; a future that intrigues and scares us because it is a great secret. The future is a mystery that offers us no clues as to how it will unfold.

The secret of the future has always twisted people's minds. Even today, if we open a newspaper, we will find several "oracles" and several "priestesses": tarot readers, psychics, seers of all kinds...

There are those who will trust science. I remember I had a coworker who always used to play the lottery. He had complete statistics of the most chosen numbers and combinations. And he used to spend hours and hours calculating which numbers would be the most predictable ones, based on the information he had acquired previously. To him, the secret of the future was fortune.

To some, it is a marriage. I know a lady who daydreams of a decent marriage for her daughter. Every time the girl dates a man, she begins to devise a thousand plans, arguing the husband-wannabe is an important man and that her grandchildren will be raised attending fancy schools. Of course, she ends up scaring men that would eventually be interested in such a relationship, because of her extreme interest in a possible romance.

Others, just like Solomon, prefer to enjoy "today" the most. They allege it is necessary to live "intensely". Every day they are going out, disputing among themselves who drives faster, who drinks more alcohol without falling to the ground, who can be more ridiculous in public places, who has sex with the most women or men, who manages to dance the whole night without getting tired... It is necessary to try everything, even if this "everything" contradicts the moral values under which they were raised. In the future - they say - they will calm down and try to have a more "well-behaved" life. And then, they will rejoice in saying they had a wild youth.

The author of the Epistle to the Colossians, St. Paul (according to the Tradition of the Church), explains all those attitudes very well. At that time, people also had such concerns and preoccupations. Some had given themselves to bad behaviors; some, to avarice - all this to guarantee a better place in this world "under the sun".

"Under the sun" is an expression that the ancient Hebrews used to refer to this world in which we live. They believed the earth was a flat and circular surface, under which there was the abyss. The sun covered the earth, hiding itself at the end of the day, in order to allow the moon to take its place. Both formed a cupola over us. Beyond all that, there was the mysterious presence of God. Solomon, late in his life, noticed that in this world "under the sun", everything is meaningless... Our journey in this world is temporary; and, one day, we will be taken from here, according to God's will, to a brave new world "over the sun".

The secret of the future is not under the sun. It is over it. It is in God's mysterious presence, that enlightens us, even partially, like the sun that covers our days and gives life to God's creation. And over the sun, there is no room for distinction between Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, slave or free... There are no divisions, neither great ones or small ones. There are no rich neither poor, no modern neither outdated. All are equal. All are one.

The secret of the future, then, is not about wealth, because greed is providence without love. It is not in having pompous titles either, since hunger for fame is success without love. It is not in coveting what belongs to the others. This is ambition without love. It is not in life adventures either. Drunkenness is a test to one's limits, without self-love. Fortune telling is curiosity without love. Fornication is sex without love. Evil desires are the lack of self-control, tied to the absence of love. All those things, of course, can grant someone recognition among women and men; but, they do not turn anyone rich in God's eyes. And that is Jesus message to us in today's Gospel.

The Portuguese group Madredeus, probably known by some here, has been a recurring musical influence throughout my life. They have also sung on the secret of the future. And this song will be my message today:

The secret of the future,
Is love.
A sublime and pure love,
The beautiful love.
Only love
Solves everything in a greater hope.

Without love,
What was large is already smaller.
Without love
What was good has become worse
Only love
Solves everything and brings hope to us

I see time passing by quickly
And far away this hope,
That I feel vanishing,
Has called me
So I will call it

The idea of love
Has happened
On the road from Earth to Heaven.
The idea of love has not been lost, and has given back everything that was donated.
The key for the future is to give, again, love
To the "other"...
The "other" who is "you", and "him", and "me",
Alone in this world.

O segredo do futuro (translation) Madredeus
Click here to read the original lyrics

The secret of the future is love. A love greater than everything. In all we do, may we be clothed with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Clothed in Love, we Love God, and also the "other", who is "you", "them", and "me", alone in this world under the sun.

Let the word of Christ remain in us, and whatever we do or say, may we do it in the Name of Jesus the Lord, giving thanks through Christ to God the Mother and Father of us all, and living day by day our continuous experience with the world that lies upon the sun.

Sermon preached at Christ the King, a parish of the Anglican Diocese of Rio de Janeiro, in 08/05/2007.