Restraint is a habit built up over time. And we see it in action in the small decisions we make every day.
- We are faced with the choice to once again eat the unhealthy junk food especially when we are feeling bad about something of shame – and our bodies build up plaques in our heart and arteries instead of dealing with the emotional trauma or pain.Get behind me temptation. What is the way of love in this moment? Love of ourselves.
- We are sitting in the living room and a family member starts a conversation with us, they are trying to connect with us. We turn briefly to face them but then hear our cell phone ringing. How often do we give up what is clearly in front of us, to turn toward the possible, to the new? Get behind me temptation. What is the way of love in this moment? Love of our neighbours.
- We continue to desire more and more wealth. Purchasing this and that more expensive item, and discarding the old/previous ones, and we don’t pay attention to how these acts of consumerism take from and then pollute the earth Get behind me temptation. What is the way of love in this moment? Love of our earth.
Sermon Resources:
In this week’s CBC tapestry podcast – Mary Hynes interviews Ainissa Ramirez, author of the book: “The Alchemy of Us: How Humans and Matter Transformed One Another” https://www.kqed.org/science/26331/how-electric-light-changed-the-night
Thomas Keating, Reflections on the Unknowable.
Lecture by Dr. Peter Victor: Slower by Design
Sallie McFague: Blessed, are the Consumers: Climate Change and the Practice of Restraint
Artwork and Photographs:
Image 1: photograph by Vivian McGie
Image 2: Artist Randy Hester
Image 3: Artist: Tissot, James (1836-1902)
