Preached on 10-11-98

SOFTNESS OF HEART

A Sermon by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose

"For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, 'He has a demon.'" (Matt. 11:18)

LIFE IN THIS WORLD CAN BE HARD. This is something we all know, have all observed, and have all experienced. Life is not a bed of roses. What we would like out of life, and what we actually receive, are never the same. Within ourselves we would like life to go well for us. We want nice things, happy things, to happen to us. And yet, all too often, we find ourselves confronted by irritations, frustrations, and sometimes even misery, pain and tragedy.

There are, of course, many happy things in life -- things to be enjoyed, things to be treasured. But life in the natural world is not, and never will be, the same as life in heaven, for the natural world, and heaven, are two different things. Heaven is our eternal home -- the place where the Lord wants us to live forever. The natural world, though, is the place where we are prepared for heaven, and preparation for heaven can be very different from heaven itself.

Now this distinction, this contrast, between what is natural and what is heavenly, is portrayed in two different ways in the 11th chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew.

The chapter treats, first of all, of John the Baptist. John had been cast into prison, and, while in prison, he had heard about the Lord's ministry. John sent two of his disciples to the Lord, to ask whether or not the Lord was the Messiah who was to come. The Lord simply told these disciples to go back and tell John about His miracles. The Lord then spoke to the multitudes about John, telling them that John was the messenger prophesied in the Old Testament, the messenger who had come to prepare a way for Him.

John the Baptist was a prophet. He represented the same as Elijah of the Old Testament. John was a rough man. He lived in the wilderness. He ate locusts and wild honey. He was crudely dressed, wearing clothes made of camel's hair, and had a leather girdle about his loins. He did not mince words. He preached plainly and bluntly. He told people to repent -- to repent because the kingdom of God was at hand. He even had the temerity to tell Herod -- Herod the king himself -- that he had sinned in marrying his brother's wife (Mk. 6:18). John was not the kind of man welcome in polite, cultured society. He was rough, hard, and he rocked the boat.

The Lord's followers obviously had their doubts about John the Baptist. The Lord told them, though, that John the Baptist was the greatest of the prophets. And as for John's rough way of living, the Lord asked His followers: "But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses" (Matt. 11:8).

The Lord, in defending John, was, in reality, defending the Word in its literal sense. John the Baptist represented the external sense of the Word (AC 9372:6.). And the Word, as it is with people on earth, is, in many places, crude, rough and even harsh (AC 9372:4). Certainly it says things that we would rather it did not say -- for at times it condemns things which both we ourselves, and society at large, consider to be acceptable. The tendency is to explain away what the Word says -- to make it into what the Lord calls "a reed shaken by the wind," (cf. AC 9372:3) something that can explained away if present-day thinking should happen to disagree with it. But what the Word -- the Lord's Revelation here on earth -- says, it says for a reason. And when the Word speaks in ways that we think are harsh -- once again, it is for a reason.

What do we expect of the Word? Do we expect it simply to cheer us up when things go wrong, and to make us feel good about ourselves however we might choose to live? "But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft garments? Indeed, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses." John had not come simply to cheer people, flatter them, and make them feel comfortable. John the Baptist was rough and hard because he had a mission -- it was his lot to preach repentance and so prepare men for the coming of the Lord. So too, the Word in this world has been given to prepare us for conjunction with the Lord and for entrance into heaven. The kings' houses which the Lord refers to are the dwelling places of the angels. For the angels, the truths of the Word, the truths of the internal sense which clothe their spirits, are indeed soft. But for us here in the world, the truths of the Word must needs seem hard at times -- because the Word, in order to prepare us for heaven, must challenge what we love and how we live. The natural world is not the same as heaven -- and therefore the Word, given to people in the natural world, has to appear different than it does before the angels of heaven.

Later on, in the same chapter of Matthew, we see this same contrast between what is natural and what is spiritual, between preparation for heaven, and heaven itself. John the Baptist was not alone in sounding harsh. The Lord Himself sometimes spoke with a fiery zeal. Towards the end of the chapter, the Lord preaches against those cities which had not repented after seeing His miracles. "Woe to you, Chorazin!" "Woe to you, Bethsaida!" "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades." He condemned their lack of effort. He condemned their smugness, and their false sense of righteousness. And yet, at the same time, He loved them. He loved them with infinite gentleness, with infinite tenderness. The chapter closes with that beautiful invitation from the Lord:"Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. . . . For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Mt. 11:28, 30).

It seems as if there are two sides to the Lord, doesn't it? -- a hard, harsh side -- bluntly condemning, and even cursing, the behavior of those in Capernaum and in other cities. And then there is this soft side -- so tender, so gentle, so kind. So too, in His Word, there are hard and sometimes very strict teachings -- represented by John the Baptist. Within, though, the truths of the internal sense are soft and gentle -- the soft clothes of those in king's palaces. And the natural and spiritual worlds reflect this same contrast. There is the natural world -- at times beautiful, at times peaceful, but so often hard and brutal. And then, later, after we die, we go to the spiritual world -- where, in heaven, the angels live lives of constant peace, constant delight. There seem to be two sides, a hard side, and a gentle side, to life, to the Word, and even to the Lord Himself.

The hardness we see, and might attribute to the Lord and His Word, do not, though, originate in the Lord. The Lord Himself, in Himself, is pure love, pure gentleness, pure mercy. And so too, the Word, which is from Him, is, in its essence, mild, gentle, and filled with love. What in the literal sense might seem harsh, in the internal sense becomes gentle. The Writings give many examples of this. Where the literal sense speaks of anger, the internal sense is far softer. For example, anger, in the internal sense, represents "a certain obscure feeling that breaks in on the celestial delight on account of something not good and true in another" (AC 3909). Where the literal sense might speak of "hatred," the internal sense treats merely of a sense of contempt (AC 4681). The internal sense of the Word which is primarily, for the angels, does not, and does not need to speak forthrightly about evil. The angels are in good, and the truth the Lord has given them is soft and gentle -- the soft clothing of those in kings' houses. The reason the literal sense uses harder language, and speaks of harder things, is because man himself -- man here on earth -- is hard -- and so must often be dealt with in a hard way. So it was that the Lord sounded harsh when He denounced the people of Capernaum for not repenting. His language was blunt and harsh, not because He Himself is hard, but because the hearts of the people were hard. They had hearts of stone and they were refusing to repent. And, because the Lord loved these people -- because He wanted them to repent in order that they might enter His kingdom -- He had to denounce -- clearly, firmly and vigorously -- their stubborn recalcitrance.

Now we spoke earlier of the way in which life, in this world, can at times seem very hard -- of how life can, all too often, be irritating, frustrating -- even painful, brutal and tragic. Some people, because of this, get very cynical about life. They think of life as one long painful experience which eventually and inevitably ends in death and oblivion. They see little if any point to life. How wrong they are! Life, in this world, is only the beginning. This world is the place where we are prepared, or can be prepared, for an eternal life of happiness in heaven itself. And this is precisely why it is that life here is hard. It is hard so that we, by undergoing the various experiences, challenges and even tragedies of life, might be softened.

The Lord never wishes unhappiness upon anyone. It is not of His will that we suffer. But the Lord sometimes allows us to experience hard things so that we might, in varying ways, be softened, and thus be prepared for eternal life in heaven.

The Writings say many things about softness, gentleness, mildness. And they also have many things to say about hardness, rigidity, and obstinacy. They make two things very clear. First of all, it is said that the angels of heaven are soft and gentle. Second, it is said that people on earth, from heredity, tend to have hearts that are as hard as stone. If we are to be prepared for heaven, therefore, our hearts must be softened. This is one of the primary reasons why life is at times so hard. Through various difficulties and hardships, our stony hearts can gradually be softened.

Now when the Writings speak of man's heart as being as hard as stone, they are not talking about the way we appear before others. Different people, from heredity, and from environment, have different personalities. Even amongst little children, some have softer temperaments than others (AC 2301). This is a matter of natural disposition -- which is not the same as spiritual softness. Indeed, at times people with gentle and affectionate natural dispositions can, within their spirits, be very deceitful, vengeful and very cruel (AC 2733, SD 1491). That hardness of heart which we are all born with, and which must be softened during life on earth, is not a natural disposition at all, but is an internal hardness, a hardness towards the Lord Himself -- a hardness of spirit which resists the influx of life from the Lord.

When a person, deep within himself, loves himself more than anything else, then his heart is hard. He is, for himself, the center of the universe. He feels no need to humble himself before the Lord. And a heart that is full of the love of self is called, in the Word, a "heart of stone," because it resists the influx of life from the Lord (AC 9377).

Life comes from the Lord. It doesn't originate in us. We, by ourselves, or in ourselves, are dead. We are dead and hard. It is said that "life, which belongs to the Lord, alone causes man to soften" (SD 2250). And we open our hearts to this softening influx of life from the Lord by coming to acknowledge, both in faith and in life, that "from [ourselves] . . . comes nothing but evil and from the Lord nothing but good" (DLW 335). Now some people say this is a hard teaching -- to acknowledge that we are nothing but evil, and that all that is good is from the Lord alone. But it isn't a hard teaching at all. The hardness lies deep within their own hearts -- for it is man -- proud, obstinate man -- who clings to the illusion that somehow he is not completely dependent upon the Lord for all that is good. To acknowledge the truth -- to acknowledge that all that is good within us is from the Lord, is, in fact, the only thing that can soften us. "From this acknowledgment," we are told, "there is a softening of the heart" (ibid.). It is only as we turn to the Lord, place our trust in Him, and allow our lives to be governed, completely, by His commandments, that our hearts of stone can be softened by His love.

This is the purpose of temptations, both of spiritual temptations, and of the natural temptations often adjoined to them. Temptations aid in this process -- gradually breaking down a person's pride, a person's love of self, his sense of being independent from the Lord. The Writings speak of temptations "breaking" a person. They break the persuasive idea that he himself is the origin of good, and so they soften him, soften his heart, and help him open up this heart to the Lord Himself (AC 2694).

All of us need to be softened in this way. We need to be softened so that we no longer resist the Lord. We need the Lord. We need Him very much indeed. We need Him to flow into us with love, and with truth, giving us life, and blessing us with kindness, with gentleness, and with softness.

We may live in a world that seems hard and harsh. Evil is hard, and cruel, and there is a lot of evil both in the world around us, and within ourselves. The Lord, though, wants us to become angels, and angels are gentle.

This is why, even now, and, indeed, every least second, there are angels present with us, leading us, gently, patiently, quietly, towards the Lord. The Lord may permit us to undergo many kinds of temptations. From within, though, He gently protects us, both through His own sphere, and through the ministry of angels. The Arcana describes how, from within, the Lord governs a person's thoughts, gently, secretly, and yet firmly, almost like the gentle yet strong current of a stream, leading him but never compelling him, towards what is good (AC 6473, 6474). It also describes how angels, sent by the Lord, are allowed to inspire us with charity and faith, leading us towards what is good, and moderating us when we tend towards what is evil, never compelling us, but gently, ever so gently and softly, protecting us from what is evil (AC 5992). Indeed, it is said that if it were not for this constant protection, constant influence, we would cast ourselves so deeply into evil that we could never be saved (ibid.).

Is life hard? Externally it can indeed be hard. It can be brutal. Internally, though, it is completely different. Though the Lord may allow us to undergo hardships, and trials, He, together with His angels, are with us constantly, gently watching over us, gently leading us, gently protecting us. The Lord Jesus is even now preparing us for heaven, for a world in which there is no hardship, no harshness, no unkindness, no evil -- a kingdom that is ruled by charity, by kindness, by tenderness, and by love. "For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

Amen.

Lessons: Mal. 3:1-7; Mt. 11; AC 9377:1.

© 1998 by the Rev. Patrick A. Rose