Where Hearts Grow

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). From this proverb we receive a simple observation about life.  “From the heart flows the spring of life.” Therein I believe lies vision for the church today.  The church is a community where hearts grow in faith, in hope, in love, in compassion, in conviction, in courage to work for justice. For Proverbs and Jesus, life—both the good and the evil springs from the treasures and abundance of the heart.

                       

Explore with me what the Bible says about the heart. The word “heart” is used 963 times in the Bible. When Joseph’s 11 brothers went to Egypt during a famine in search for food, they unexpectantly faced their brother Joseph whom they had sold into slavery. When he sent them home with their bags full of grain and their money still in their belts, they “lost heart” and turned to each other, and said “What is this that God has done to us?” (Gen. 42:28)

Generations later, a new king arose in Egypt, who dealt harshly with their progeny, it was Pharaoh’s heart that was hardened, causing the cruelty, and would not listen to them. (Ex. 7:3, 13)

           

Once they were freed and in the wilderness of Sinai, Moses taught them “to love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul and strength.”  (Deut. 6:45)

           

Because of this, Israel was given the “heart of a stranger in a foreign land.” But when they broke the covenant with God, God promised a new covenant that would be “written on their hearts.”  (Jer. 31:31)

The Psalmist alone refers to the heart 106 times. “You have put gladness in my heart” (Ps. 4:7). “Therefore, my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices” (Ps. 16:9), are just two references.

In the New Testament, Mary, the mother of Jesus, encountered an unexpected pregnancy, received visits from angels, shepherds, and magi from the east  “and pondered all these things in her heart” (Lk. 2:34).

Jesus taught in the beatitudes in his sermon on the mount, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).

After Jesus’ death on the cross, two of his followers encountered the risen Christ on the road to Emmaus. As he explained the scriptures, “their hearts burned within them” (Lk. 24:32).

After Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended on followers in a powerful way, Luke tells us Peter’s sermon “pricked the people in their hearts” (Acts. 2:37).  And the believers gathered together for prayer in the temple. They broke bread at each other’s homes and “ate their food with glad and sincere hearts” (Acts 2:46).

From the heart flows the springs of life.  We’re not talking here about an organ that pumps blood.  The heart for the ancient people of the Bible was the central organ of the body, the center of the inner life of willing, feeling, thinking, the center to which God turns, in which the religious life is rooted, and from which life springs.

We are people of the heart.  In the movie “Places of the Heart” Sally Fields plays the role of a depression era widow whom her small town community think should sell her farm, and do what women were supposed to do. Instead, she draws up courage in her heart to plant and harvest a crop of cotton to pay the mortgage on her farm. She accepts the help of a black hobo. She again finds courage in her heart to stand up against racial prejudice directed toward her black employee and new friend. In the end, she goes to church—the place of the heart, where she worships with her family and neighbors, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the film ends with her taking communion with them all, with her black hired man, with her antagonists, and her dead husband.  It is an extraordinary scene.

We are people of the heart, inside the walls of the church buildings and out. The story is told of Jesse Owen’s extraordinary experience at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.  He seemed a sure bet to win the long jump. He had already jumped 26 feet 8 ¼ inches a record that would stand for 25 years. However, when he walked to the long-jump pit, he saw a tall, blue-eyed blond German taking practice jumps in the 26 feet range.  Owens felt nervous. He was very aware that the Nazis’ wanted to prove Aryan superiority, especially over blacks. On his first jump Owens stepped beyond the mark on the takeoff board. Rattled, he fouled on his second attempt too. He was only one foul away from being eliminated. Before his last attempt, the tall German, Luz Long introduced himself and said, “You should be able to qualify with your eyes closed.” As they continued to chat, Long suggested, “You only need 23 ft. 5 ½ inches to qualify. Why not make a mark several inches in front of the take off board and jump from there, just to play it safe.” Owens did and qualified easily. In the finals, he set an Olympic record. The first person to congratulate him was Luz Long in full view of Adolf Hitler.¹

From the heart flows the springs of life of integrity and courage. One wonders if Luz Long had heard of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the German dissenters’ Declaration of Barmen?²  A declaration now in the PC(USA)’s Book of Confessions, which rejected the German fascist regime’s manipulation of religion and the church to their purposes.

We are people of the heart, who again find ourselves facing a worldwide challenge of totalitarianism.  People give up their freedom and turn to authoritarian leaders when they are frightened. However, the gospel of Jesus Christ addresses fear and emboldens the heart.

The Christian Century reported in this week’s issue another story of an unlikely pair. “Amina Amdeen, a hijab-wearing Muslim from Iraq, showed up at an anti-Trump rally to protest the administration’s policies. Joseph Weidknecht, a homeschooled white male, attended the same event to show support for the administration.  When Weidknecht was harassed by anti-Trump protesters and had his “Make America Great Again” hat stolen, Amdeen came to his defense, demanding that he be left alone.  She said she knows what it’s like to be intimidated for the headgear she wears. Weidknecht said she’s the first Muslim he has come to know.”³

Church at its best is where hearts grow in godly virtues. We too, have a chance this election season to show gentleness and kindness toward those with whom we may disagree in the midst of harsh rhetoric; to act with integrity and honor in the midst of false claims and shameful behaviors; to show compassion for the marginalized and less fortunate in the midst of a money and power grab by those who already have; to weigh wisdom informed from history in the midst of societal tunnel myopic vision of the immediate; to have courage address the needs of younger and future generations and not burden them with our short sighted policies and actions today; to require regulations and hold corporations accountable for environmental pollution and societal harm.

Four years ago, my wife, Eileen and I went to Iona, a spiritual home for pilgrims from all over the world. We went to attend a conference on the environmental crisis. This conference attracted 40 of us from around the world. It was led by a member of the Iona Community.  The first morning the leader had us name the environmental challenges we face. After about 20 minutes of filling a couple of pages of newsprint, the leader said, “That’s all we’re going to do with that this week.” Then proceeded to lead us in spiritual disciplines 101, spiritual practices to strengthen our hearts, to give us courage to face these challenges. Iona for me, is a place of the heart, where my heart grows. That’s what I want this church to be for each of you, a place, a community where hearts grow in the strength God provides.

From the heart flows the springs of life.  And with God’s grace and strength, let us endeavor to be such a place, such a community where hearts grow, where all are welcome, all are blessed.

Sermon by Rev. Dr. John M. Best to the Pine Island Presbyterian Church, 7888 South 8^th Street, Kalamazoo at Texas Corners on October 21, 2018 based on Proverbs 4:20-27 and Mark 7:14-22.

¹ Wikipedia, Luz Long, 1936 Olympics

² PC(USA) Book of Confessions

³ Christian Century, October 24, 2018, p.8 also from StoryCorps, NPR September 28, 2018