In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. Amen. I wish I could elucidate this second reading for you. It's beyond me. This, I can I could tell you a number of things about it, but it has to do with an area of thought, of imagination, of fancy, or whatever that I have little to knowledge of?
I'd rather come back to the first reading, and that's this letter of John to a certain lady. He calls her an elect lady, whatever that was. But there's one sentence in there that I think is extremely important for us today to look at. And here's what he says, John is speaking. Look to yourselves that you may not lose what you have worked for, but may win a full reward.
Now, this concept of reward and punishment has gone through a number of changes. Everything goes through a number of changes, I guess. But, you know, there was a period following John Dewey and company, and especially following, of course, that they were all under the influence of Immanuel Kant. When the idea of doing something for reward was considered despicable. It the the idea was duty for duty's sake, and we got a big dose of that in this country.
After all, when you separate yourself from Jesus Christ and the good news that he brought, what are you left with? You're left with the best thinking of your best men or the worst thinking of the worst men. That's what whatever it is, you're left with it. So you do the best you can. And this idea of duty for duty's sake, no one can deny that it is not an exalted concept.
The only thing wrong with it is it ain't human. It's based upon a human nature that doesn't exist. It's a it's based upon a concept of human beings in the aggregate, in the collectivity that simply does not exist. Now in our in later years, in in in our time, within the last twenty five years, a man named Skinner revived with considerable success half of this concept. He has you've heard about him, of course, and it's worked very well.
He's tried it out in jails. He's tried it out in factories. He tried it out in schools. And for the most part, it works as if this was a huge discovery in the twentieth century that you can get desirable conduct from people if you hold up the promise of some kind of a reward. Skinner, however, would would divorce himself from the idea that there'd be any punishment for undesirable conduct.
Well, you see, this again it from a practical point of view, this this idea of his has had tremendous success in industry, as I say, in education, in penal institutions, but you cannot there was a number of letters recently in one of our popular magazines on this very subject that when you're dealing with a large number of human beings and where you're dealing with conduct which must must be of a certain sort, there's always going to be a a number of people who will not rise to debate, who will simply say, who cares? If I can get away with not doing it, I'll get away without doing it. For example, the the writers point out such things as dealing it with an armies or navies. When you ask a a regiment of men or a company of men, if any of you remember Journey's End, I've never forgotten that. I've read it many times.
I saw it several times on the stage. When you have a company of men who know that in in following an order, it is certain death. No no fooling about about it. What reward are you holding up for them? There's a it's gonna take an awful big carrot to attract them to go in the face of they know machine guns that are just waiting for them out there.
So that but the first half of Skinner's idea is sir, has been proved in our contemporary world and has been upsetting to a number of very liberal minded people. Because you see, it washes out this idea of duty for duty's sake. But there's this other concept of losing something when you do not come up to par, And that's just as important in actual fact of dealing with human beings as holding out a reward. How do I know that? That's the way Jesus Christ put it down on the line.
Who am I to argue with him? Who are you to argue with him? Nobody can read the New Testament without being very much afflicted at times with our Lord's harsh statements about what happens to those who do not come up to the standard. And I say harsh, I mean harsh. In some instances, some of it seems downright unfair.
You take the case of the our lord's parable about the wedding feast so that you you cannot escape that some people throughout the new New Testament for this reason, that it wasn't idealistic enough for them. Remember this. By definition, an ideal is unattainable. By definition, where what our Lord's talking about is a very real salvation that you either get or you miss. He's not talking about ideals.
He's talking about either you make it or you lose it. And and you you can't you can scarcely crack the New Testament I mean, the four gospels any place without getting this message. Now here's Saint John writing to the elect lady, whoever she was, and he's telling her and he's speaking to her as the as sort of a leader of this church that he is addressing. Notice it's not addressed to a group of people. It's addressed to one person, which is not unusual.
But John is insisting that here, you have been a you have led your people well or you've been an influence. Now don't don't blow it. Don't lose everything you've gained. Why shouldn't you blow it? Why should why should you care about not losing it?
Because you want to win your reward. Isn't that callous? How unidealistic. How how far beneath the level of human dignity it is for me to do something for a reward even though it means eternal salvation. Take it over.
To be a Christian means to follow Jesus Christ and he is very explicit in promising us a reward. He's explicit in telling us, you you lead you this kind of a life. You try to do what's right. You do what is good for my sake. You're not gonna get your reward in this life.
He never said that. Never, never, never remotely said that. But what he did say, your reward will be great in heaven. And let me tell you, there are plenty of instances in most human lives when all we have to hang from is not our thumbs, but that promise of Jesus Christ. If you follow me, you'll bear your cross.
You will find it light, even sweet, and you will have eternal salvation. That's what he said. And sometimes, that's all we have to go on. Everything else seems to have left us. We hang for that thin thread.
Is it a thin thread? It's the promise of God almighty. In the name of the father, son, the holy spirit. Amen.