East of Eden
Sermon given at the Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church
November 2, 2014
by Rev. Craig M. Nowak
A couple years ago I went to a flea market in Goshen, Connecticut. One of the vendors there was selling video tapes. As I passed by his table, I noticed he had a tape of the movie Amadeus sitting there. As someone who loves Classical music and an amateur... very amateur pianist, harpsichordist and composer, Amadeus is one of my favorite movies. I might have bought the tape, but I no longer have a VCR (or video cassette recorder for the younger folks among us).
If you’re not familiar with the movie or its been a while since you’ve seen it, the story centers primarily on the lives of two men. The young, brash, wild child and musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who comes to Vienna to make his fortune and the slightly older, sober, refined, and talented Antonio Salieri, an Italian composer in the service of the royal court in Vienna.
As the story goes, things are going great for Salieri, he has the favor of the Emperor, a good job, and the admiration of the Viennese public. He has worked hard and is grateful for the life he now enjoys and he dedicates his labors as an offering to God.
And then along comes Mozart. Though only six years younger than Salieri, Mozart, in the film, behaves like a juvenile...he breezes in, displaying little regard for the pomp and protocol of the court, he speaks frankly, an offense trumped only by a frequent and annoying laugh...But then, then they hear his music...and while the court is at first lukewarm...Salieri recognizes Mozart’s genius.
As Mozart’s popularity increases, Salieri becomes increasingly covetous of Mozart’s musical gifts. Soon it is more than Salieri can bear...he becomes consumed by a sense of cosmic injustice...convinced that through Mozart, he is being mocked by the very God to whom he dedicated his life and music. Obsessed with revenge, wanting what Mozart has and does not, Salieri rededicates his life and labor to a new cause... destroying Mozart. Salieri devises a scheme to have Mozart write a a masterwork which Salieri will claim as his own work. Mozart dies before he completes the piece and Salieri, having been denied his prize, is ruined spiritually.
Now, to be fair, the story is highly fictionalized, with Salieri, we might say, getting the short end of the stick historically speaking. Still, as with all myth, it brings certain truths to light. Amadeus is a story, among other things, envy, the topic of today’s sermon and the second in the series on the Seven Deadly Sins we’re exploring this year.
Envy is often confused or equated with jealously but psychologists generally make a clear distinction. Jealousy is rooted in the fear that something or someone you have may be taken away from you. It is a reaction to the threat of loss. Envy, on the other hand, is defined as a desire to have a quality, possession, or other attribute belonging to someone else. In other words, envy is a reaction to a sense of lacking.
As sins go, envy is a big one, even making it onto that top ten list in the Hebrew Scriptures we call the ten commandments...”You shall not covet your neighbor’s house...or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
You may recall in our first of this series on sin, we talked about sin as an obstruction, something that gets in the way of our seeing some truth about ourselves and others.
Envy, at its worst not only obstructs, but steals the spiritual sight of the envious, leading one down a path of self destruction...as we see with Salieri who, in the movie, found the depth and profundity of Mozart’s musical genius a torturous reminder of his self perceived lack of genius. As envy grew within him it completely robbed him of his ability to see and appreciate his own talents and accomplishments.
More relevant perhaps to our own lives, envy sets millions of people each year on the path to financial, psychological, and spiritual ruin by enticing us to not only keep up with the Joneses but outdo them at every opportunity. Envy keeps us in a constant state of dissatisfaction and craving.
At its worst, envy becomes what Joseph Epstein calls “pure envy,” which he describes through this humorous tale:
Three people are given a single wish by a genie. The first says a friend of hers has a charming cottage in the Cotswolds, and that she would like a similar cottage, with the addition of two extra bedrooms and a second half bath and a brook running in front of it. The next says that his best friend has a beautiful blonde mistress, and he would like such a mistress himself, but a redhead instead of a blonde and with longer legs and a bit more in the way of culture and chic. The last person tells of a neighbor who has a cow that gives a vast quantity of the richest milk, which yields the heaviest cream and the purest butter. “I want that cow”, he tells the genie, “dead.”
Epstein’s story may be funny, but the destruction wrought by envy is a tale of woe. At its core, envy tells us life stinks..it tells us we’ve been cheated...and no matter what we do...someone else will always have more and be better than we are.
To succumb to envy is to ensnare oneself in the cruel task of dehumanization and self-destruction for envy diminishes, then blocks, and eventually destroys any appreciation and gratitude we have for who we are and what we do have. It obliterates our sense of self worth and blinds us, in the words of Forrest Church, to “the wonder that lies between the sacred moments of our birth and death. This is what makes it a deadly sin.
Kindness or brotherly love, that is to say, love of one’s neighbor is the prescribed heavenly virtue to counter envy in the Christian tradition. I won’t argue that kindness towards others isn’t a virtue and an important one the world do well to practice more generously. But if envy, at its core, concerns denial of one’s own gifts and worthiness, perhaps something more is needed to counter envy.
Among the mantras the late Rev. Dr. Forrest Church developed and lived by was this, “Want what you have.” Speaking of his own struggle with cancer, Dr. Church described how he applied this mantra to his own experience. “When I was sick”, he writes, “I remembered to want nothing more than the caring affection of those who loved me.”
It is important to note here that Church’s mantra is not a statement of resignation. He is not suggesting we abandon hope or remain passive in the face of life’s struggles, suffering or injustice. Rather, his is an exhortation to step back and gain some perspective, something that is easy to lose when we’re narrowly focused or obsessed with something or someone.
As I see it, to want what we have, means to become aware of and gratefully accept what is available to us in each moment. It is a practice through which we cultivate both an increased understanding and appreciation for what we have and love and who we are, the very things we place at risk when we succumb to envy.
Our second reading this morning, the story of Cain and Abel, tells of Cain’s descent into the throes of envy which leads him to kill his brother Abel and earn him exile from his land.
It all starts when Cain’s offering to God, the fruit of the ground, fails to earn God’s regard while Abel’s offering, the firstlings of his flock, pleases God. Now, the authors of this story don’t tell us why God was not pleased with Cain’s offering but many scholars agree that it has something to do with the quality of the offering and/or the content of Cain’s heart, that is the attitude or way in which Cain approaches God.
The authors of the story make a point of noting Abel’s offering is the best he has to offer, the firstlings of his flock...their fat portions. Cain’s offering carries no such distinction, suggesting it was not the best he could give.
God, seeing Cain is angered by the response to his offering, tells Cain that his offering would be acceptable if he “does well” and that if he doesn’t, sin is waiting for him....”lurking at the door.” Cain doesn’t seem to get it and, consumed with envy, kills Abel for which he sentenced to the life of a fugitive...a wanderer upon the earth.
So what’s going on here? Let’s look beyond the literal reading of the story. First, the word God does not mean a guy named God. It is a descriptor for that which is beyond naming, some, including many UU’s, understand God as a term used to describe the source or animating force of life. Similarly, the characters Cain and Abel may be understood as representative of two distinct ways of relating to this source of life: one motivated by a sense of craving and the other by a sense of gratitude.
The story then becomes a story of relationships. How we relate to life, to others and ourselves. Through this story we learn God’s blessing or regard...which may be understood as a sense of fulfillment... belongs to those who live their lives aware and appreciative of life’s blessings in whatever form they take, no matter the circumstances in which they appear...
Indeed we might say the Abel’s of the world want what they have... a response to life that is their best offering. The Cain’s of the world respond to life with craving and become enveloped by a sense of perpetual dissatisfaction which makes them increasingly vulnerable to the destructive power of envy; envy that leads to exile making of the envious, fugitives… wanderers in a strange land, separated from the blessings of life that were their own.
Of course no one is purely like Abel or Cain. Both responses to life reside in and are made manifest by all of us. The words of William Henry Channing from our first reading points to this truth: “To live content with small means; To seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion...to be worthy, not respectable, wealthy, not rich....this is to be my symphony.” These words in a sense reflect the tension of the Cain and Abel within Salieri, within the the late Rev. Dr. Forrest Church, and indeed all of us.
Each of us has a choice in how we respond to life, even at its most difficult. We can take our cue from Abel and want what we have, that is develop an awareness and appreciation for what we have and love and who we are or we can do as Cain did and surrender “the wonder that lies between the sacred moments of our birth and death and wander East of Eden in pursuit of what we lack, things we have lost, or shall likely never find.”
May we strive to know, appreciate and want what we have.
Amen and Blessed Be
Sermon given at the Brookfield Unitarian Universalist Church
November 2, 2014
by Rev. Craig M. Nowak
A couple years ago I went to a flea market in Goshen, Connecticut. One of the vendors there was selling video tapes. As I passed by his table, I noticed he had a tape of the movie Amadeus sitting there. As someone who loves Classical music and an amateur... very amateur pianist, harpsichordist and composer, Amadeus is one of my favorite movies. I might have bought the tape, but I no longer have a VCR (or video cassette recorder for the younger folks among us).
If you’re not familiar with the movie or its been a while since you’ve seen it, the story centers primarily on the lives of two men. The young, brash, wild child and musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart who comes to Vienna to make his fortune and the slightly older, sober, refined, and talented Antonio Salieri, an Italian composer in the service of the royal court in Vienna.
As the story goes, things are going great for Salieri, he has the favor of the Emperor, a good job, and the admiration of the Viennese public. He has worked hard and is grateful for the life he now enjoys and he dedicates his labors as an offering to God.
And then along comes Mozart. Though only six years younger than Salieri, Mozart, in the film, behaves like a juvenile...he breezes in, displaying little regard for the pomp and protocol of the court, he speaks frankly, an offense trumped only by a frequent and annoying laugh...But then, then they hear his music...and while the court is at first lukewarm...Salieri recognizes Mozart’s genius.
As Mozart’s popularity increases, Salieri becomes increasingly covetous of Mozart’s musical gifts. Soon it is more than Salieri can bear...he becomes consumed by a sense of cosmic injustice...convinced that through Mozart, he is being mocked by the very God to whom he dedicated his life and music. Obsessed with revenge, wanting what Mozart has and does not, Salieri rededicates his life and labor to a new cause... destroying Mozart. Salieri devises a scheme to have Mozart write a a masterwork which Salieri will claim as his own work. Mozart dies before he completes the piece and Salieri, having been denied his prize, is ruined spiritually.
Now, to be fair, the story is highly fictionalized, with Salieri, we might say, getting the short end of the stick historically speaking. Still, as with all myth, it brings certain truths to light. Amadeus is a story, among other things, envy, the topic of today’s sermon and the second in the series on the Seven Deadly Sins we’re exploring this year.
Envy is often confused or equated with jealously but psychologists generally make a clear distinction. Jealousy is rooted in the fear that something or someone you have may be taken away from you. It is a reaction to the threat of loss. Envy, on the other hand, is defined as a desire to have a quality, possession, or other attribute belonging to someone else. In other words, envy is a reaction to a sense of lacking.
As sins go, envy is a big one, even making it onto that top ten list in the Hebrew Scriptures we call the ten commandments...”You shall not covet your neighbor’s house...or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
You may recall in our first of this series on sin, we talked about sin as an obstruction, something that gets in the way of our seeing some truth about ourselves and others.
Envy, at its worst not only obstructs, but steals the spiritual sight of the envious, leading one down a path of self destruction...as we see with Salieri who, in the movie, found the depth and profundity of Mozart’s musical genius a torturous reminder of his self perceived lack of genius. As envy grew within him it completely robbed him of his ability to see and appreciate his own talents and accomplishments.
More relevant perhaps to our own lives, envy sets millions of people each year on the path to financial, psychological, and spiritual ruin by enticing us to not only keep up with the Joneses but outdo them at every opportunity. Envy keeps us in a constant state of dissatisfaction and craving.
At its worst, envy becomes what Joseph Epstein calls “pure envy,” which he describes through this humorous tale:
Three people are given a single wish by a genie. The first says a friend of hers has a charming cottage in the Cotswolds, and that she would like a similar cottage, with the addition of two extra bedrooms and a second half bath and a brook running in front of it. The next says that his best friend has a beautiful blonde mistress, and he would like such a mistress himself, but a redhead instead of a blonde and with longer legs and a bit more in the way of culture and chic. The last person tells of a neighbor who has a cow that gives a vast quantity of the richest milk, which yields the heaviest cream and the purest butter. “I want that cow”, he tells the genie, “dead.”
Epstein’s story may be funny, but the destruction wrought by envy is a tale of woe. At its core, envy tells us life stinks..it tells us we’ve been cheated...and no matter what we do...someone else will always have more and be better than we are.
To succumb to envy is to ensnare oneself in the cruel task of dehumanization and self-destruction for envy diminishes, then blocks, and eventually destroys any appreciation and gratitude we have for who we are and what we do have. It obliterates our sense of self worth and blinds us, in the words of Forrest Church, to “the wonder that lies between the sacred moments of our birth and death. This is what makes it a deadly sin.
Kindness or brotherly love, that is to say, love of one’s neighbor is the prescribed heavenly virtue to counter envy in the Christian tradition. I won’t argue that kindness towards others isn’t a virtue and an important one the world do well to practice more generously. But if envy, at its core, concerns denial of one’s own gifts and worthiness, perhaps something more is needed to counter envy.
Among the mantras the late Rev. Dr. Forrest Church developed and lived by was this, “Want what you have.” Speaking of his own struggle with cancer, Dr. Church described how he applied this mantra to his own experience. “When I was sick”, he writes, “I remembered to want nothing more than the caring affection of those who loved me.”
It is important to note here that Church’s mantra is not a statement of resignation. He is not suggesting we abandon hope or remain passive in the face of life’s struggles, suffering or injustice. Rather, his is an exhortation to step back and gain some perspective, something that is easy to lose when we’re narrowly focused or obsessed with something or someone.
As I see it, to want what we have, means to become aware of and gratefully accept what is available to us in each moment. It is a practice through which we cultivate both an increased understanding and appreciation for what we have and love and who we are, the very things we place at risk when we succumb to envy.
Our second reading this morning, the story of Cain and Abel, tells of Cain’s descent into the throes of envy which leads him to kill his brother Abel and earn him exile from his land.
It all starts when Cain’s offering to God, the fruit of the ground, fails to earn God’s regard while Abel’s offering, the firstlings of his flock, pleases God. Now, the authors of this story don’t tell us why God was not pleased with Cain’s offering but many scholars agree that it has something to do with the quality of the offering and/or the content of Cain’s heart, that is the attitude or way in which Cain approaches God.
The authors of the story make a point of noting Abel’s offering is the best he has to offer, the firstlings of his flock...their fat portions. Cain’s offering carries no such distinction, suggesting it was not the best he could give.
God, seeing Cain is angered by the response to his offering, tells Cain that his offering would be acceptable if he “does well” and that if he doesn’t, sin is waiting for him....”lurking at the door.” Cain doesn’t seem to get it and, consumed with envy, kills Abel for which he sentenced to the life of a fugitive...a wanderer upon the earth.
So what’s going on here? Let’s look beyond the literal reading of the story. First, the word God does not mean a guy named God. It is a descriptor for that which is beyond naming, some, including many UU’s, understand God as a term used to describe the source or animating force of life. Similarly, the characters Cain and Abel may be understood as representative of two distinct ways of relating to this source of life: one motivated by a sense of craving and the other by a sense of gratitude.
The story then becomes a story of relationships. How we relate to life, to others and ourselves. Through this story we learn God’s blessing or regard...which may be understood as a sense of fulfillment... belongs to those who live their lives aware and appreciative of life’s blessings in whatever form they take, no matter the circumstances in which they appear...
Indeed we might say the Abel’s of the world want what they have... a response to life that is their best offering. The Cain’s of the world respond to life with craving and become enveloped by a sense of perpetual dissatisfaction which makes them increasingly vulnerable to the destructive power of envy; envy that leads to exile making of the envious, fugitives… wanderers in a strange land, separated from the blessings of life that were their own.
Of course no one is purely like Abel or Cain. Both responses to life reside in and are made manifest by all of us. The words of William Henry Channing from our first reading points to this truth: “To live content with small means; To seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion...to be worthy, not respectable, wealthy, not rich....this is to be my symphony.” These words in a sense reflect the tension of the Cain and Abel within Salieri, within the the late Rev. Dr. Forrest Church, and indeed all of us.
Each of us has a choice in how we respond to life, even at its most difficult. We can take our cue from Abel and want what we have, that is develop an awareness and appreciation for what we have and love and who we are or we can do as Cain did and surrender “the wonder that lies between the sacred moments of our birth and death and wander East of Eden in pursuit of what we lack, things we have lost, or shall likely never find.”
May we strive to know, appreciate and want what we have.
Amen and Blessed Be
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