Reflections on “Life and Death” Matthew 5: 1-12

The final sermon of the five sermon series on the Beatitudes.  I was trying to capitalize on Jesus' shift to "you" language at the end of the Beatitudes and figure out a way to connect the context in which Jesus spoke when he followers might be persecuted and reviled to our context in which most of us are not threatened with persecution and revulsion.  

I never quite got the ending where I wanted, although that is not the fault of the Charge I borrowed from my friend Karl Travis.

As I told the congregation each week, if nothing else, they heard the Beatitudes five different times, which should have some benefit, regardless of the sermons!

“Life and Death”  SAPC, February 16, 2020, Beatitude series Week 4;   Matthew 5: 1-12

When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Introduction:  There I was, standing at the top of the mountain, looking out over the mountainside where they think Jesus delivered these words we know as the Beatitudes.

The mountainside ran down the southern slopes of the Korazim Plateau to the Sea of Galilee.  In truth, it does not look quite like a mountain, if you are thinking of the Colorado Rockies.  IN the Gospel of Luke, the section that has the beatitudes is called the sermon on the plain. that seems more in keeping with what I see as I gaze out over this wide plain sloping downward.

I am standing just past the shoulder of the road reading the Beatitudes to the group from St. Andrew.  Scholars tell us that the acoustics in Jesus’ time meant that if the wind were blowing down the mountainside, he voice would have really carried so all could have heard him.  I am fighting against the road noise.

Jesus spoke his own words; I am reading his words from an iPad.

The time, circumstances, and people have changed; and yet, these words still speak to us.

Final week of the Beatitudes.  three thoughts

Move 1:  First of all, in this final section of the Beatitudes, we hear Jesus invite us, call us, challenge us to own our call to discipleship

a.  You notice the shift, of course, in how Jesus addresses the disciples and those gathered.

1.  Jesus had been speaking in the third person.

2.  “Blessed are those….” 

3. A reference to those other people.

4.  The disciples can identify with them or not.

b. But now Jesus shifts to the second person.

1. “Blessed are you…”

2.  Jesus personalizes it for the disciples.

3. the Beatitudes are no longer words about those other people with whom we can choose to identify or not.

4. Now it is about you, Jesus calling on the disciples to claim for themselves the Beatitudes and the discipleship they are called to live out in response to hearing the Beatitudes.

c.  Eric Barreto notes that the mountain, for both Moses [who went up Mt. Sinai to encounter God] and Jesus [who is sharing these Beatitudes on a mountainside], the mountain represents “a crossroads of human life and divine instruction, a sacred place where the heavens and the earth meet. This meeting of the divine and the mundane is not ethereal, however, but tangible”http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=4367, Eric Barreto; Princeton Theological Seminary

1.  In the moment Jesus utters the Beatitudes, the call of God reaches down from the heavens to claim disciples who are willing to follow and live in keeping with the Beatitudes.

2.  The disciples hear Jesus move from instruction to challenge - do you want to follow me and live your lives accordingly he asks them.

3.  Mark Powell suggests that this shift in how Jesu addresses the disciples is also felt by those who read and hear this text in the years and centuries that follows, people like us (Powell, God with Us, 139-140).

1.  The disciples are challenged by Jesus to claim discipleship as their own.

2.  As the hearers of these words generations later, we discover the same challenge.

3. do we accept this mantle of disciples?

4.  do you accept this mantle of discipleship

Move 2: Which, of course, leads to a second thought - do we want to own this call to discipleship?

a.  Jesus does not make discipleship sounds so great.

1.  “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. “

2. Sign me up.  Or, maybe not?

3. Jesus compares being a disciples to the prophets.

2. How great is that?  We remember the prophets and remember how they were treated.

3.   the people rejected them.  The ruling authorities threatened them, even chased them out of town on occasion.

3. do you want to be like the prophets?

b.  Of course, being reviled and persecuted does not seem that likely in our context.

1. there are places in the world today where people are persecuted for being followers of Jesus, but that threat seems rather low here in Denton, TX.

2.  Have you ever been persecuted for your beliefs?  

3. I think the worst it gets for me is being  condescended by those who are not sure being Presbyterian is really being a disciple of Christ.

4. But even then, there is a lot less persecution and a lot more “I’m praying for you to see the light!”

c. so how do we understand Jesus call to claim our disciplehsip?

1.  notice that Jesus says you will be reviled and persecuted “on my account.”

2.  to live our lives on his account, to pattern our discipleship on him, might be an invitation to risky discipleship.

3. To live in ways in which we say and do things as we believe Jesus might call us, instead of doing what the world might expect us to say or do.

4. Bishop Paul V. Marshall, Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem once asked the question:  “ Is it possible - and I'm just asking - that if being a Christian has not really affected your standard of living, you may well be a believer, but perhaps you are not yet a disciple of Jesus?” (this quote is left in my illustrations file from a time when I was less diligent about referencing quotes).

5. Jesus moves from teaching about how God is at work, how God interprets the world around them, how they understand God’s promises to the question, “Are you willing to make it personal?”

5.  jesus finishes the Beatitudes with a personal invitation, maybe demand, for his disciples, for those gathered, for us, to step forward and live for him, choosing the way of the Beatitudes over the way of the world.

Move 3: Finally, Jesus calls his disciples, calls those in the crowds who want to join with him, and calls us to rejoice and be glad.

a.  the only imperative, the only command voice in the Beatitudes is found in this final section.

1. Rejoice and be glad.

2. Jesus sees the call to discipleship and the challenge of discipleship to be cause for rejoicing.

b. Why?  Because Jesus knows all about the cycle of discipleship.

1. To follow Jesus gives us life.

2.  Life as a disciple may lead to death (indeed, all of life leads to death), but in death we find salvation and eternal life.

3. Jesus can dare to call us to risky discipleship because he knows that salvation awaits us.

4. In that hope and promise, we find our lives of discipleship.

Conclusion:  A few months ago, I had the opportunity to hear a colleague and friend (Karl Travis at an Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary luncheon) share the Charge and Benediction at the end of a gathering.  

you know, the Charge is what  Lisa or I typically say at the top of the steps as worship comes to a close.

 I often say, “go in peace.” 

 I was struck at the words he spoke, which went something like this:  “May God haunt you with a seemingly impossible task. May God bother you until you take it up. May God give you the trust and confidence to use your abilities faithfully, until you meet success or otherwise. Then — and only then — may God grant you peace.”

I have reflected over those words in the last few months.  It seems to me it patterns itself after Jesus’ invitation - first the risky discipleship, then rejoice and be glad at the peace God gives you.

Amen.  

Reflections on “Children of God” Matthew 5: 1-12

this is the fourth sermon of a five sermon series on the Beatitudes.  I preached the first two weeks; Lisa, our other pastor, peached last week; then I preach the last two sermons.  The first three weeks included an introduction to the Beatitudes and focused on the first four Beatitudes;  this week, we focused on the second series of four Beatitudes.

I had a fun week of digging into this second stanza of the Beatitudes and enjoyed putting the sermon together.  I have found it interesting to dig into the Beatitudes and see how Matthew used alliteration and parallelism in his writings, how Jesus built on the Jewish traditions, and how Jesus contrasted what he was teaching with what was being lived out by the Roman Empire.

“Children of God”  SAPC, February 9, 2020, Beatitude series Week 4;   Matthew 5: 1-12; Isaiah 58: 1-9a

When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Introduction:  We continue reading through the Beatitudes this morning.

Breaks down into three sections:  first four form one stanza; second four form second stanza; last one stands alone as the language shifts from the third person to second.

Go to your favorite Bible commentary if you want to read all the reasons why these two stanzas are often thought to be two parallel sections

Mark Powell, in his work on the Beatitudes, suggests that the people whom Jesus declares “blessed in the second stanza are those who bring to reality the blessings promised to others in the first stanza” (Powell, God with Us, 130). 

Sort of an interesting exercise for you to do this afternoon (no Super Bowl on TV) - go and compare the first four Beatitudes and the second four!

three thoughts on what the second stanza of the Beatitudes teaches us:

Move 1: First, the Beatitudes call for more than simply an attitude adjustment

a.  “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”

1.  the Greek word for merciful does not call for those listening simply to adopt a merciful attitude.

2.  Or to think about what mercy is in a theoretical way.

3. Or to just have good thoughts. 

b. No, the Greek word for merciful describes those who do acts of mercy.

1. Some translate this as forgiveness of sins, but it is even more than offering forgiveness.

2. For example, in other places in the Gospel of Matthew to show mercy means to heal the sick or give money to the poor.

3.  Also, an expansive sense of mercy because those merciful acts are not limited to those in your group, but should be offered to strangers and foreigners in your midst (Powell, 130-131)

4.  this understanding of mercy grows out of the hospitality code of the Old Testament which teaches God’s people to be merciful to the strangers in their midst, the foreigners in their land, the widows, and the orphans.

5.  The merciful are those who do acts of mercy and understand mercy as extending to all.

b.  “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”

1. Again, pure in heart is more than a thought process that avoids impure thoughts.

2.  In the Gospel of Matthew, the heart is the source of “outward speech (12: 34; 15:18), and behavior (15:19), as well as the realm of inner reflection (9:4; 24:48) [Powell, 132].

2.  the pure of heart, then, are those whose words and actions, as well as their inner reflections, are aligned with God.

3.  Moves purity out of the holiness codes - that is, the rules established by the religious authorities that people would have to follow to prove their purity - and makes purity a matter of giving your all, your whole heart, over to God, which will be reflected in how you speak, how you act.

c.  “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

1.  Again, the Greek connotation for the word peacemaker is not someone who simply hopes for peace, or someone who feels some inner peace.

2. Peacemakers are those people who take action and do acts of reconciliation.

d.  As Jesus shares these Beatitudes with his disciples and others listening to him, he is issuing a call to action, not just give some common assent to how they ought to think.

1. Rachel held Evans in her book Searching for Sunday writes, “Christianity isn’t meant to simply be believed; it’s meant to be lived, shared, eaten, spoken, and enacted in the presence of other people” (Searching for Sunday, Rachel Held Evans, prologue, 75 of electronic book)

2. Jesus teaches how we are to live our lives, not just what we are to believe as followers of Christ.

move 2: Secondly, the Beatitudes call us as followers of Christ to see the world differently.

a. for example, consider the phrase “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will called children of God.”

1.  NIV translates that phrase as “sons of God.”

2.  The NRSV opts for children of God to reflect the inclusive nature of that plural pronoun.  Technically, it is probably the most accurate for our context.

3. But, “sons of God” in Jesus’ time would have drawn a contrast with others who were called “sons of god” and peacemakers - that is, the Roman emperors.

3.  they called themselves sons of god to point out their power and they were called peacemakers because they kept the peace.  Remember the term “pax Romana?”- the peace of Rome?”(NIB, 180, Vol VIII)

4.  The Roman emperors were peacemakers because they brutally enforced their power and control and created peace.  If you were a threat to peace, you were crucified, as Jesus would soon learn.

5.  In contrast, Jesus invites his followers to see the world differently - not peace by force and crucifixion, but peace by acts of reconciliation and acts of mercy.

6.  the Beatitudes, in part, reflects how Jesus redefines the worldview his followers should have.

b.  Bryan Stevenson, founder of the Equal Justice Initiative, whose story is told in the movie “Just Mercy” recently shared in an interview on Fresh Air that we must risk telling the truth for the sake of reconciliation. 

He told a powerful story of one woman's courage at the site of a lynching. Stevenson founded the National Memorial for Peace and Justice that memorializes the victims of lynching. At the memorial there are jars of dirt dug from the sites where these murders occurred. Stevenson shared the story of an African American woman who participated in this project. She was on her hands and knees digging dirt and placing it in a jar at one of these sites when a white man in a truck slowed down and looked at her. He drove past, turned around and stopped. He asked her what she was doing. She said she felt compelled to tell him the truth, despite her fear. He got out of the truck and asked if he could help her. She offered him the trowel. He declined and dug with his hands. Together they put the dirt in the jar. She noticed tears streaming down his face and she asked if he was OK. He said he feared his ancestors may have participated in the very lynching she was memorializing. She cried with him. They took pictures of each other, holding the jar, memorializing a moment of unexpected understanding, hope and reconciliation.  (“looking into the Lectionary” Jill Duffield, 4th Sunday after Epiphany email newsletter 1/27/20)

1. People changed when they choose to see justice and mercy differently.

2. The world being changed by people who see the world differently.

3. Jesus invites us to adopt a worldview far different than the one the powers in the world offer.

Move 3:  Finally, the Beatitudes call us to take short-term actions on the basis of a long-term hope and promise.

a.   Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

1.  the reward for Jesus’ followers may not be on earth, but it will be in God’s last judgment

2.  Jesus gives the illustration of those who are doing what is right, doing what should make the world right with God, and for all of that, they are persecuted.

3. In the short-term, not much reward.

4. But, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

5.  Long-term promise; long-term hope.

b. In our household,  we had, sometimes still do, a recurring conversation about building bridges

1. A typical conversation goes something like this:  “My sister, or that person at school, or my arch enemy,  or my used to be best friend, did such and such.  here is what I am going to say or do in response.”

2.  most of us know those thoughts and conversations.

3.  So we would talk about building bridges.  What could be said or done in the immediate moment that would give an opportunity later for something good to happen, like renew the friendship or find some form of reconciliation.

4.  Often, we would note that the action taken in this moment might not work, but it could perhaps set the stage for future opportunities.

5.  Build a bridge.

6.  Of course, sometimes the conversation we take a detour and turn into burning bridges!

c.  Jesus calls his followers and us to act in the moment with no promise that their actions will be met by others with praise and success.

1.  He simply calls us to act in the ways God desires - do justice, show mercy…

2. In fact, if we do as God desires, it might even lead to persecution.

3. no promise of short-term success or gratification.

4. But God’s promise and the hope of salvation.

Conclusion:  I love the image Jesus uses that we are “children of God.”

Children whom God sends into the world to act as God’s children.

Children whom God claims.

children whose very salvation is assured by the God who says, “they are my children."