August 28, 2016 Blessed are The Persecuted John Wesley United Methodist Church John 15:18-21, Matthew 5:10-12 Rev. Rebecca Mincieli,

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1 August 28, 2016 Blessed are The Persecuted John Wesley United Methodist Church John 15:18-21, Matthew 5:10-12 Rev. Rebecca Mincieli, How many of you know the Super Lube oil change place at the end of Gifford Street? Don't you love seeing and reading the various biblical verses and thoughts posted on their signboard? The owner is a woman named, Anita. And guess what? She's been attending our beach services. And when I mentioned to her how much I liked what she was doing, she told me that, while many people do like it, quite a few people have told her that they don't like it. Now I'm sharing this with you because this is, in a very subtle way, what we heard about today in our Scripture lesson, when Jesus says, "People may cast insults at you and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you on account of me. Over this past summer we ve been looking at the beatitudes from Jesus famous Sermon on the Mount. And today, we look at his final one, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now I think for us here, in this place today, it's hard to relate to the word "persecuted." We live in the United States of America - we have religious freedom to worship as we please. Of course, there are exceptions, and we don't have to look too far afield to identify those who have truly been persecuted and suffered because of their Christian beliefs. One that comes to mind is the Charleston South Carolina shooting at the Emmanuelle African Methodist Episcopal Church. Nine individuals were killed during a prayer meeting The white killer, Dylan Roof, thought a church would be the perfect location to start a race war. And of course, there are countless examples of the radical Islamic extremists who have selectively targeted and murdered Christians because of their beliefs. So let s look closer at this beatitude, especially why Jesus made it his final beatitude. He puts it last, after all the others. Why? Well, I think Jesus knew that if we faithfully adhered to all of his previous beatitudes, we would indeed, be persecuted. Perhaps not with death or imprisonment or torture. But if we truly live as Jesus calls us to live which is counter cultural and different than the way the world lives, then he knew we would experience other types of persecution ridicule, rejection, insults, intimidation, condemnation. It s no secret that the unwritten rule is, don t discuss religion when we re out socially. And the anti-christian sentiment in the media is evident. When you watch a sporting event, the television catches every curse word, temper tantrum and fight that happens on the field, but they'll never show the players kneeling in their group prayer. And reference to, and certainly prayer to God, is effectively banned in schools, at graduations, and in public places. You can see how

2 difficult it becomes to faithfully follow and live out these beatitudes. And yet Jesus said we would be blessed if we did. So let s review them, and listen with new ears, that they might impact our daily lives and give us guidance to become better Christians. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Now Jesus is not talking here about being poor in the material sense. Rather, he is speaking about the virtue of humility, knowing your place before God and acknowledging your dependence on God, for everything. Being poor in spirit, means you are rich in humility, not so focused on self. The person who is poor in spirit places all his hopes, all her hopes, not on their own power or thinking, but on the power and wisdom and promises of God, through Jesus Christ. Are you poor in spirit? Let me ask, have you ever prayed, God I don t know where to turn? Then blessed are you, because now you ve turned to the right One. Have you ever said, God there s no way I can get through this? Then blessed are you because you ve come to the One about whom St. Paul said, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Have you ever said, God, I feel so alone! Then blessed are you, because you ve come to the One who said, Know that I am with you always; yes, even to the end of time." Blessed are those that mourn, for they will be comforted. When we think of mourning, we often think of death, and certainly many of us here have experienced the death of a loved one, and we know the pain it brings. But there are other times we mourn or grieve as well. Like when something isn t right in our lives or in the world and we feel anxiety or sorrow. Like what's happening today with all the hatred and shootings. Or maybe it s a health concern, either ours or someone we dearly love. Maybe we have children or grandchildren who are struggling in some way, or going down the wrong path in life. Maybe it's a relationship that's failed. Maybe there is a job situation that's causing us concern. Or maybe we re feeling guilty for something we ve done or not done, and we feel convicted. You see, all of us mourn or grieve in some way or another. And our response should not be to give up or get angry at God or with others, but rather to turn to God. To trust in God. To look deep inside ourselves and pray, Lord, is there something you re trying to tell me? Is there something I need to change? Lord, I give it all to you. And it is then that our mourning becomes a blessing, when we ve reached that point where we surrender ourselves to God and God s will for our lives. Because God can use the grief and sorrow in our lives to teach us and to transform us for His glorious purposes and for our ultimate good. And we will find our lives blessed with true comfort, divine comfort, and a peace that passes all understanding.

3 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Contrary to popular belief, meek in this beatitude does not mean weak or cowardly or submissive. Jesus said, Take my yoke upon you for I am meek and gentle of heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Now would you call Jesus weak or cowardly? No! Even non-believers would admit he is arguably the most influential and greatest man to ever have walked the face of the earth. And we need to learn from him, and live like him meek. Which biblically means being caring, concerned, considerate, loving, gentle. And, ironically, to consistently be meek takes great strength. For consider who really is stronger the person who rants and raves when angered, or the person who exercises self-control and clear thinking. The person who has to tell you all the wonderful things he has done, or the person who quietly and competently does things along the way. The person who vows to seek revenge and get even, or the person who forgives, holds no grudges, turns the other check and goes on with life. And in the end, living with this kind of attitude, wouldn t you agree that the meek are the ones really the most happy, most at peace with themselves, with others, and with God? Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. To hunger and thirst for righteousness means we hunger and thirst, first and foremost, to get right with God, solid in our relationship with him. We hunger and thirst to be right with others - loving, giving, serving and caring for one another. We hunger and thirst to be right with ourselves, honest and accepting that God made us the way we are. He loves us and we don t have to try to be who we are not. What are you hungering and thirsting for? You see, too often we fill ourselves with the junk food of life material possessions, new friends, new thrills, new experiences, none of which can fully satisfy. That's why Jesus said, I am the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. So we must consistently, day after day, feed on him. By coming to church, by praying, by attending studies where we can grow spiritually, by changing our priorities, plans, habits and ways so that we are filled with the presence of Christ. Then and only then will we be truly satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. This beatitude challenges us to see each and every person as a child of God who may be in need of our compassion, our help, our love, our mercy. It challenges us to put ourselves in their shoes, to want to relieve their pain and sorrow. When Jesus talked about the compassion the Good Samaritan showed to a stranger, a foreigner, someone different, he said, Go and do the same. And so, our question shouldn't be, Shall I give mercy? but rather, Who needs mercy? How often? How much can we give?" Because, you see, we are in need of mercy

4 ourselves. As Paul warns, Someday each one of us will give an account of himself to God. What will you say? If you re like me, all you can do is look down and say, Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner. And, Jesus promised us we will receive mercy, as long as we give it. And just imagine if a little more mercy was shown in the world, might there be less anger, less resentment, less hatred, less violence? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Being pure in heart does not mean that we are blameless or perfect. Far from it. Instead to be pure in heart means we clear our hearts of all those issues and situations that vie for our attention on a day to day basis, and distract us from what is really the most important thing our relationship with Jesus Christ. It's like the story of Martha and Mary. Martha, who scrambled around getting Jesus dinner, and Mary who sat at Jesus feet listening to him. Both Martha and Mary loved Jesus. That s evident, through Martha s service and Mary s worship. But Martha was distracted from giving the Lord her full attention by her many tasks. And Jesus had to gently rebuke her because she wasn t pure in heart. Mary however, made Jesus the center of her attention and Jesus made this a point, Mary has chosen the better part. Like we should do. I think we all know down deep in our heart of hearts that there are only a few things that really matter in this life, aren t there? And one day, all those things that take up so much of our time and energy now won t mean a thing. There is need of only one thing. Only one thing. To put God first, to have Christ continually before us. Because if you do that you ll find that all the other parts of your life will fall wonderfully into place. Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called sons and daughters of God. So often we let our anger get the best of us and we become peace breakers rather than peacemakers. And anger kills. It kills understanding, it kills joy, it kills peace. It destroys homes and families and friendships and individuals. And each one of us is responsible for making peace. And it can be done in such simple ways. Maybe we need to change our tone of voice when something is bothering us, so that we create a sense of gentleness. Maybe we need to stop using sarcasm, since this results in hurt feelings. Maybe we need to bite our tongue, and not say what s on our mind at that particular moment. Maybe we need to ask ourselves what role we had in the argument. Maybe we need to offer forgiveness. Maybe we need to say, I m sorry. And maybe we need to let the past stay in the past. When we live in peace with one another, then we can claim that title, that honor, of being sons, daughters, children of God. As Paul said, Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as God, in Christ, has forgiven you. Be imitators of God, as dearly loved children. Dearly loved children who live in the image of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ.

5 The beatitudes. Words for living the kind of life Almighty God wants us to. But these beatitudes are so counter-cultural, they are not the norm. And whenever we go against the culture, we run the risk of persecution. We run the risk of being misunderstood, rejected, insulted, ignored, mocked, ostracized, and more. That's why Jesus said, Blessed are you when men cast insults at you, and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you on account of me. If you find this godless world is hating you, remember it got its start hating me. But rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven will be great. And as Christians, this is what we live for, isn t it life beyond this earth, life everlasting, life eternal in heaven. Yes, Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. I don't know about you, but as for me, I wouldn't have it any other way. Amen.