From our sponsors and the Gospel of ESPN, the most important chapter. Don't change the channel.

Transcription

1 Sarah Raymond Traditional/Blended Worship Feb. 2, 2014 Matthew 5:1-12 When Jesus 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: 3 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 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. The Beatitudes: Superbowl Edition From our sponsors and the Gospel of ESPN, the most important chapter. Don't change the channel. Blessed are the Broncos and the Seahawks, for today, theirs is the kingdom, the power, and the glory. 4 Blessed are those who win, for they will get a lot of money and a ring. And be really popular. 5 Blessed are the ones who hit the hardest, for they shall go to Disneyworld. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for the win. They probably want it more than the other guys. 7 Blessed are the commentators, for they will see who showed no mercy in the end zone and rejoice at the thrill. 8 Blessed are those who only watch for the commercials for they will see funny skits and dramatic visuals, oooooh and awwwww, and buy, buy, buy! 9 Blessed are the cheerleaders. For it is cold, and they should put on a jacket. 10 Blessed are those who pre-game, pre-comment, tailgate, and are anxious to get to the party because it s only seven hours before kickoff!! 1

2 for they probably have a lot of friends. And the bean dip needs made. And the Superbowl is really important. Blessed are you when your team isn t in the Superbowl and people talk smack both on and off the field, and say all sorts of vile and false things about the team you love. When they mock your team and offer all kinds of cruel statistics about the team s record. Rejoice and be glad, because there is always next year. And next year will be better. And Superbowl 49 is surely more important than Superbowl 48. The Word of ESPN Go team. Go team. Go team. (Thanks to Natalie Gessert) All kidding aside, but you have to admit that it is a little too close to the truth at times! This week we move past the baptism of Jesus, past the temptation of Jesus (which we will actually come back to on the first Sunday of Lent), and past the call of the disciples and we move into what many would call the most famous of the sermons that Jesus would give. It is called the Sermon on the Mount because Jesus is standing on the mountain to give it. It seems that the large crowds have been left behind and now he is only addressing his disciples. These first 12 verses are the opening statement of his sermon. They are called the beatitudes and they bring us a message of peace and justice and blessing. Some have said that these beatitudes are the lens through which we interpret the book of Matthew. I would have to agree. Because if we didn t have the message of the beatitudes and the rest of the Sermon on the Mount, then there are some parts of Matthew that are as judgmental and violent as some of the Old Testament you know, those parts of the Old Testament that make most people not like the Old Testament. 2

3 So what is it about these beatitudes that are so important to us? Why do they shape what we read in the rest of Matthew? Let s talk about a few basics first and then we ll move on to why they matter so much. Now there are nine beatitudes that each start with the same word. Most bibles translate this as blessed. Now this isn t blessed like I feel so blessed to live in my big warm house. Or God has blessed me with my incredible football talent and that s why I am here playing in the Superbowl. Or even God has blessed me with good health so I can play golf and do all the things I love to do. It s a bit different than that it means to be made holy or to be set apart as sacred and it is not an action word here. For those of you who know your grammar, it is an adjective a word to describe. Think of the hymn Blessed Assurance (sing a line) It is not giving an action there, the hymn is talking about the holy or sacred confidence we can have in Jesus. That s how this word is used here. It is used to describe those who are poor in spirit and those who mourn and those who are meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness and those who are merciful and those who are pure in heart and those who are peacemakers and those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. One of the resources translated it as How honored the poor in spirit how honored the ones who mourn how honored merciful So if this is a description, then these cannot be if/then statements. It is not if you are poor in spirit, then you will have the kingdom of heaven. This is not a set of characteristics that we should strive for meekness and mourning and persecution are not personality traits that we need to seek out. 3

4 This text has a different message than that. These statements are promises.promises that we can hold dear so that when we find ourselves deep in mourning or when we find ourselves poor in spirit or when we find ourselves persecuted or when we find ourselves needing to be merciful, then we will find ourselves closest to the holy and the sacred. So what do I mean by that? A woman named Marianne wrote this, Blessed are those who mourn. Well I ve been there. After losing three babies in 5 years (miscarriage, a still born twin at 4 months, and a crib death), then my husband, an alcoholic with 12 years of sobriety, relapsed and I learned the meaning of going from bad to worse. The next 5 years were more heartbreaking than the previous ones. Was I blessed? Absolutely. I learned the meaning of God s strength being exercised in my weakness. I experienced the profound truth of the Spirit praying for me when I could not pray for myself. Have my hardships been transformed so that I may now be a blessing to others? I hope so. But indeed, after reading the Beatitudes, my temptation to ask God to bless someone else was strong. But the promise that God will be there, come what may, is stronger yet again. ( These beatitudes are a promise that when we are at those points where all we have is stripped away and we having nothing left, that God is there. Look at what these beatitudes say will be received: the kingdom of heaven, comfort, inheriting the earth, being filled, mercy, seeing God, being called children of God, a reward in heaven the same as the prophets. These are not easy things but do you know what else these are not? These are not of this world these are not rewards or blessings that we can find in our society. 4

5 So this is the thing, I think all these things that we call blessings in our middle class world all the stuff, all the things we think we have to do, all the noise these are all things that separate us from what is holy and what is sacred. And when we are separated from the holy and sacred, that s when we are far from God. Our world has a whole different definition of Blessed. I heard it yesterday morning on one of my husband s hunting shows. A man was waiting on an elk to come over the hill, and he said, If I am blessed enough to get a shot off Now, I know what he was trying to say he was saying that he hoped he was lucky enough to get a shot at the elk. But I think that s how our society defines blessed as lucky! And we often measure how someone is lucky by their stuff their possessions, their status, their fame, their skills and abilities. This is something entirely different. This is about being connected to the holy and sacred. This is about when all the stuff doesn t matter at all when all the stuff is gone, and what matters is what s left nothing of ours, but everything of God s As I look out over all of you, I see many of you who have faced times like these. Some of you have lost a son or a daughter to death, to addiction, to estrangement. Some of you are battling your own health issues. And you daily deal with pain or realizing more and more of what you can t do anymore. Some of you are caregivers for someone else who is battling and all you can do is watch and help when you can. Some of you are fighting your own battles of addiction or depression or anxiety or eating disorders. Some of you are being accused of something you didn t do and wouldn t even dream of doing and some of you have done the things you are or should be accused of and you are in deep need of forgiveness and mercy. 5

6 These are the times when all is stripped away when you have nothing left of your own will to hold it together. When whatever you are facing is beyond you, this is the time for the beatitudes. This is what Jesus gives us... one who understands the deep suffering, the deep grief, the deep pain and sorrow. On this Superbowl Sunday, when we are watching all this glory and money and celebration, remember these promises these promises from our God who tells us that Jesus is not about glory and money and celebration. Jesus is not about who wins and who loses. Jesus is the one who promises us that when we are deepest in despair and grief and loneliness, that s when he is closest to us bringing us fulfillment in ways that are beyond those of this world. Let us pray O God of mercy, let us hear the promises that you have given us 3 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 on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven Amen. 6