January 29, 2023                                  St. Andrew Church                               Rev. Anne McAnelly

 First Lesson:                                                   Micah 6:1-8

1 Hear what the Lord says: Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice. 2 Hear, you mountains, the case of the Lord, and you enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a case against his people, and he will contend with Israel. 3 “O my people, what have I done to you? In what have I wearied you? Answer me! 4 For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam. 5 O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised, what Balaam son of Beor answered him, and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.”

 6 “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?” 8 He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?

Second Lesson:                                             Matthew 5:1-12

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2 And 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 the sake of righteousness, 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.

 

 Last week we sang Happy Birthday to David Allshouse.  Our community joined in celebrating the day of his birth, hoping to offer joy to the birthday boy. We all shared that experience.  When we sing Happy Birthday we are not talking about an experience we are feeling it, sharing it.  Sometimes it takes most of the birthday song for the feeling to penetrate, sink in and for the happy wishes to be experienced.  That’s why having someone call you on your birthday and sing is so much better than simply saying “Happy Birthday.”   We share the experience; we feel the joy.

Today we have two iconic passages, Micah asking what the Lord requires and Matthew teaching blessedness to his disciples.  This is the first of three sermons I will preach on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus’ foundational teaching, the quintessential sermon.  Jesus has just called the two sets of brothers to be fishers of people and has started to teach and heal people all over Galilee and Judea.  The Beatitudes, Jesus teaching the blessedness of God’s reign, fits well with Micah’s teaching.  But let’s not jump to the poignant punchline.  There is a controversy between God and the people.  God gently and powerfully reminds them of the ways God has faithfully cared for them, freeing them from slavery, providing leaders and overcoming adversaries.  The Israelites respond as they were taught, wanting to bring offerings, sacrifices and fruit of their body for their sins.  But God reframes this moment.  It is not what you bring but who God is that makes this moment right.  When we live in the fullness of God’s goodness then we are better able to respond to the world in ways pleasing to God.  When we experience God’s blessings then we are inspired to live as God hopes.  Sometimes our shortcomings keep us from even seeing God’s blessings.   The Christian song, “Who I Am” by Casting Crowns says it perfectly, “Not because of who I am, but because of what You’ve done, Not because of what I’ve done, but because of who You are…

I am Yours.” When we belong to God, live in God’s blessedness then we rise to the question, “What does God require of us?”  According to John Collins, Micah 6:8 is “biblical ethics in a nutshell” (WP, Megan Fullerton Strollo).  Doing justice and loving kindness frames our interactions with others and walking humbly with our God is about our relationship with our Creator.  In effect, what God requires is for you to give yourself on behalf of others, particularly those who are needy, by doing justice and loving kindness. At the same time, walk humbly (or attentively) with your God.

The three paintings in the back of the sanctuary depict these three ways of being, justice, loving kindness and humility.  This passage was the theme, these paintings the image, for the General Assembly of the PCUSA in San Jose a few years back.  Maxine Adams then purchased these original paintings for our congregation as a reminder of what God requires of us; justice, loving kindness and humility.

One of the best stories of humility I know is that of a man who arrived in 1953 at the Chicago railroad station to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. He stepped off the train, a tall man with bushy hair and a big mustache. As the cameras flashed and city officials approached with hands outstretched to meet him, he thanked them politely. Then he asked to be excused for a minute. He walked through the crowd to the side of an elderly black woman struggling with two large suitcases. He picked them up, smiled, and escorted her to the bus, helped her get on, and wished her a safe journey. Then Albert Schweitzer turned to the crowd and apologized for keeping them waiting. It is reported that one member of the reception committee told a reporter, “That’s the first time I ever saw a sermon walking.” (Sermons.com Roy T. Lloyd).

Humility in action, loving kindness expressed, justice woven through.  The Beatitudes continue in that same vein of humility and blessedness.

I have often thought of the beatitudes as a guide to how we should be Christians.  But that shifted this week. Yes, “the Beatitudes are identifiers of discipleship; characteristics of the faithful; attributes of believers” (Working Preacher, Karoline Lewis).  But Jesus is teaching his disciples what it means to be blessed, to feel blessed. It’s like singing Happy Blessedness to you.  His sermon is to root his disciples in the justice, loving kindness and humility they will need to be his disciples.  They will face many adversities, but before they take that on, Jesus is sharing the feeling of blessedness with his disciples.  Jesus is describing, not prescribing, what it is to be blessed.  One commentator writes, “Jesus begins this teaching, not with promises of happiness, but with promises of blessedness even, and perhaps most, in hard human experiences of mourning, meekness, peacemaking, persecution, and poverty of spirit. Jesus’ form of ‘blessedness’ only makes sense in light of the kingdom of God…The kingdom sets a new frame of reference for ‘blessedness’” (Working Preacher, Amy G Oden).

Today we might have corrupted the idea of blessedness, or we live by those other beatitudes:

Blessed are the well-educated, for they will get the good jobs.

Blessed are the well-connected, for their aspirations will not go unnoticed.

Blessed are you when you know what you want, and go after it with everything you’ve got, for God helps those who help themselves.

If we are honest, we must admit that the world Jesus asserts as fact, is not the world we have made for ourselves” (Working Preacher, Lance Pape).

Yet Jesus is preaching to his disciples grounding them in blessedness.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.  The idea of being poor in spirit is the key to all that is to follow in the Beatitudes, you also might call that humility.  One commentator writes, “You cannot mourn without appreciating how insufficient you are to handle life in your own strength.

You cannot be meek unless you know you have needed gentleness yourself.

You cannot hunger and thirst for righteousness if you proudly think of yourself as already righteous.

You cannot be merciful without recognizing your own need for mercy.

You cannot be pure in heart if your heart is full of pride.

You cannot be a peacemaker if you believe that you are always right.

You cannot identify with Christ in the face of negative reactions from others without dying to yourself and renouncing your own rights.”

All of these beatitudes are rooted in humility, being poor in spirit” (Owen Stepp, Unlikely Blessings Sermons.com).  Once we humble ourselves to all the ways we need exactly what Jesus promised in the beatitudes, the blessedness in Him, the more we can feel the blessedness we are called to live in to be of service to our Lord.  Let us affirm our blessedness, feel our blessedness, by singing together:

Happy Blessedness to you, Happy Blessedness to you, Happy Blessedness, Happy Blessedness, Happy Blessedness to you.  Amen.

Jesus is not telling us to be blessed by being poor in spirit, but rather describing, not prescribing, God’s reign.

And so we live by those other beatitudes:

The list we find here is in the indicative mood, not the imperative. It is description, not prescription. Jesus is not insisting that we become people who starve to see justice done (verse 6) — I suppose you either do or you don’t. What he is saying is that such people are blessed of God. (WP, Lance Pape)

One Sunday as they drove home from church, a little girl turned to her mother and said, “Mommy, there’s something about the preacher’s message this morning that I don’t understand.” The mother said, “Oh? What is it?” The little girl replied, “Well, he said that God is bigger than we are. He said God is so big that He could hold the whole world in His hand. Is that true?” The mother replied, “Yes, that’s true, honey.” “But Mommy, he also said that God comes to live inside of us when we believe in Jesus as our Savior. Is that true, too?” Again, the mother assured the little girl that what the pastor had said was true. With a puzzled look on her face the little girl then asked, “If God is bigger than us and He lives in us, wouldn’t He show through?”

That is what the beatitudes are about – God showing through.

(Jerry Shirley, When God Shows Through sermons.com)

Then, you are not just preaching about the Sermon on the Mount, but letting it preach itself. This is one of the oft-unnamed difficulties of this portion of Matthew’s Gospel—you are preaching a sermon on a sermon. The first thing the preacher should do is consider how to let the sermon preach itself rather than explain its potency away.

The purpose of preaching

Sermons are not just content but are intent on creating an experience. Something should happen, and that something should not just be communicating words. What do you think Jesus wanted to have happen with this sermon? What did he want the disciples to experience? So, for each section these next four weeks, attempt to answer this question. What do the Beatitudes do? They don’t just remind the disciples that they are blessed. Jesus wants them to feel that they are blessed. (WP, Karoline Lewis)

Why is teaching so important for Jesus? Or, for that matter, why is learning so critical for a life of faith? It’s important to remember that who Jesus is simultaneously reveals who we are. For Matthew, the disciples are students, learners. But that learning cannot happen outside of the realm of promise. You are blessed. You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. Only with these claims of identity in place can the disciples, can we, live out what Jesus will ask us to do.

The Beatitudes are identifiers of discipleship; characteristics of the faithful; attributes of believers. They are truth-tellings. (WP, Karoline Lewis)

Being blessed

You are blessed. You have to hear that on the front end. And note that being blessed is not just for the sake of potential joy, but also for the sake of making it through that which will be difficult. Again, these are Jesus’ first words to his disciples. We need to hear in each and every one of the Beatitudes what’s at stake for Jesus and for his ministry. . (WP, Karoline Lewis)

Jesus begins this teaching, not with promises of happiness, but with promises of blessedness even, and perhaps most, in hard human experiences of mourning, meekness, peacemaking, persecution, and poverty of spirit. Jesus’ form of “blessedness” only makes sense in light of the kingdom of God. Jesus’ teaching here begins and ends with the kingdom of God (verses 3 and 10). Jesus had already preached that “the kingdom of heaven has come near” (4:17). The kingdom sets a new frame of reference for “blessedness.” (WP Amy G Oden)

Within God’s life (kingdom) “blessedness” does not depend on wealth or health or status. It is not a reward for righteousness or duty. Rather, blessedness is God’s sheer gift. In the realm of God, life is not governed by honor and shame, but by the promise of abundant life. Mourning, poverty of spirit, and meekness reveal this inbreaking of God’s abundant life. When we have “eyes to see” our lives within the kingdom of God, it’s like pushing the reset button. (WP Amy G Oden)

Here, like Moses at Mt. Sinai, Jesus interprets and promulgates God’s vision of a world aligned with God’s concerns. In this way, Jesus’ sharing and interpreting of these commandments is less an imposition of strictures for an obedient life than a guide to a life of wholeness aligned with God’s creation and grace. That is, both the Sermon on the Mount and the Ten Commandments are not rules as much as they are visions for communal wholeness rooted in God’s liberation of the oppressed. Also, like the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount is narrated and imbedded within a larger story about the character of a faithful God. (WP, Eric Barreto)