"Blessed are Those..."

The Beatitudes or “Sermon on the Mount” as they are often referred to,  particularly perhaps because in Matthew’s gospel, it says, "Jesus went up the mountain and after he sat down, his disciples came to him" (Mt 5: 1). This is when he gives this particular sermon on what it means to live into the Kingdom of God.

We know for the most part what we hear in Matthew 5:1-12 as blessing is very different then how the world might consider one to be blessed, “blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted, blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth,  blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the pure in heart, blessed are the peacemakers,  blessed are the persecuted…….. 

What is so blessed about being poor in spirit? Nothing, it is a place of darkness and despair where one feels alone, or empty, forsaken. What is so blessed about being in mourning? Nothing, it is terrible to lose a love one, to feel the deep dark sorrow of grief and pain we bear in loss. Blessed are those who are meek, why say the meek are blessed?  These are the ones who get walked on the most in our world, get pushed around, beaten up even, and forgotten about? What is so great about all that … and we know that there is nothing great about it at all.  It is here however, that Jesus is saying that we should find blessing. 

Jesus is not of course promoting that one should go out and intentionally seek to be poor in spirit in order to find blessing, or be ever more mournful because that is where one will be comforted, or seek persecution,  in order to find righteousness.  It is knowing that when we find ourselves in such difficult places in life, when we look for the true nature of blessing there, we will find it because God is there with us. 

Yesterday I visited someone who has endured Cancer for many years, it was her birthday, and very likely the last birthday she will have on this earth, and while there is certainly no blessing in Cancer, she shared with me how she have been blessed through it all.  Blessed by the care she had been given by the Cancer care team, by the love and support she has known through her family, friends and neighbours, and in that she found much blessing, love and thankfulness, and much reason to celebrate and feel joy on her birthday. 

That too is what Jesus was teaching in the beatitudes, for it is only looking to the ultimate blessing of knowing God both in the present and future time, that we can endure the troubles that this world will bring.  Jesus in this gospel, had been instructing his disciples, on the kingdom of God, but a kingdom that was within each of them, as it is within each of us, and it is to be found, when we put our focus on, not seeking after what the world promises, but seeking after what God promises. 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.  No, blessing doesn’t always come in the way most might perceive it to be in the world, in the wealth and good fortune that many enjoy. More so it is in the immaterial, the love that is given and felt, when one gives to bring life to another, as the peacemakers of our world, who  put their own lives at risk to give another a chance at a more peaceful life;  or the pure in heart, those who give out of the goodness of their hearts,  self-less acts of love and giving for the sake of the other. All deserving of reward but not often thought about, it is these  Jesus says, who will see God. 

In that there is real promise, promise of eternal glory in the Father’s kingdom, and that is the promise Jesus gives all who work for His kingdom glory, instead of for earthly glory.  Jesus was no doubt concerned about the dangers of temptation for those who would follow him. Temptations that take one away from faithful living, in pursuit of one’s own self-interests, or self-glorification, or gratifications for that matter.  There was as much danger of that for the disciples then, as it is for us now. 

Previous to this gospel Jesus had been healing all kinds of sickness and disease and great crowds it says were following him, bringing their sick to him, and no doubt taken up with the miraculous.  Jesus was handy to have around.  Perhaps they were seeing him as the new Moses, and looking for more of the same when God brought the plagues on the Egytians to free the Isrealites.  Jesus could serve them well in overthrowing the romans with this kind of power.   For the disciples it must have been a very powerful feeling to have been called as his right hand men, so to speak.  But what Jesus was doing, wasn’t about power and fame, it was about humbling oneself before the almighty God. And allowing God to have the prominent place in one’s life.

To bad some of our worlds’ leaders today don’t recognize humility as one of the greatest virtues they could ever strive after, just imagine what a magnificent world we would have if that were the case. If all were to humble themselves before our almighty God.  The world’s hungry would be fed, the poor would have plenty, the lost would be found, there would be no more refugee fleeing from danger, there would be no homeless, or poverty, or oppression and less sickness and discease, because all would be fed, all would be taken care of, all would be treated, equally, fairly, and justly.  That is a world worth hoping and striving for, and praying about. 

And that is just it, because it is what Jesus is calling us all to strive for through the beatitudes, God’s kingdom come, on earth as it is in heaven. 

The beatitudes points us to God’s kingdom ways, and while the world looks on these rules or instructions as impossible to live by, and most take them more at sentimental value then anything else, they are however, instructions indeed for how God intends  us all to live. 

The old testament prophet Micah (6:1-8) speaking to the people of Isreal after they had forgotten about what God had done for them, going their own way, living for themselves rather then looking out for one another, caring for the poor among them, when they were reminded of this,  they offered to make retribution for their sins through greater sacrifice, even to offering to sacrifice their first born to the Lord. The prophet says to them, “ He has told you O Mortal, what is good, and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindess, and to walk humbly with your God.

God was not looking for more ritual acts of sacrifice, more acts of piety that they might prove their worthiness, but asking for changed lives.  People who honored God with their lives, not through practiced ritual but doing good in the world, keeping the peace, sharing what they had so there would be a more just and better society for all. 

The beatitudes speak to who God is and what God is about, and in them we too should seek to find ourselves, as those who are striving to do good in the world, striving to make this a better place through our own acts of mercy, love and compassion.  Walking with the suffering of our world, the lonely, the sick, the displaced, the persecuted, not standing outside of it but stepping into all the brokenness of our world, for it is there too we will find our God.

Sometimes it feels like there is little hope for the world as it is, but it is trusting that our God is greater then all that is happening, that we too will find blessing in the integrity of knowing that we walk in faithfulness with our God.

And so as the prayer written by William Sloan Coffin says:  "May God give you the grace never to sell yourself short; grace to risk something big for something good; and grace to remember that the world is too dangerous for anything but truth, and too small for anything but love."

Amen, God Bless.  

Experiencing Resurrection!

This past Sunday we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. Mary Magdelene got up very early while it was still dark and went to the tomb. Finding the stone rolled away from the tomb opening, Mary Magdelene runs to tell Simon Peter and the beloved disciple. They immediately ran to the tomb, the other disciple getting there ahead of Simon Peter looks in the tomb to see the linen wrappings that Jesus had been wrapped in when he was placed in the tomb still lying there. Jesus grave clothes were there but Jesus was not, the disciple it says do not go into the tomb. I thought

about that and wondered, why did he not go in? Was it as some have said so that Peter as the more senior disciple perhaps would be the first one to go in? Maybe, but that just doesn't make sense when the concern was what had happened to Jesus, where was he. I would think it was rather that the disciple had already concluded with the linens lying there, that Jesus wasn't there, and there was no point to go looking for the living among the dead.

Peter arriving at the tomb went in and found the linen wrappings as the first disciple, only this time it says, the wrapping that was around Jesus head was also there but rolled up and placed by itself, showing that this was no forceful leaving.  If it were grave robbers that had stolen the body, or the Romans had taken Jesus from that tomb, they certainly would not have taken the time to neatly fold up any head wrapping, or to remove his grave clothes. Why would they bother? He was already dead, what would be the point in doing that, they certainly would not want anyone to think that he had been raised.  They would have done anything to stifle that from getting out.  The other disciple went in also and it says, 'he saw and believed'. We are not sure what he  believed, did he somehow come to the conclusion that this pointed to Jesus being raised, or was it that he believed what Mary Magadelene had told them that Jesus was not there as she had said.  Which was quite obvious with the grave clothes being left behind, but what is rather odd, is that they left and return to their homes. Did they tell any the others about the grave clothes, what were their thoughts about it all?  did they just wait to see what might happen next, if Jesus would contact them, or if someone would?  will according to John's gospel (John 20:1-18), we don't really know.

But we do know that Mary Magdalene stayed behind at the tomb, and because she did, she becomes the first witness to the resurrection. Mary Magdalene so consumed in her grief is not ready to walk away, determined to know where Jesus body is she stays awhile longer.  Still consumed in her grief, weeping, she looks into the tomb.  It is then she saw two angels sitting where Jesus body had been laid in the tomb, "one at  the head and one at the feet". Mary Magdalene so concerned about where Jesus body might be, it seems doesn't even notice to whom she is speaking.  When they say to her "woman why are you weeping," Mary's only concern is where is Jesus, "they have taken my Lord, and I do not know where they have placed him."  Mary is like ourselves when we are looking for someone or something, our thoughts are totally on that,  nothing else.  We can't seem to focus our minds anywhere  only in finding the one thing we are looking for. We keep going back to where we know we had last seen it, looking for answers, even if perhaps it doesn't make sense to do so. (In this case, Jesus' grave clothes were left there).

It is then she turns and sees Jesus standing there but she doesn't recognize him, still consumed with her grief, she mistakes him for the gardener and asks him, "If you have taken him away, please tell me where you have laid him, so that I can take him away."  For Mary the only logical answer for Jesus body to be gone from that place is for someone to have taken it.  Mary knew death, Mary knew burial. She had been there when Jesus was crucified, she was there when they had taken Jesus body down from the Cross, she had been there when they had laid him in that tomb.  She and the other women had followed them when they carried his body there so they would know where it was.  Mary knew all these things, but she did not know resurrection.  Jesus was no longer there.

It is then that Jesus speaks to her, saying "Mary".   Mary recognizing his voice, says, "Rabonni, Teacher".   We can only imagine her reaction at the recognition of that voice. "My sheep listen to my voice, I know them and they know me"(John 10:27). And no doubt Mary was wanting to grab hold to Jesus, as we all do when someone we love show up unexpected, we just want to hold onto them and not let go. And for Mary perhaps after losing him once she didn't want to let him go again. But Jesus says to her "do not hold on to me, because I have not yet ascended to the father. "

There was still more to do and Mary was to be a part of it, in taking the good news of the resurrection to the others. She was the first witness to the resurrection.  "Go to my brothers, and say to them I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."  Mary Magdelene went and announced to all the others, "I have seen the Lord."

"I have seen the Lord."  Can you imagine when Mary went through that door this time where the disciples were, what her demeanour was like.  You can be sure it was far different then the first time she had gone to tell the disciples Jesus body was not in the tomb. No longer was Mary afraid, but filled with joy and exaltation at the good news that Jesus had risen from the dead.  That is what resurrection does, it changes things.  It changes the way we view the world, it changes the way we see, where Mary could only see despair now there was great hope."  Resurrection turns our sorrow into joy, our despair into hope; with Resurrection Love overcomes hate, good wins over evil, and light drives out darkness., It tells us death has been transformed into New life!   And so my friends where have you seen Resurrection in your lives?

This past sunday as I celebrated Easter Eucharist, Resurrection was happening not only in the telling of the Easter story, or present to us in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, but it was happening right there, in the lives of the people present.  One lady after the service came to me remarking on how the natural light of the sunrise was so powerful that it took her breath away telling me it was as if God himself had lit up the sanctuary. Maybe he had, there was good reason to, we were celebrating Resurrection, New life. And New life was obviously the order of the day.  A elderly lady who was there with her family, only a week earlier so sick that it was thought she might not survive this time, she had fought a battle with Cancer for over forty years. But this morning she came to church and made her way to the communion rail without any assistance to receive the sacrament.  There was resurrection.   At another service throughout the day an elderly man who was told by his dr.,  that his next breath could be his last one, he had had so many heart problems, walked into the church assisted by his family.  He participated in the prayers, the singing of the hymns, and when it was time to pass the peace got out of his seat and walked back to pass the peace to his neighbours unassisted.   After the service he told me "that was the first time he had been to church and received the sacrament for over forty years but today "he just had to come".  Resurrection happens because we believe.  Mary Magdalene saw and believed, "I have seen the Lord" she said.  We too have see the Lord, we may not have the empty tomb that we can go to to check it out, or the linen wrappings left behind in the tomb to verify what we believe, but we know we have seen and believed, because it is our story too, and so it is we too go and tell, "I have seen the Lord."  Jesus Christ is Risen today, Alleluia!

Amen, God Bless.