4 Epiphany A January 29, 2017
Reconciling in Christ Sunday
Luther Memorial Church Seattle, WA
The Rev. Julie Hutson
Micah 6: 1-8 + 1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 + Matthew 5: 1-12
Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God who creates us; Jesus who saves us; and the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us. Amen.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain.
I get it. I really do. Jesus is tired of the crowds. They all have an agenda. They all want something. Fix this. Heal that. Do this. Listen to that. Jesus is tired. And yet….there is so much still to be done. So much that will be required of him and those who follow him. How to do it when everywhere he goes the demanding, bickering crowds follow him.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain.
I can picture him, there, resting. In Scripture, the mountain is the place where God is found. Jesus doesn’t just go up the mountain for solitude; Jesus doesn’t just go up the mountain to escape the crowds. Jesus goes up the mountain to find God.
He isn’t alone for long, though. Eventually the disciples find him. And Jesus knows what he must do….what he is called to do….he is called to teach them. If they are to follow him, if they are to carry out his work, he must teach them. And so he begins what we generally refer to as the Sermon on the Mount.
Although this teaching or this sermon is found in both Matthew’s Gospel and Luke’s Gospel, it’s worth noting that in Matthew’s Gospel Jesus is only addressing the disciples. He isn’t teaching the crowds….he’s readying the ones who will follow him closely.
And he begins. Blessed are they…..
Some translations say “Happy are they”. Both translations are inadequate, though for the word Jesus actually uses means something of a mash up of both. Still, either is curious considering what comes after. Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed.
This doesn’t exactly describe who we are being told is blessed or happy or some combination of the two in these days, though. If we are to believe what we are being told, only America is blessed and only Christians are blessed. And of course, that’s not what Jesus would tell us.
Today the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America recognizes Reconciling in Christ Sunday. Luther Memorial became a Reconciling congregation in August 2012. Now, almost five years later, we find that it is still necessary, perhaps more than it was in 2012, to speak publicly in support of and in welcome to all people, regardless of sexual orientation, race, nationality, or gender identification. Perhaps this reality, that so little has changed, that in fact, we appear to have taken a step backward as a nation, means that it is not only necessary….it is vitally important….it is urgent….it is how we follow the risen Christ.
Remember with me the three things Jesus told us were most important: Love God. Love ourselves. Love our neighbors. Nowhere does Jesus say we get to pick and choose who those neighbors will be. Nowhere. When he tells the story of the Good Samaritan, he makes that clear. We are expected to advocate for and defend those who are being beaten up by society.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed.
Imagine with me, if you will, if the disciples had felt threatened by what Jesus was teaching. Fear sometimes does that. If one person or group of people are singled out as blessed or if it is noted that their lives also matter, what about everyone else? What does that take away from me?
So what if Jesus had said: Blessed are the poor in sprit and the disciples had responded with “No, everyone is blessed”. Blessed are the meek. “No, everyone is blessed.” Blessed are the merciful…no everyone is blessed.
When we cannot hear that the oppressed communities matter to God….when we insist on including ourselves….then we are speaking from our own privilege.
Jesus was reminding the disciples that God always moves toward those pushed to the margins. Of course, God loves all people….but those of us who feel that love easily….those of us who are not shunned because of our sexuality or the color of our skin or those of us who enjoy the benefits of the patriarchy….we need this reminder from Jesus. That all people are blessed.
The Church is called, every time, to care for those blessed ones who need to remember that they are blessed. And we must not shy away from naming them: blessed are you, our dark skinned siblings…you reflect the very image of God. Blessed are you our transgender, transsexual, bisexual, gay, lesbian, queer siblings….your love is a gift from the One who made you perfectly and loves you wholly. Blessed are you….women….you who are still not equally valued, but who were chosen by God to bear the son of God in this world. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed.
So, why was this the first item, the first point, of Jesus’ sermon or teaching on the mount? It’s a long treatise; he covers a lot of ground and we’ll be hearing it in the weeks ahead. But this is the first item of business. That those whom the empire is trampling underfoot are blessed.
Because it would be so easy to forget. And until all of God’s beloveds live without fear….until all of God’s beloveds are able to be who they truly are without being judged….until all of God’s beloveds are loved with equity….our work is not done. But this work gets lost in the rest of the work. It gets lost for your pastor and I will be the first one to admit that to you. It gets lost amidst the countless other details of being the body of Christ together….budgets and ballots and all of the business we will accomplish later today. Don’t get me wrong. Those are important things. But they are not what Jesus talked about….ever.
Jesus said Love God. Love yourselves. Love your neighbor.
Jesus said Blessed are they….these cast aside. Blessed. Blessed. Blessed.
It’s counter-intuitive to the empire, this love for the least, the lost, and the last. Paul called it God’s foolishness in his letter to the Corinthians. He said: “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength. God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are…”
How do we do this work that God has called us to? How do we prepare? How do we even identify what the work is? First, when we are overwhelmed….by the crowds or by the task or by what is making headlines….we go to where God is. Maybe that’s literally up the mountain out here. Or maybe it’s in some quiet space in your home or on the trail or in a sanctuary. Maybe it’s found here in worship, where we come together as the community of God, the body of Christ, and hear the stories over and over until we are able to place our own stories squarely within the story of the Creator.
And then we listen to Jesus….who always calls us to acts of love….love for all people….and who always calls us to resist evil.
And then we do what God has always required of God’s people….from the Israelites to the disciples to you and me….we do justice…..we love kindness….and we walk humbly with God.
Thanks be to God and let the church say…Amen.