A PEOPLE OF SALT AND LIGHT LENTEN SERMON SERIES – SESSION 1 – March 4, 2012
‘When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them…’
As Jesus gives his ‘sermon on the mount,’ who is present, where are they, what are they doing, and who is being taught?
John Wesley, in his notes on the text, gives us an image of people coming from every direction to see and hear Jesus. So, Jesus “walks up into the mountain” (he goes up on a high hillside) where there is room for all these people to hear what he has to say. There are probably people from every walk of life there, poor and rich and in-between, those wanting to believe and the curious, those desperately seeking change and those more comfortable with life as it were. Jesus is there, with his disciples close by, and the crowd in a place where all can hear him because everyone there wants to learn from him. They don’t want to miss a thing he says. Jesus is not teaching just a few disciples on the hillside, his message is for the whole crowd straining to hear what he has to say.
The Sermon of the Mount begins with the Beatitudes. Jesus teaches that the community lives under God’s gracious blessings: “Blessed are…”
‘… the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘… those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘… the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘… those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘… the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘… the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘… the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘… those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Which of the beatitudes strikes you or catches your attention? What questions do you have?
I imagine a different part of the Beatitudes stands out each time we read or hear them, depending upon what we are dealing with at the time. Keep in mind the people there that day also had different things going on in their lives. Where they were coming from and where they were at in life might be different from the person sitting or standing next to them. Some needed their belief strengthened, some were grieving a loss, and some may have been looking for justice; some needed to forgive, some to make peace, and some relief from a heavy burden that was wearing them down. Some felt far away from God and others wanted to be better people. We have all felt those things at one time or another, haven’t we? Isn’t it comforting that God is present with us at such times? It is especially then we find ourselves closest to God – that’s the blessing! So, which beatitude do you identify with most today or catches your attention and what questions might you have?
The Beatitudes describe the way of life of the discipleship community – those who follow Jesus. Jesus says persons whose attitudes and activities diverge markedly from those commonly assumed and celebrated by the world are ‘blessed.’ (the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the ones hungering and thirsting after righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, makers of peace, and those persecuted for the sake of righteousness)
How do the attitudes and activities described in the beatitudes compare to how society today views what it means to be “blessed?”
As individuals, society’s view of being blessed is being successful, having money, a good job and family, no health problems, living in a safe place, and things like that. Likewise the world’s understanding of success or ‘blessedness’ can carry over to a church or a community of faith, like ours. Society says successful churches, whatever that means, whether its more people, an abundance of programs, a large building with stained glass windows, or a budget that is ‘in the black’, are blessed. Is that how we have come to define what being blessed means, how successful we have become? Is it then that God is closest to us? Or might it be when our need is greatest? Jesus teaches that we are blessed when the things we so desperately need or seek are left up to God, knowing that our efforts are insufficient. That’s my thoughts, what are yours?
All ‘beatitudes’ (eight of them) describes the character of the faith community that believes in God and trusts God’s ways. Such a community is to practice a new way of seeing and acting (a contrast community).
Why might it take a community to live the beatitudes?
I love to be off to myself, away from everything. It’s a time for thinking about things or just focusing on the moment. Did you notice I said “off to myself” not off by myself” Yesterday afternoon was an example of that; Samantha and I were in Marion working on a mosaic in a room full of five year olds at an ‘artsy’ Birthday party and a half dozen college students on an afternoon adventure. It was a spiritual experience. I wasn’t ‘by’ myself, but I was very much ‘to’ myself. Was I closer to God then, probably not! To be honest - I have never heard God’s voice, except in the voice of others; I have never seen God, except in the faces of others. I have never felt God’s touch, except in the touch of others. How then can those described by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, those around us who desperately seek God’s presence in their life, be blessed if not through our voices, through our faces, or through our touch? That’s why I think it takes a community to live the beatitudes. What about you?
In its values, priorities, and behaviors a “contrast community” offers a life-giving alternative to the values, priorities, and behaviors of the world around it.
Is the church a “contrast community” and if so, why?
The world values success and money. Its priorities seem to be the status quo and looking after one’s own interest. It behaves as if it’s every man and woman for them self and God looks out for those who look out for themselves. Churches can be so like the world – with our budgets, how we get things done, and even our rhythms of life. What if, though, through this church – “God took up space in our world” as Stanley Hauerwas says? What if we realized that we’re called to embody, on earth, a new way of life that demonstrates the gospel: that in Jesus, God has empowered us, through the Spirit, and as a “contrast community,” to be part of the worldwide witness to the Kingdom of God?
No comments:
Post a Comment