Epiphany 4A
February 2, 2020
Micah 6:8, Matthew 5:1-12
INTRODUCTION
I mentioned
last week as I was orienting you to Matthew’s Gospel that Matthew paints Jesus
as a sort of “new Moses.” You remember Moses, how he went up on a mountain and
received from God the 10 Commandments, and presented them to God’s people to show
them how God wanted them to live and act. Well today, Jesus will climb a
mountain and do the same thing, as he begins telling a crowd that has been
following him what it looks like to live out the kingdom of God here and now.
And God’s kingdom won’t look like we might imagine – like power and might and
winning. Sometimes it looks like being so empty and broken (mourning,
persecuted, working toward peace) that you are truly able to receive the mercy
and grace that God has to offer.
The lectionary
pairs these beloved “beatitudes” in Matthew with another favorite passage, the
most well-known one in the prophet Micah. A little context for this will help:
Micah’s community to whom he is prophesying is basically at this point surrounded
by the enemy army, who is ready to attack, and things are understandably tense.
The reason they are in this situation is that their rulers have been unjust,
ungodly, and untrusting of God. Micah sets up the response to this behavior and
its consequence like a sort of trial, with God as the judge, the mountains as
the jury, and the sinful people of Israel on the witness stand. God asks, “What
more did you want from me? I already have done everything for you!” Israel
asks, “What could we possibly bring before God in return for all this?” and
lists several impressive and impossible sacrifices. Micah’s response, though, presents
the heart of the issue, and a summary of our life of faith: “What does the Lord
require of you,” he asks, “but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly
with your God?”
Both Micah and
Matthew will present some pretty counter-cultural ways to live, to “walk humbly
with God,” as Micah says. As Paul will point out in 1st Corinthians,
these might seem like foolish ways of living. But for those of us who believe
in Christ crucified and risen, this way of living brings life. So, let’s
listen.
[READ]
Grace to you and peace from God our
Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
We included this text in our wedding.
I’ve seen it chosen for several funeral services. It was even read at the
Presidential Inauguration three years. It’s inspired countless books, and even
been spoofed by Monty Python. The Beatitudes. It is certainly a beloved text,
applicable to all kinds of different situations. Maybe it is because of its
familiarity and frequent use, though, that this opening to Jesus’ Sermon on the
Mount has, over time, lost its punch. Despite its remarkable and table-turning
description of God’s kingdom, the Beatitudes are often reduced to a list of
platitudes describing a Christian life. And sure, that works for some of them –
Christians should be merciful and pure of heart, for example, and they should
seek peace.
Some of them, though, fall far short
of the warm, fuzzy filter we’ve put on them. Some of them, I think, can be
downright confusing, even discouraging, and I bet Jesus’ 1st century
audience would agree. You see, people in the first century were seeking exactly
what people in this century seek: a strong, bold leader who would save them
from the oppression and fear they are experiencing. Someone who will show that
they have a spine, assert their power, stand up to evil, and get the people out
of this mess! But now here is Jesus, in his first major sermon, and instead of
making the big promises of grandeur that they crave, he says, “Blessed are the
meek. Blessed are the grieving. Blessed are the humble. Blessed are those who
are poor, hungry, thirsty, who seek justice.” Why didn’t someone interrupt him
to say, “Uhm, Jesus, I think you missed the point. We don’t want to be those things anymore – meek,
sad, broken. We were hoping you would save us from those things. How can you
say we are blessed?? We sure don’t feel blessed!”
Yeah, these allegedly blessed groups
of people are not the ones we are used to seeing as blessed. When do we usually
say that, “I’m so blessed”? It’s when we have good things happen to us, right?
Or maybe when we have come through something tough, made it to the other side.
Saying someone is blessed when they are mourning, persecuted, meek, hungry,
thirsty, etc. is so counter to our worldview, especially our American dream. We
want to climb the ladder ourselves, not hang out at the bottom. Yet in Jesus’
sermon, he names as blessed not the winners, not those on top, but rather,
those on the very bottom, the very vulnerable, the weak, the oppressed, those
who have lost something or someone.
Why on earth would Jesus do that? Why
would he side with this bunch of, shall we say, losers?
If ever there was a text in the
gospel that shows Jesus’ priorities, this is it: it turns out, Jesus didn’t
come to stand with the winners. I used to read this text as Jesus lifting up
those who are downtrodden, preferring to focus on his use of future tense:
“They will be filled. They shall obtain mercy.” I saw it as a text
of hope for the future, like, “Wait it out, your turn will come, if not here on
earth, then at least in heaven.” I guess that’s fine, but now when I read it, I
see something different: I see that just by mentioning them, Jesus is already blessing those groups of people,
right here, right now.
Some years ago, a dear friend of
ours, Alex, was dealing with her mom, who was suffering from dementia. In one visit,
she had recognized Alex, but did not recognize her own husband, to whom she’d
been married 70 years. “He says he’s my husband,” she told Alex. “Who is he?”
At one point in the conversation, she said to Alex, “I feel like I’m losing my
marbles.” Alex’s compassionate response was, “That must be scary.” And that’s
true, isn’t it? When we are in those uncertain places – mourning, hungry,
confused, persecuted – it is scary. We do not feel blessed. We feel alone,
and scared, even helpless.
In the wake of this encounter, Alex’s
family had a conversation with her mom about the state of things. The gist of
the conversation was to assure her: you are safe, and you are not alone. You are safe, and you are not alone. Now
that is a word of blessing. And that is the word that I hear in Jesus’ sermon.
Not, “It’ll get better, just wait and see.” Not, “It’s really not so bad.” But
rather, “You are safe with me. I am standing with you and holding you in my
arms. You are not alone. You are mine, and I am with you always, and especially
right now. You are blessed. I love you.”
I wonder how Jesus’ original audience
heard those words? We know from the verses immediately preceding this, that
Jesus had been teaching, healing, and casting out demons, and that crowds of
people were following him from place to place. This crowd is made up of those
same downtrodden, lowest rung types who truly needed to hear these words. Can
you picture it?
Now what about today? Whom are you
picturing, who needs to hear these words? If Jesus were to stand on a mount
today and say these words, who would need to hear, “You are safe, you are not
alone, you are blessed”?
Blessed are those suffering from dementia,
for they are not alone.
Blessed
are the immigrants and refugees, for they will find home.
Blessed
are the imprisoned, for they will know freedom.
Blessed
are the addicted and their families, for they will have life.
Blessed
are the workers, for they will receive fair pay.
Blessed
are the food insecure, for they will be nourished.
Blessed
are the children, for they will get what they need.
Blessed
are the elderly, for they will not be forgotten.
Blessed
are the minorities, for their voice will be heard and considered.
Blessed
are those who are persecuted for working for social justice, for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven.
Rejoice
and be glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
“The prophets
who were before you” – prophets like our buddy, Micah. That last line of this today’s
text from Micah is, as I said, a summary of a life of faith: “What does the
Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly
with your God?” I have often seen these words on banners in church sanctuaries
and fellowship halls – and with good reason. They are good words for all of us,
but especially for those of us in a situation where we can serve those same
vulnerable populations to whom Jesus speaks. Do justice, Micah says: stand with
and speak for those in need, seeing to it that they get what they need to
thrive. Love kindness: the response when we truly try to understand the plight
of another and are moved to compassion. And finally, walk humbly with your God:
relying not on ourselves, but on God’s own grace and providence to give us all
we need to live the way God calls us to.
How will we live out this command,
today? What does it look like to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly
with our God in 2020? Here’s one thing I’m going to do. 52 years ago, the Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and many others called for a “revolution of values”
in America. They sought to build a broad, fusion movement that could unite poor
and impacted communities across the country. This movement was called the Poor
People’s Campaign, and sought to address the most pressing issues impacting the
poor and low-income people in this country. Fifty years later, this unfinished
work has been picked up once again, by the new Poor People’s Campaign: A
National Call for Moral Revival. This non-partisan movement, which partners
with faith and labor leaders and organizations across the country, works at
every level to bring awareness and change to the issues most affecting the 140
million poor and low income people in this country, and encouraging people toward
moral civic engagement – around the very same issues Jesus concerned himself,
in the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere. This Friday, at 7pm, the Poor
People’s Campaign’s national tour will be stopping in Rochester. The Rev. Dr.
William Barber, one of the movement’s founders, will be here to speak. I’m
eager to hear him, to attend the event, and to find ways to engage in serving
those same people whom Jesus called “blessed.” If you would like to join me in
attending this event and learning more, please let me know – I’d love to go as
a group, so we can walk humbly with our God together.
Whether this, or some other way that
suits your particular interests, values, beliefs, and capabilities, know this:
that wherever you walk, Jesus walks with you. Jesus walked for you all the way
to the cross, and walked out of the tomb to bring us new life, so that we might
continue the walk toward and for those in need – for those who are already
blessed, but are even more so by us bringing the light of Christ into the
darkness.
Let us pray… Holy
God, you have promised to stand with the weakest and lowliest of your children,
and you have called us to do the same. Bless us and walk with us as we strive
also to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with you. In the name of the
Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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