Someone recently mentioned to me that it seems like our country has changed over the past years from one that wanted to be good to one that wants to feel good. I tend to agree. And, quite honestly, as we experience this horrific pandemic with thousands of people dying, the deep divisiveness among people, the acute pain and profound woundedness in our culture, I really do understand the desire to feel good, to long for a feel good sense of hope within ourselves. The truth is, we are a brokenhearted people, and the desire to feel hope is normal. I deeply feel that desire within myself. In fact, I will confess that is why I will sit and watch a Hallmark movie because there is always a happy ending that evokes a feel-good sense of hope. Yet, that feel good sense of hope is very short lived. Frankly, our culture is very good at offering all kinds of things and stuff that provide a short-lived, feel good hope. But such hope does not last because it is a false hope. Friends, far too often we try to stem our hurt by running away from our pain to selfishly focus on what makes us feel good. However, we cannot create the hope and peace we so desire by focusing on self. Real hope only comes by facing our pain and opening our hearts to God. And, real hope is what comes with a broken, vulnerable, open heart that is willing to be mended.
In today’s Old Testament reading, Isaiah is speaking to people who have returned to Jerusalem following political exile in Babylon. They, too, desired hope and they did not sense God’s presence to them. We hear the prophet Isaiah waiting and calling out for God to break into the peoples’ lives. Isaiah calls the people to repent, to turn back to God, and he laments and prays to God saying, “No eye has seen any God besides you who works for those who wait.” Isaiah pleads that God would tear open the heavens and break into the lives of the people to bring hope, peace, and a restored life.
As we begin Advent, we begin a time of waiting. Like Isaiah, we wait and we, too, pray that God breaks into our lives, bringing the promise of hope, peace, and restored life. However, Advent waiting is not a form of passive waiting and watching. It is a time to allow ourselves to turn back to God, to become vulnerable, to open up our lives, our hearts, and our souls with active anticipation as we trust God’s promises to us. It is a time to live with our hearts broken open so that compassion, caring and God’s reckless love can find a way to break into our hearts and the heart of the world.
As we look at today’s gospel reading from Mark, we are given words that ultimately address the brokenness of our hearts. Initially, the 13th chapter of the gospel of Mark is frightening and chilling to read. And, while it has sometimes been interpreted as a prediction of the future to frighten future generations, we must look at the historical context and think about what was happening when it was written. These words are NOT a prediction about the future. It is true, the people were waiting for Jesus to return. However, this writing from Mark follows a long tradition of apocalyptic literature and it is all about providing comforting words to people as they faced their present life and present experience. Written around 70 CE, Mark is writing to a community of people who were facing horrific situations. Christians were being dragged before local authorities, sometimes by members of their own family. War was on the horizon and, in fact, already happening as they experienced the Jewish Revolt of 66-70 CE, a war that brought the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem. For these early Christians, it felt as if the world had ended, and in some very real ways, it had ended.
You see, when people are experiencing fear and going through great pain, you’ve got to acknowledge that pain, that grief, and not bury it or cover it up by simply saying, “Don’t panic, everything will be ok.” As the people wait for Jesus to return, Mark tells them to acknowledge the pain and challenge, but trust God’s promise, stay awake, be alert and be ready for God to break in. When discussing this passage in scripture, theologian, Sarah Dylan, writes that Jesus is addressing the disciples and each one of us by saying:
Yes, there is serious pain in the world, in your community. There are wars and rumors of wars. There's strife within families, and even within the family of faith, those called to be one in Christ……So, when you see these horrible things happening, don't think it's a sign that the kingdom of God Jesus promised is late in coming or has been derailed. We don't know the day or hour, but we know that God is faithful, and Jesus' resurrection from the dead is a sign to us as it was to Mary Magdalene, Simon Peter and our own wounded communities: Jesus is coming, and God's kingdom, inaugurated with Jesus' ministry, is being revealed and finding fulfillment.
Friends, this word from Mark’s gospel is Good News for us. Yes, there is serious pain in our world. Yet, as we again wait for the coming of the Christ child, we know something that many don't seem to realize: the person we call Lord is none other than Jesus of Nazareth, who has already come. This Jesus taught and healed, he welcomed the outcast and broke bread with anyone willing to eat with him. It is Jesus, whose way of life and manner of death underscored what his words taught. His life and words were all about love, love for God and all others. He truly lived this every day of his life and we are also called to live it every day of our lives. When we know Jesus, the Jesus of the gospels, we know that God is love, and love drives out all fear, whatever our present circumstances.
The writer of Mark’s gospel is not pointing us to a future apocalyptic event, but rather a very present one in which Christ’s death and resurrection change absolutely everything we know. For once and for all, in Christ’s death and resurrection, Jesus suffers all that the world and empire and death have to throw at him…and is raised to new life and nothing will ever be the same again! And, that includes our present lives and even our present painful situations.
So, get ready! Jesus is here and Jesus is coming! Do not be afraid! Stay awake and be alert! God comes to us now and is still entering into our lives in ways that align with God’s coming in the vulnerability of a baby in a manger and a man dying on a cross. God comes to us now as we embrace all those we and the world consider “other.” God comes to us now as we collect food for the hungry. God comes to us now as we work to offer a hope and future to the guys who are living in our Parish House. God comes to us now as we collect food and goodies for the hospital staff who are caring for Covid-19 patients. God comes to us now as Caring Committee participants check on other members of the congregation. God comes to us now as doctors and nurses lovingly care for our loved ones who are sick. God comes to us now as we walk with relatives of those who are sick or dying. God comes to us now as we see friends and relatives become healed after having this virus. God comes to us now, even as we are only able to gather online for worship. God comes to us now, as we are, in our vulnerability, in our messed-up family lives, in our deep brokenness, in the pain of this pandemic, in our imperfections, telling us we are deeply loved as we are. God is already present, but God’s reign is not yet fully here. And, this is what gives us true hope, a hope that is not just a feel good hope, but real hope, a hope that endures even the pain of life.
In the person of Jesus, God is pulling back the curtain of false hopes and the many things in which we unwisely place our trust, to reveal a very present reality, the reality of God’s commitment to enter into and redeem our lives and world just as they are. And, this is what gives us real hope, a hope that endures and a hope that lasts, even in the depth of this pandemic. Yes, life is messy, there is much pain, and there is so much that is not right in this world. But, newness and hope are on the way, a hope we can trust. So, as we go through Advent, stay awake, and be aware of the many ways Christ appears in the present! God is always breaking in through time and space to be present in our lives and the lives of others. Christ is arriving now, in this present moment, meeting us in our pain just as we are, right before our very eyes. And, God breaks in bringing true hope, a hope that lasts and endures.
Today, we come to the end of the church year calendar and the end of our year-long focus on Matthew’s version of the Jesus story. And, as we read today’s gospel passage, we get high drama, harsh judgment, words of punishment, and words of damnation in eternal fire! So, as one who stands before you to proclaim the gospel, it is hard to read these words and then say, “The Good News of the Lord!” That just seems to go against the grain, especially for those of us who believe so fully and completely in a gracious God of love. It is hard to picture a gracious, loving God in this passage. Yet, if we dig a bit deeper, I think we discover today’s gospel reading is not so much about punishment in eternal fire, and it’s not the goats or the sheep that matter in this story; it is all about how we come face to face with God every day, a very loving and gracious God!
I know most of us go to the doctor at least once a year and, when we make that yearly visit, we experience a wellness check. This year, at my wellness check, I was told that my cholesterol and blood pressure were both too high. So, my doctor told me what I needed to do to address the problem. And, following his advice, I began a daily exercise plan, I watch my diet more closely, and now take some medication to help address the issues. I say this because I believe that in today’s gospel reading, Jesus uses the language of the prophets to present a kind of wellness check for all of us, for each of us individually and for the nations as well. Remember, just a few weeks ago, Jesus told us that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Well, today, as Jesus is facing his death, he who is often called the great physician, presents us with a kind of wellness check. In the story Jesus shares today, we discover the great physician, the Christ, is present in every person we meet, especially the most vulnerable. And, the great physician is really asking us and the nations to do a wellness check by looking at ourselves and asking, “How are we doing regarding what God desires from us and what Jesus has taught us? How we are living into the greatest commandment of which he spoke?”
Now, to better understand this parable and Christ’s presence to us in everyone we meet, one theologian also suggests we consider another contemporary metaphor – the reality TV show called Undercover Boss. I am sure many of you have seen that show in which the boss, the CEO, goes undercover to see how things are going with the workers. Now, while this metaphor is not perfect, there are some connections we can make to the gospel message for this Christ the King Sunday. “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him.” When he does this, he reveals that he, the Great Physician CEO, has been undercover among the people for some time, observing them at work, and it is time for the big reveal!
So, as we look at ourselves and our nation and do a wellness check, I wonder how Jesus, the Great Physician CEO, would judge his corporation right now. And yes, I use the word corporation, a word that comes from the same Latin root as corpus meaning body, as in the body of Christ. How is the corporation, the body, doing in this present world? How well do we as the community of Christ understand the corporation’s vision statement? “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God; blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” How well do we live and function by the company’s creed? “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind… and love your neighbor as yourself.” How clear are we about the guidelines for promotion? “All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.” Are we fulfilling the CEO’s mission? “Go, therefore, and make disciples.” Just maybe, we need to think about these things and do an intense wellness check on how we are doing.
And, what about the CEO’s priorities – priorities that always focus on welcoming the outsiders, the least of these, the most vulnerable among us; priorities that always, always reflect a politics of compassion and abundance? “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” How is our wellness check going regarding these priorities? How is our nation’s wellness check going regarding these priorities?
I must confess that for most of my life I read this parable in Matthew as a word of judgment saying, “If you blow it, you will be demoted to the realm of the goats and therefore burn in hell!” Now, while personal responsibility and consequences are part of this passage, the real question presented to us is one that asks about the mission of Christ’s body – the corpus or body of Christ, the church, the faith community – and whether that mission is being accomplished. How well are each of us living into that mission? How is that wellness check going?
Again, the undercover boss metaphor is not perfect. However, when looking at this parable, the point is that Jesus introduces something new. Jesus’ words reflect the words of the prophets, but he adds something new by saying that when we meet the one in need, we meet divinity, we meet Christ. When we welcome others, care for the sick, clothe and feed those in need, something more than a cup of water or a piece of bread changes hands: “As you did it to the least of these, you did it to me.” We find that when we give the cup, share the bread, and share what we have with those in need, we encounter the very presence of God in that person in need. We see God, we see the face of the risen Christ!
So, what about that wellness check? How are we doing? If we cannot share freely and fully or if we do not make ourselves available to do so, this indicates that our relationship with God and the world is not as healthy and whole as Jesus’ triumph on the cross makes possible. Loving those for whom Jesus gave his life, particularly those who are undervalued and vulnerable is a primary expression of our love of God and of our experience of God’s love for us.
As members of Christ’s body, we are called to respond to the needy, the hurting, and to welcome the stranger and the outsider, not only in the same way that Jesus did, but also as Jesus welcomes us. When we see this present world in pain, when so many people in our very own communities are sick and suffering from this horrible virus, we are called not to focus on our presumed individual rights, but on the common good and do what is necessary for the health, care and safety of our neighbor! We are called to wear masks! So, just how is that wellness check going in our present culture? And, when our present leaders do nothing but perpetually lie, promulgate conspiracy theories, seek vengeance and act cruelly, and then those lies, the vengeance and the cruelty spread like a malignant cancer, how is that wellness check going for our nation? When eight million people in our country have slipped into poverty this year, when one in five children in our country are food insecure, when thousands are dying, when millions are losing their unemployment, and millions are about to be evicted from their homes, how is that wellness check going for our nation? Remember Jesus’ words today when he says, “Whatsoever you do to the least of these, you do it unto me.”
Friends, when we actively live God’s radical hospitality, love, and care for our neighbor and all others, we are responding to the risen Christ. We respond to the Great Physician, the One who himself became totally vulnerable, entering the deepest need and pain of the world – even to the point of hanging on a cross, for the sake of all creation and all people. And, guess what! Such radical hospitality, care, and love reconstruct the social order! When we follow the One whose glory was revealed in the cross, we are transformed and we, ourselves, live into the healing love of the Great Physician. And, the God who became needy and vulnerable for the sake of the world uses us, to carry God’s healing, transforming love wherever we go, for the sake of a broken and hurting world.
I think I’ve shared before that during my first semester of seminary I had an introductory assignment where I openly stated that when I read the Bible my first assumption is that it will oppress me. I’m thankful (and you probably are now too) that I’ve experienced much growth throughout the past three years and have come to reverse my expectation of scripture. Today when I read the Bible my first assumption is that it will set me free! I’ve come to recognize a narrative throughout scripture of God who is for people, especially those people who don’t seem like they’re winning. I witness God who falls in love with humankind so completely that God never gives up on us, keeps choosing us, loving us, time and time again.
Because of this change in perspective I’m particularly challenged by encountering these readings today and they are forcing me to exercise the new muscles I’ve been building at Luther Seminary. These readings are challenging me as I find myself wrestling with contradiction today, wondering which of my assumptions of the Bible is true as I struggle to hold on to my new understanding of the narrative of a loving God. Overwhelmingly the lesson in Matthew’s gospel today has been preached as a renewal of Christian action and participation through responsible and obligatory use of the gifts we’ve been given by God. I’m not on board. Amidst this wrestling I admit that I’m weary of the meritocracy that is perpetuated by capitalistic societies like the Roman Empire and the United States of America. I’m weary of the Pharaohs that insist that we “make more bricks” in servitude to the empire. I’m weary of theologians who preach that we double down, work harder and give more in the name of God. At the beginning of this chapter in Matthew, Jesus says “The kindom of heaven will be like this.” and then shares this parable. I cannot accept that the kindom of God is like a ruthless and wealthy CEO with a golden parachute who requires his employees to play his game of monopoly. In his game he takes all of their winnings and downsizes the company so that the remaining employees are “rewarded” with more work and participation in the joy of perpetuating his game of exploitation. No. Not God.
It’s important to recognize before I go any further that the “talent” spoken about in the gospel is not what we write about on our yearly stewardship forms about time, talent and treasure. A “talent” was cold hard cash, actually an enormous amount of cash, you could say it was a life savings, worth more than fifteen years of wages! The US Census bureau reports that the median household income in 2019 was around $68,000, so a modern-day talent would be over a million dollars. Using today’s income data, the master in this story gives one slave $5 million dollars, another $2 million dollars, and another $1 million and went away… for a very long time. Two of the slaves play the game, somehow managing to double these multiplied life savings and return $10 million dollars and $4 million dollars to the master. I wonder how they did this? There were no stock market investments or lottery pay-outs two thousand years ago where one had even the slim possibility of such an incredible return on investment. I wonder, considering this astounding wealth-building, if the exploited had already become the exploiters when the master returned.
Anyway, the third guy, I’ll call him the million dollar servant, he didn’t increase the master’s wealth. He buried it, and gave it right back when the master returned. When he was questioned by the master on his apparent irresponsible handling of this money he says, “Master, I knew that you were a harsh man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed”... and the master became enraged. “You knew, did you?!” You knew that I was exploiting everyone I came across, you were onto my game? Well if you knew how ruthless I am then you should have been at least wise enough to gain me some interest. In effect, the million dollar servant was told to make more bricks, told he isn’t good enough, told he should have worked harder. Ending his fit of rage, the master orders the million dollar servant to be “thrown into outer darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”. <breathe>
This harsh message from Matthew is juxtaposed against Paul’s letter to Thessalonica, a capital city of a Roman province that was immersed in commercial prosperity and sure to be enmeshed in the ways of the Roman Empire. Paul writes to a new Christian community, one that is facing opposition from both the Roman Empire and the local Jewish community.
Paul encourages them: “Let us put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet the hope of salvation. For God has destined us not for wrath but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, so that whether we are awake or asleep we may live with him.”
This is the first written book of the new testament, the first words encouraging the first Christian community, and they do not instruct us to be more productive or to try harder. They denounce a harsh and wrathful God. They assure us of the free gift of God’s love and salvation, whether we’re awake or asleep, through Christ. These words proclaim God’s love for these people who were not winning under the oppression of the Roman Empire and instruct them that no matter what... awake or asleep… God’s gift is theirs.
Reconsidering today’s gospel reading as I put on the breastplate of faith and love with a helmet of hope I begin to wonder: What was the million dollar servant doing for all of those years that his time was not justified through income? I wonder: what if we lived like salvation really is not fused with status, power and work? What if God is not the master in this story? What if this master is of the empire, and not of God, as he insists that the million dollar servant did not work hard enough and threatens him into collusion with his evil ways? What if the “wicked and lazy slave” is actually the hero of the story, actually the faithful servant of God, who resists the evil ways of the empire and buries his million dollars. What if this faithful servant of God purposefully refuses to participate in systems of power with only one winner? What if the empire becomes enraged by his resistance, realizes he knew all along about the unjust game and decides to shut him up. The empire decides to not only shut him up but to also make him into a lesson for all others. What if the empire makes a big show of this lesson and marches him through the city all the way to Golgotha, where he is crucified by the empire for the threat of his disobedience with weeping and gnashing of teeth? <breathe>
What if the empire cannot silence the resistance of the million dollar servant because he is the Christ and Christ lives on within us...in you and me and all of us together? What if we have the courage to become like this wicked and lazy slave, as we refuse to participate in the game of the empire and instead build the kindom of God? Because in the kindom of God there’s no such thing as you’re not enough. The kindom of God subverts the empire’s messages that you aren’t white enough, black enough, young enough, old enough, man enough, smart enough, fast enough, rich enough, legal enough… with you are enough, God’s beloved. God calls you. What if this lesson backfires on the empire and the people of Christ rise up, united in all of their diverse beauty, unafraid, wearing a fierce breastplate of faith and love with a helmet of hope?
This is the message of good news I hear today. This is the work I invite you to participate in, wherever your feet meet the ground, rise up. The empire is disguised as a desirable partnership, a joint venture where you are promised to enter into the joy of your master. It is a lie. We, the people of the resurrection, the people of Christ, must resist! We step forward from today as we cling to our breastplate of faith and love, knowing we are protected and encouraged by our helmet of hope, and we walk together toward love, mercy and justice as heirs in Christ. Amen.
This past week has been a hard one for all of us. Throughout the week, I have been grieving the brokenness in our world, and I continue to grieve the deep brokenness in our country, our community, and our very lives. As I grieve, I remember Dr. King’s words when he said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Friends, I so deeply long for God’s justice and righteousness to become a reality in this world, and I have been finding it hard to wait. Longing, working, and waiting for God’s justice for all people is becoming excruciatingly painful and I ask, “What shall we do as we wait?”
As we listen to the prophet Amos this morning, it seems he lives in a world that is broken. The people of Israel are calling out for the Day of the Lord, a day of victory for them against whatever enemies they can conjure up. However, when we look at the historical record and cultural context of that time, there was no war, no famine, no invasion, and a competent king was on the throne. Religious rituals were being carefully observed, but they were rituals without meaningful action in the world, empty rituals without changed hearts that produce justice in the world. Anyway, Amos is a prophet and, as prophets do, he sees under the surface, under the present context and current state of the world, to see the true reality. Nothing is broken in Amos’ world, and yet everything is broken! God does NOT want the people’s empty platitudes and empty rituals. God DOES want to see justice and righteousness lived out by the people! Amos reminds us that living out God’s restorative justice and righteousness for ALL people are essential elements of a faithful life. This is what God desires.
The people to whom Paul was writing were also waiting, waiting for Jesus’ return. So, Paul writes words of encouragement and hope. His mystical vision of being caught up in the clouds when Jesus comes again is NOT intended as a prophecy about factual details in some distant future; it is NOT meant to be taken literally! It IS intended as pastoral encouragement. Paul is painting this vivid picture of the restoration of the faith community, together with Jesus, as a source of hope, so that the church can live out their faith. The point of this passage is NOT about what is coming, it IS all about how the hope of what is coming changes how we live during the waiting! Notice that today’s reading starts with the call to “hope” and ends with the call to “encourage one another.” This is because what we hope for is supposed to change how we live now… specifically how we live in community, which is the concern of the Thessalonian church. We can treat each other now with the love and mutual care that we know will characterize our future in Christ. This is because we have the encouragement of what Jesus has promised us, and so we don’t have to wait to start living by Kingdom rules….
That is also the basic message we receive today in our gospel reading from Matthew. In the story Jesus tells, the groom does not show up on time. Several hours pass and many in the wedding party fall asleep. Then, at midnight, they are awakened as someone loudly shouts out, “He’s coming.” Well, the ten bridesmaids wake up to get moving and ready. They trim their lamps and head out to meet the groom. However, five of the bridesmaids have used up their oil, having none left. And, as they attempt to borrow from the other wiser bridesmaids, their request is rejected. They frantically begin searching for oil and miss out on the bridal procession. Then, when they finally get to the groom’s home, they are locked out and turned away. Jesus ends this story by saying, “Keep awake! You do not know the day nor the hour.”
The writer of Matthew’s gospel is asking this question, “What shall we do while we wait for Jesus to return?” The early Christian community to which Matthew is writing had to constantly adjust to the reality that Jesus did not soon return as expected. By the time Matthew wrote this gospel, the discipleship community may have been waiting over fifty years for Jesus’ return. Most of the eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection were likely dead. The church was facing persecution. The Temple had been destroyed. Where was Jesus? This story tells the people they are to wait expectantly and, in the meantime, live faithfully, live courageously, live with hope, and stay awake and aware. The point of this whole parable is its call to live expectantly, hopefully, and aware.
Now, as we hear this parable, our context is very different, yet living and waiting faithfully, courageously, and hopefully is still our mission. Our call is to stay awake and be aware of God’s presence as God comes to us. As Christians, our hope rests completely on our trust that the God who created the world continues to love this world and continues the process of creation until the project is complete. Our hope rests in the promise that God will continue to redeem and save the world by coming into it with love and grace, in the person of Jesus Christ.
As I say this, I am very aware of the despair, chaos, and grief we have been experiencing. We have seen natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires, we have also seen the horrors of racism as it permeates every system and structure, we have seen heart wrenching injustice imposed on people who simply seek asylum from oppressive regimes, we continue to experience growing and immeasurable suffering from this pandemic, we are seeing callous cruelty toward neighbor and utter disregard for the common good. There are times in human history when the forces of oppression, injustice, violence, hatred, greed, and cruelty make justice, compassion and love seem so very fragile. Our present experience is such a time. And, in the face of such horror, our hearts scream out the unanswerable questions, “Why, God, why?” and “Where is God?” But, like those early Christians, in these chaotic times we are called to wait, to live in hope and to stay awake and aware. You see, living in the hope that we are given in Christ does not mean we are immune to the harsh realities of history. It does mean that we live confidently and expectantly, trusting that the Lord of history continues to break into our lives with compassion, justice, redemption and, yes, hope. And, it means staying awake and aware so we can see how God is very present to us in each moment.
To become aware of God’s presence in our lives, we must accept what is often difficult. In fact, there are times when human culture seems to function in a mass hypnotic trance and we do not always see under the present circumstances to envision what is truly real, the reality of God’s grace and presence to us. We human beings do not naturally see this; we must be taught how to see. And, this happens as we live together in Christian community, as we participate in the work of the faith community by seeking justice and peace for all people, as we courageously gather even though that gathering is online, as we weekly receive God’s living Word, and as we are fed by the very life of God. As we wait, even in times of chaos, heartache and pain, these are the things that enable us to stay awake and aware as God is always present to us and as God’s kingdom is always coming, breaking into history and breaking into our lives.
The good news in the midst of all of life’s challenges and our present pain is this: the bridegroom will come, the bridegroom is always coming, and the love of God will continue to appear in our lives in surprising and unexpected ways! You see, Jesus Christ comes when Christian people live in hope and never give up. Jesus Christ comes when faithful disciples express love and compassion and work for justice, even in the face of violence and fear. Jesus Christ comes when we see God’s presence in people who are different from us, in ALL OTHERS, when we see ALL others as people created in God’s image who are dearly beloved children of God. Jesus Christ comes when those who suffer know they are ultimately safe in God’s love. Jesus Christ comes, and the kingdom breaks into earth and into our lives when faithful people live in hope, not fear, and give themselves to the work of God’s kingdom and God’s reign.
So, keep your lamps trimmed and burning! Wait with hope and stay awake! The bridegroom is on the way and, in fact, is already among us.
I love the gospel of Matthew. Matthew was written to communicate the Jesus story to early Jewish Christians and, let me tell you, the writer of this gospel really knew how to tell a story! Beginning with Chapter one, verse one, we hear Jesus called “The Messiah.” The writer of Matthew begins by setting us up for something amazing, something big, something life changing and something surprising by naming Jesus as the Messiah. At that point in time, there had been great expectation among Jewish people that a messiah would soon arrive. However, the people expected a messiah who would use military might and power to free them from Roman oppression. So, Matthew’s version of the Jesus story begins by latching on to that expectation and announcing Jesus as the long promised, awaited Messiah. The writer of Matthew continues to build on that expectation by linking Jesus’ genealogy to royalty as King David is named an ancestor of Jesus. The story even includes royal sages from the East who come to pay homage to this newborn Messiah. Then, the knowledge of a newborn king is so threatening to the present Jewish king, King Herod, that Herod has all the infants he can locate massacred. The presence of this newborn king Jesus is so compelling that even powerful Herod fears him.
If that is not enough, the writer of Matthew then tells us about a mighty prophet who enters the scene, John the Baptist. John arrives wearing strange clothing, living in the wilderness, and eating bugs, while shouting out and calling people to repent. This wild prophet begins announcing that One who is even more powerful than he is coming, One who “will be powerful enough to bring justice on the wicked and set things right.” (Feasting on the Word, p. 239.) John shouts out, “Turn around – if your life journey is going down the wrong road, turn around and go the other way! Start going down the right road!” And, this announcement sets the tone for Matthew’s entire Jesus story.
Well, the stage has been set and excitement levels have been raised. We can almost hear the trumpets blaring as they announce the coming of this new powerful leader. The day has finally come. This is the day the new leader people have been hearing about is going to make his first major public appearance and they expect something big. People’s excitement levels are shooting off the charts as they sit down on the mountainside and strain their ears to hear what this new, powerful leader is going to say.
Anticipation rises even more as this new leader climbs up the mountain, just like Moses and David and Elijah, those great leaders from the past. And then, when this new leader finally speaks and gives his inaugural address, the people are not only surprised, they are also astounded. They are totally taken aback when they do not hear anything about using power to take charge of their present situation. As a matter of fact, what this Messiah is saying has nothing to do with rescuing them from Roman oppression. As he begins to speak, he says, “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.” He goes on with a whole series of blessings and then says, “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven…..”
What?? Rejoice and be glad when you are persecuted? This was definitely not what they had been looking for or hoped for. No. Not only are his words something they did not expect, Jesus also begins his message by saying, “Blessed.” Now, the Jewish people really knew their Hebrew scripture and they knew the Psalms. They knew that the great Law Psalm, Psalm 1, begins with exactly the same word, blessed. You see, Psalm 1 begins like this, “Blessed is the one who walks not in the way of the wicked but in the way of the Lord.” And, ashar, the Hebrew word for blessed, really means something like “You are on the right road.” So, what Jesus is actually saying is, “You are on the right road when you are poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. You are on the right road when you mourn, for you will be comforted.”
Now, do you begin to understand how astonishing and surprising these words of Jesus were to people 2,000 years ago? This was absolutely NOT what people expected to hear. And, you want to know something else? These words are not what we expect to hear either. You see, we live in a world and culture where the Beatitudes we hear seduce us into believing:
Oh yes, the list goes on and on and on…..
Well, today, Jesus gives us life-giving words that do not fit into the you are on the right road boxes we have created! Today, Jesus is calling his disciples, including each one of us, to walk a very different road. He is calling us to walk the road that is the way of his will for our lives and for this world. And, that road looks very different from the road we hear about day in and day out in our culture. In fact, Jesus is describing a road that is totally countercultural!! It is the road he travels, the way of the cross.
Jesus is calling us to walk the road he initiates, to walk the road that draws us into the very life of God, the road that leads us into the world that is truly real, the road where we will find the deepest and truest meaning in life, the road where we will find life that truly matters! Jesus is saying:
Jesus’ words to us today are not just empty platitudes and promises about something that will happen at some point in the future. No. As Jesus speaks, his words to the people on that mountain and to each one of us announce a whole NEW world. His words announce a whole new world that is breaking in upon us, a world that he is inaugurating, and a world he brings to us. His words are all about the very real world of God, the very real world that becomes flesh and blood through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus calls and invites us to walk with him on the road he is walking, the road of God’s restorative justice for all people, the road of love and care for all our neighbors – all we consider “other” – the road that is truly a road of love. This is the road where we will find the deepest, truest meaning in life. This is the message the writer of Matthew’s gospel wanted to tell, because the truest gospel in this Sermon on the Mount is Jesus, the One who gives the sermon, the inaugural address: he is the sermon made flesh. (Feasting on the Word, p. 240) Blessed are you if you are on that road!