2-1-26

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12  

1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
  3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  4 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth
  5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
  6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
  7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
  8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
  9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
  10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

Grace to you and peace from the God who now entrusts the revealing of the kingdom to us, His children.

In the last few weeks, we heard that with Jesus the kingdom of God had come near, so it was time to make changes in ones’ self; repent as both John and Jesus proclaimed. Then Jesus called disciples, to learn and practice new skills as students are meant to do. As the rule of God comes near, it claims human lives and their allegiances, redirecting them; for this empire has a new identity and community separate and different from the worldly one. Those people Jesus gathered had been ruled by the Roman Empire. The nobles among them had benefited in many ways but the majority, 70 to 80% of the population, experienced pervasive poverty, food insecurity, major stress and heartache, and widespread diseases as a result of the way they were disregarded and mis treated. Jesus came to teach a new way, to live together and to repair those who had been damaged by such inequities and societal injustice. 

The audience that gathers before Jesus hears about life as it is meant to be, as the rule of God takes precedence. They catch a new vision and embrace a new reality that can be theirs, as one adopts the perspective and practices of the divine empire. Jesus makes known how God acts through the kingdom of His rule, favoring not the powerful but rather the oppressed ones who have struggled for justice. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Jesus is speaking to the assembly, not individually, but as a community that works, grows, and develops all together. 

Jesus was not the first to work on bringing the people to an understanding of God’s rule. The ancient prophets had that task of presenting God’s way to the people. In the first reading, from Micah, we hear his struggle to be the go-between for the Lord and the people. We hear: the Lord has a controversy with his people.  After all God had done, in rescuing them from Egypt and showed other such benevolent acts of mercy, the people cannot seem to even understand the worship which God desires. They seem to think showy gifts or even the sacrifice of their own children would be pleasing to God. The Lord is distressed with their lack of comprehension of what has true value and is decent and upbuilding behavior. So Micah reminds 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 kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?”

Is it possible that we have a similar difficulty with determining what is good? Let’s take for example some either/or options. Here is an apple and a candy bar. Who thinks that the apple is good/ and the candy bar is not?  Are some of you undecided? Perhaps you want to qualify your answer. Naturally the apple is good for you, it has lots of fiber, vitamins and can clean your teeth. Yet, the candy bar is good too – it is sweet and is made with chocolate! It will provide energy; it can even be a life-saver to someone who has gotten too cold and wet or whose blood sugar is dangerously low. Candy bars are part of a good survival kit. Maybe the candy bar is even better than an apple. You might want to inspect that apple; it might be over ripe with a rotten spot on the inside. Then it would hardly qualify as good! But you then could put it on your mulch pile, spread it on the garden and suddenly it is good again!

Now here is a crayon and a magic maker. Which is good? Maybe you’ll judge these by your preference of color. Good might depend on the job you have for it. The marker will stand out so if you are labeling something or making a sign, then this marker would be good. The crayon is softer and to create a picture it will offer more variety of shading and intensity. You can combine it with other colors or even melt it, giving a new texture and effect. & You better check that marker because it might have dried up, for they don’t last as long as a crayon and you may get nothing much from it. 

So what else is good that I have here? I have two cups. By now that you have caught on to my method, so you will be cautious about choosing. Of course both can be good. If you want coffee – this is the cup for you, on a day like today, it will keep your drink warm or even help your hands to warm up. This little-bity cup isn’t good for much, won’t even hold enough to quench your thirst. Yet when it is used here, at the table, with wine or grape juice, it becomes the receptacle for a sacrament, a veritable gift from God. You then remember that Jesus poured out his blood for you, forgiving your sins, and so you are connected to your Savior by means of this cup. 

We make value judgments all the time, weighing the pros and cons, choosing that which is best in that situation, for the needs of that moment. You can decide what is good in most instances. In Micah’s day, God passed along what He had placed as having first importance. It was not and never had been extravagant presents or complicated rituals to honor God that were meant to be in first place. Instead, God looks for acts of justice, he wants us to live in harmony and balance, so no one is favored over another, and no one is left out. What is good, as Micah passed along, is to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God.

Jesus reiterates that direction in another way, as he taught: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

Jesus points out the good that comes to each of these, whose life situations and efforts to be kind and walk humbly with God put them in that place. That which is good, brings good also to the doer as their actions reveal and open up & spread the kingdom, that empire of God’s rule. 

Yet you have seen how it is with that concept of good. To bring real positive results there are aspects of that which can be good that don’t seem too good, as a part of it all. That little cup of wine we share, is good news for us but was a cause of suffering and death for Christ. A good apple may have a bad spot within, although the rest is nourishing and sweet. We hear from Jesus: Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. We don’t like the sound of being persecuted and disgraced and disliked because we are trying to uphold the good and right for others.  We know that the prophets rarely experienced a good reception from their words and actions. Still it is being harassed for our faith and stance, it is in the giving of mercy and making peace that results in the good for the community, & for the world, which finally reveals and spreads the rule of God into the hearts and lives of more people.      What is good?  Everything that is an imitation of Jesus our Savior, the Prince of Peace. That’s good!