Palm Sunday: Taking it to the Streets

A sermon preached on Palm Sunday at United Presbyterian Church in Lonetree, Iowa on March 29, 2015.

If you ever take a trip to New York City, somewhere out on the street, you might run into Rev. Billy and his "Church of Stop Shopping."

According to the website, Rev. Billy and his troupe:

...are wild anti-consumerist gospel shouters and Earth loving urban activists who have worked with communities all over the world defending community, life and imagination.

We compel action in those who have never been activist, revive exhausted activists, and devise new methods for future activism.

We also put on a great show.

The Rev Billy, acts and speaks like the worst of Tele-evangelists. In fact, he's even got the big poofy, slicked backed hair do...proof again of why I could never become a TV preacher.

The “Rev Billy” was born in 1996 when Bill Talen – a playwright, performer, and producer - moved from San Francisco to New York City where he began his street corner show.

The Rev. Billy takes his message right to the center of his battle against materialism.

In his first performance ever in New York City he stood right in front of the Disney store denouncing the various commercial excesses promoted by the chain-store.

Eventually Rev. Billy did the same in other stores, entering a local Starbucks, with a choir of supporters, who helped him stage "shopping interventions" and perform an "exorcism" on the cash register.

Rev Billy's Church of Stop Shopping is made up of professional musicians, singers, and actors who turn up as they can to his actions and rallies.

Their goal is to help spread Rev Billy's message of free speech, support of local economies, anti-consumerism, and care for the earth.

It is an economic and political message taken right to the center of the marketplace.

It is street theater meant to challenge the very core of our materialistic and consumeristic culture.

Believe it or not, this is precisely the sort of thing that happens in today's story of Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.

Yes, the message might be different than what Rev. Billy preaches on the streets of New York today, but the method employed by Jesus on the streets of Jerusalem is exactly the same.

It is a bit of street theater choreographed by Jesus.

It is a political message preached against the powers that be.

It is a drama meant to challenge the very core of the culture of his day.

New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan write that the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem was an act of political theater. It was an anti-imperial demonstration designed to mock the over the top display of power and authority of ancient Rome.

These two scholars argue that two different processions entered Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday; They say that Jesus' didn't lead the only Triumphal Entry into the city.

Picture with me the scene in Jerusalem during that week. It is the festival of the Passover which was the Jewish people's biggest celebration. During the passover, the population of the city would swell from 50,000 to 200,000.

The Passover was a Jewish festival that celebrated the liberation – the exodus - of the Jewish people from the land of Egypt.

You may recall the story of how the Egyptian Pharaoh refused to release his Jewish slaves even after suffering numerous plagues inflicted upon the land.

Finally, the Pharaoh relented after the angel of death swept through Egypt taken all the firstborn sons except for the Jewish sons who were passed over because they had been warned by an angel to place a mark of lamb's blood on their doors.

Every year during the celebration of the Passover with all those pilgrims gathered in Jerusalem, the Roman governor of Judea would ride up to the city from his coastal residence in the west.

The governor would come in all of his imperial majesty. He came to remind the Jewish pilgrims that Rome was still in charge.

He came to remind them that they could celebrate their ancient victory against Egypt if they wanted to, but real, present-day resistance against Rome would be futile.

This is the background against which we should see the Triumphal Entry of Jesus.

Jesus planned a counter-procession. He made arrangements to procure a donkey and sent two of his disciples off to bring it to him.

As Pilate moved, in all his pomp and circumstance, from the west toward Jerusalem, Jesus approached the city from the east entering Jerusalem on the back of a donkey.

Jesus came to Jerusalem on "the most unthreatening, most un-military mount imaginable: a female nursing donkey with her little colt trotting along beside her."

His parade was about the ridiculous, the powerless, and the explicitly vulnerable.

With this bit of street theater. Jesus turns imperial notions of power and rule on their head.

In his “triumphal entry” Jesus lampoons “the powers that be” and their pretensions to glory and dominion.

Riding on a colt, Jesus comes not as one who lords his authority over others but as one who rejects domination.

He comes not as a mighty warrior but as one who is vulnerable and who refuses to rely on violence.

Do the crowds get it? I'm not sure that they do. But what we do know is that the crowd did get caught up in this alternative parade as Jesus passed by.

They gathered around as he came through town. They waved branches. They threw down their cloaks.

And along with it came their shouts of “Hosanna,” their expectations of “the coming kingdom of David,” and their praises to the “one who comes in the name of the Lord.”

We can't know exactly what they expected.

But we do know what they got...they got a street show which displayed that Jesus' kingdom is different.

It is a kingdom of peace. A kingdom of justice. A kingdom of radical and universal freedom. A kingdom in both form and substance that was dramatically unlike the oppressive empire of Rome which Jesus challenged that day.

And this was just the first act.

As the week proceeds, the week of Christ's passion, Jesus set his face toward the cross, and the ultimate act of laying down his life.

And as he does so, he invites us to join him. He invites us to walk in the way he walk.

He invites us to join in his procession. To do a little street theater, if you will, by demonstrating a radical difference to the world in the way we live.

Jesus calls us...

To take up our cross to follow him, the one who is the way, the truth, and the light.

To join him by participating through the Spirit in the work of the kingdom.

To do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with our God.

To love our neighbors as ourselves, but not only that, to love even our enemies.

To turn the other cheek if someone offends you.

To extend forgiveness to one another, not just one time, but 70 Xs 7 times.

To give away our extra coat, if we have one already, to someone who needs it.

I could go on. But I think you get the point.

This way of Jesus is full of subversive acts, just like his Triumphal entry was a subversive act. This way of Jesus is a bit of street theater which shows the world that there is and can be another way.

A better way.

The question for us is this?

Will we stay in the crowd, shouting “Hosanna!” as Jesus rides on by?

Or will we dare to join Jesus, will we take up our cross, and will we follow him?

May God give us the strength, the courage, and the power to do just that.

To the praise and glory of God, creator, redeemer, sustainer.

Now and forever Amen.


Some of the textual work surrounding Jesus' parade is attributed to The Clown King by Debbie Thomas. 

The Beatitudes: An echo of a voice

A third sermon on the Beatitudes preached at United Presbyterian Church in Lonetree Iowa on March 15, 2015

Within each of us is an echo of voice.

Biblical scholar NT Wright says the echo of a voice within us can be heard in the form of our desire for a better world. We all hope and long for justice, but we can't quite get there.

Go to any school or playgroup where the children are old enough to talk to each other. Listen to what they're saying and pretty soon you'll hear someone crying, “It's not fair!”

They're are events such as earthquakes or tsunamis that destroy entire countries and kill tens of thousands of people all within a few moments. No one is to blame, they just happen.

On of course the world is full of global evils that make the world less than a just place to live.

Injustice, systemic racism, poverty, oppression all of these factors seem to be fueling conflict and turmoil between citizens and their police force in Ferguson, Missouri.

And of course sheer evil is on display in northern Iraq with ISIS slaughtering people who hold a different faith, beheading captives to grab the world's attention, and forcing young kids to shoot betrayers to purify the cause.

We know this is not the way the world is supposed to be.

We have dreams, hopes, desires of a different world altogether. These are echoes of a voice.

I like how NT Wright puts it in his book, “Simply Christian”

The reason we have the dreams, the reason we have a sense of a memory of the echo of a voice, is that there is someone speaking to us, whispering in our ear – someone who cares very much about this present world and our present selves, and who has made us and the world for a purpose which will indeed involve justice, things being put to rights, ourselves being put to rights, the world being rescued at last.

That idea of the echo of a voice is one reason why I find Jesus's words in in the beatitudes to be so compelling.

They speak of a different world. An echo of a world turned upside down. A world that by the power of God's spirit has been, is being, and will be turned aright.

If you take the beatitudes and view them with a variety of biblical stories and images I think you'll begin to better hear and respond to those echoes of a voice within. They'll fuel your imagination and help you catch a glimpse of what things will look like:

When God's presence comes into our midst.

When the Kingdom of God comes near.

When God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

In his helpful commentary on the sermon on the mount, Scott McKnight groups the beatitudes into three broad categories which show us what the kingdom of God in our midst looks like:

The first three bless the humility of the poor,

The next three bless the pursuit of righteousness and justice, and

The final three bless the promotion of peace.

First, Jesus blesses the humility of the poor saying:

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.

Scholars say Jesus had in mind a group of economically disadvantaged Jewish folks called the Anawin. These folks were poor yet they trusted in God, they assembled together at the temple in Jerusalem, and they longed for the Messiah who would bring justice.

The gospel of Luke paints some portraits of these folks including Mary, the mother of Jesus, and Simeon.

Simeon is told he will not die before his eyes look upon the Lord's Messiah and so everyday he goes to the Temple until his eyes finally gaze upon the long expected savior. As he takes the baby Jesus in his arm, Simeon cries out:

My eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.

Earlier, the young maiden, Mary, had a similar experience. The angel came to her and revealed how she was to be part of God's plan. Her heart sang out with the joy of the kingdom coming into her midst, saying:

He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted up the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.

Simeon and Mary represents the sorts of people whom Jesus blesses.

Those who are poor, meek, and lowly and who long and hope for the kingdom to come into their midst. And when it does come they can't help but sing and shout out for joy at the promised work of God.

Second Jesus blesses those who pursue righteousness and justice, saying:

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

Here Jesus blesses those who pursue righteousness and justice. Those who check their own wills at the door in order to do God's will, to further God's justice, and to be part of God's work to establish his kingdom.

They long for a kingdom society where love, peace, justice, and holiness reign. They live by Jesus' call to do unto others as they would want done to themselves. Through concrete actions of love, compassion, and grace they extend mercy to those who have need.

Here I think of the story of the Good Samaritan. The man from a despised people group who - rather than the priest and another well respected religious leaders – surprises everyone by stopping and helping a Jewish man who is beaten up and lying on the side of the road.

By way of that story, you and I are invited to consider that love of neighbor might include a stranger – even someone who despises you – someone for whom you are called to give a helping hand, an encouraging word, or even a prayer.

And we hear that the kingdom of God comes through acts of love, mercy, and compassion.

Finally, Jesus blesses those who promote peace, saying:

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, 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.

Here Jesus blesses those who promote peace, who seek reconciliation instead of strife or warfare.

In Jesus day there was a movement of Zealots which were part of the Jewish resistance movement. These Zealots tried to pursue justice and liberation through the use of violence.

In contrast Jesus says the kingdom does not come by force. He blesses those who turn from retaliation to reconciliation.

Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus will teach his disciples saying, “When you come to worship God, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.”

What else would Jesus say? In what other way would he encourage his followers?

After all, he is the Prince of Peace. He is the one who gave his life for our sake so that we might be reconciled to God so that our relationship with God would be made right.

I hope and pray that in these words of blessing, in these beatitudes of Jesus you have heard whispers of a different world. An echo of a world turned upside down. A world that by the power of God's spirit has been, is being, and will be turned aright.

I hope and pray that these words of blessing, these beatitudes of Jesus have and will continue to fuel your imagination, to help you catch a glimpse of what things will look like:

When God's presence comes into our midst.

When the Kingdom of God comes near.

When God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven.

Lord Jesus, may it be so.

To the praise and glory of our triune God, Creator, Redeemer, Sustainer, now and forever, Amen.  

The Beatitudes: Visions of the Kingdom

A sermon preached on 3/8/15 at United Presbyterian Church in Lonetree Iowa.

Christendom is over.

A lot of people feel like this is awful news. Especially those - like us – who gather in churches today; those who have invested their time and energy in the institutional church and who hope to see it continue to impact our world.

It's worrisome for those of us who every Sunday see pews that aren't nearly as full as they used to be.

It's troubling for those of us who fret over the move from a full time to a part time minister.

It's bothersome for those of us who wonder if the church will be here when the time comes to pass on through the pearly gates.

Christendom is over.

Sign posts to this reality are all around.

In the Pacific Northwest, in the city of Seattle, only 13 percent of the population goes to church, temple, or synagogue in any given week. Yesterday, I saw a report that said White Christians are now a minority in 19 different states.

More locally...A few months ago session members lamented that the school board no longer has members who are active in church which means the church calendar no longer gets considered in scheduling decisions.

And of course, the scheduling of kid's sports activities now – even - on Sunday mornings is indicative of this reality.

Christendom is over.

I hope by now you're wondering what is he talking about? What is this word “Christendom” he keeps saying? What does it mean?

The word Christendom combines two different words. Christ and dominion. Christ refers to Jesus or more specifically in this case, the church. Dominion refers to rule or governance or establishment.

The idea of Christendom is that Christianity and earthly society are often seen as one, or at least work in tandem one with another.

It wasn't always that way though. For the first 300 years, Christianity was marginalized. It was a minority religion amongst many popular religious options. Christianity had a very tense relationship with the ruling powers of Rome.

But that all changed in the early 300s when Constantine was baptized and declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.

Christianity was put into the driver's seat. The faith moved from the margins of society to the center. It moved from being legally banned to legally mandated. The faith of a suspect minority became the sanctioned religion of an entire empire.

And, in the western world in one form or another, it has continued throughout the centuries. For as long as we can remember christianity has held the pride of place.

But now, for the most part, Christendom is over...

Sure, it might be bad news to some. But maybe it doesn't have to be.

Under the old way, the church was the conscience of the community. It served as an instrument to aid the less fortunate in the community. The church was the center of faith, family, and community life.

That was then.

But today the church has a different role to play.

Anthony Robbins in his book “Changing the Conversation,” says today the church is called to the work of transformation.

It is called to live out the gospel which changes lives. It is called to learn and to teach others how to live in the way of Jesus for the sake of the world. It is to be an instrument of healing and mending of God's good creation.

This is one reason why I have chosen to preach on the Sermon on the Mount this Spring.

This sermon, these teachings of Jesus help us see what it means to live a transformed life. Jesus shows us what the kingdom of God looks like when it comes in our midst and he invites us to take part in the work of the kingdom as we practice walking in the way of Jesus.

The Sermon on the Mount might be the best guide available if the church truly wants to change in the ways it must if it is to faithfully serve God in God's mission and ministry in the new reality of a post-Christendom world.

Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes.

These statements paint a variety of vivid images which help us catch a glimpse of what the kingdom of God looks like when it comes in our midst. They show us what the true nature of discipleship and mission is when we seek to let God work through us in order to impact the world.

I like how biblical scholar Warren Carter frames it. He says:

In the Beatitudes, Jesus has the disciples imagine a different world, a different identity for themselves, a different set of practices, a different relationship to the status quo.

Why imagine? Not because it is impossible. Not because it is escapist. Not because it is fantasy. But because it begins to counter patterns imbibed from the culture of the Imperial World.

Countering patterns imbibed from the culture of the Imperial World. That's a mouthful, for sure. But what he says here is that the images Jesus paints in the beatitudes begin to challenge the ways most of us think the world operates.

I love it...

Warren nails the situation the church faces today at this challenging juncture in which Christendom is coming to an end.

One of the harsh truths about the legacy of Christendom is that the church has often taken, supported, and even baptized the values, the goals, and the aims of society at large.

In fact, the church more often than not looks pretty much the same as the culture around it. Likewise, the values of society often drive much of what we do in the church.

Jesus might say it should not be this way.

In these beatitudes he challenges those of us who wish to be his disciples that our values are not necessarily the values of the kingdom. I think Jesus might challenge us in so many ways.

He'd challenge...the rampant consumerism that permeates the church and makes us see the church as something that fundamentally serves our needs, wants, and desires. And if it fails to do so then we're out of here.

He'd challenge...the marriage of faith and politics, whether we happen to be a part of the christian left or the religious right.

He'd challenge...the high place the church gives to the values of safety, comfort, security, and by God that phrase, “But we've always done it that way.”

He'd challenge...our unreflective support of military force and might.

He'd challenge....the use of various metrics such as attendance and the amount of cash brought in each week to measure the success of the church.

All those things and so much more are directly challenged by the gospel message that Jesus brings. They are challenged by these images that Jesus paints of the Kingdom which has come and is still coming in our midst.

That's why it's so important for us see the ways these Beatitudes help us imagine a different world, an un-kingdom if you will, which will be characterized by:

a complete and abiding dependence on God and full pursuit of God's will,

a deep mourning and grief over injustice in the world,

followed by movement to act decisively to do something about it,

living meekly and modestly,

fighting for what it is right,

showing mercy,

pursuing God purely,

a deep and abiding commitment to the ways of peace,

and on living in these ways of Jesus despite ridicule and even persecution.

I realize this has not been a very practical sermon. It has not been a how to sermon. It has not been a ten step sermon on how we can be the church in a world where Christendom is coming to an end.

One reason for that is because the Beatitudes are not how to statements. The practical stuff comes later in the sermon on the mount.

As Jesus begins his sermon, he simply paints pictures of the way things are different in the Kingdom of God. And as picture or images, we are invited to gaze upon their beauty. We are to be moved and challenged by their message. We are to be drawn in and captivated by the beauty of these visions.

Finding ourselves captivated by these images. Being deeply move to respond to the call to be part of God's un-kingdom. These are the things that will fuel us. They will drive us and move us to be the church that Jesus calls us to be in this strange new world we live in.

For truly, as the prophet Isaiah says, without a vision, the people perish.

After all I think that's exactly what happened to Mary, the one who gave herself fully and held nothing back in order to respond to God's call to be a part of God's great plan.

She caught a hold of a vision. She was so captivated by it that her heart burst into song about that great reversal of fortune, about the up-side kingdom, that was coming in Jesus and that has come and is still coming into our midst.

And so with Jesus, with Mary, with all those others who have gone before and who join us now in their longing for, yearning for, and working for the coming of the kingdom, our hearts join in with her song.

From the halls of power to the fortress tower,
not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears
ev'ry tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more,
for the food they can never earn;
There are tables spread, ev'ry mouth be fed,
for the world is about to turn

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears, for the dawn draws near,
and the world is about to turn!

Come Lord Jesus, fuel the fire of our hearts. Fill us with your Spirit, in this place and time where we struggle over what it means to be your people in our world today. May you fill us with visions and dreams of your kingdom come in our midst.

Make it be so! To the glory and praise of our Triune God, now and forever, Amen.

The Beatitudes: Blessed

Sermon preached 2/22/15 at United Presbyterian Church in Lonetree, Iowa. 

Blessed.

We have our own notions of those who are truly blessed. Our culture, through television, sports, politicians, celebrities, even our TV preachers, all tell us the sorts of people who are truly blessed.

The sermon about who is blessed which we hear from our culture goes something a bit like this:

Blessed are those with great prospects for marriage and work, because they will be successful.

Blessed are those whose loved ones enjoy health and who have big 401Ks, because they will not have to worry.

Blessed are those who sit in seats of power, because they will be in charge.

Blessed are those who can afford the good things in life, because they can do whatever makes them feel good.

Blessed are those who can run down their opponent by whatever means necessary, because they will see victory.

Blessed are those who are bold enough to make war, because they get all the spoils.

Blessed are those who are popular, because they will have a great reputation.

That's the kind of sermon we typically hear from our culture.

It's all about: Success. Winning. Freedom. Ambition. Exercising our Rights. Health. Beauty. Prosperity. Security. Those who have those things are truly blessed.

In contrast, Jesus preaches a different kind of sermon from the one we normally hear from our culture.

This sermon which we will study together over the next several months, known as the sermon on the Mount, is a challenging, demanding sermon. It's a sermon that offers a totally different message than the types of sermons preached by our culture.

And it's the center of all that Jesus teaches. It's the center of who Jesus is. It's the center of what Jesus calls us to do and calls us to be.

And as Jesus begins his sermon, he lays down a foundation.

Jesus goes right to the heart of things in this list of blessings or beatitudes. He directly challenges the heart of what we believe, of what we hear preached in our culture each and every day, of the reality that most of us live in our day to day world.

And Jesus says, “No way...It's not like that. Not at all.”

Jesus turns our world upside down.

Step back with me a couple of thousands of years.

Imagine the scene in Galilee, on a windswept hillside near a little fishing town called Capernaum. Flocks of birds circle and land. The Sea of Galilee glistens blue below reflecting the brightness of the shining sun.

A small group of disciples circles around a young man who appears to be about thirty. He sits as teachers in his time and culture normally do.

The huge crowd – the mass of humanity - extends down the hill well beyond the inner circle of disciples.

The crowds come in the hope of being healed of their sicknesses. They come to hear him teach. They come because they hear he has the power to cure them.

Among the crowd must be some suspicious religious leaders and others who want to check in and see what sort of suspect things this guy preaches.

Everyone leans in to listen as this man begins to teach. Jesus points the attention of his disciples toward the crowd and 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.

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.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Wait. Did he just bless the crowd? How are these people blessed?

And that's the question we ask too. I mean these are not the sort of people we usually think of as blessed. These are not the people our culture has told us are blessed.

And if we're honest, these are not even the sort of people we really want to be.

I mean who wants to be impoverished, either spiritually or economically? Who wants to deal with more grief in their live? Who wants to be reviled and persecuted? Who wants to be so oppressed they hunger and thirst after righteousness?

If that's what I got to do. It that's how I've got to be, to get into the kingdom of heaven, well you can forget about ever seeing me there.

And yet, the way the Beatitudes have more often than not been read, taught, preached, and understood for centuries in the church is that Jesus is saying exactly that.

Typically we say Jesus is laying out the terms and conditions we must meet to receive God's blessings. This is a set of ideals we are to strive for. These are entrance requirements for anyone who wants to enter God's kingdom.

I even took that approach with the words I selected for our prayer of confession.

The prayer listed each of the first three beatitudes, and we repented of the ways we failed to live up to the conditions or ideals listed there. We confessed the ways we've failed to be poor in Spirit, for how we've failed to mourn over our sin, for the ways we've not been gentle and lowly.

And we asked God to forgive us - maybe even in the hope that God might somehow bless us.

It's so easy to do. It's so easy to see these beatitudes as entrance requirements, as the ticket to God's blessing, and thus to feel so hopelessly unable to meet them. Or to feel so proud of ourselves when we somehow think we have met them.

But that's not it at all.

Once again Jesus is turning our world upside down.

The most well worn book on my bookshelf of any book I own is called, “The Divine Conspiracy” by Dallas Willard. This book, is in my opinion, the best book ever written about the spiritual life.

It is also one of the best books about the Sermon on the Mount.

In it, Willard writes that the term “poor in spirit” is not a positive term. It is not a state we somehow work our way towards. It is not a requirement we can achieve for entrance into the kingdom.

Rather...

To be poor in spirit is to be down and out. It is to be a spiritual zero, spiritually bankrupt, deprived and deficient. He says we're talking here about the spiritual beggars, those without a wisp of religion.

You might say those in the crowd gathered around Jesus and his disciples, and even the disciples really, had absolutely no spiritual qualifications or abilities.

There was nothing about them to suggest that the breath of God might move through their lives. They didn't know their scriptures particularly well. No one would call on them to lead the worship service.

They can't make heads or tails out of religion. They are the last ones to have any claim on God.

It is to these that Jesus points and simply says to this disciples, “Blessed.”

These are the “blessed ones.” These are the ones for whom the Kingdom of God has come. These are the ones upon which the grace of God descends.

These are the ones God meets wherever they are. These are the ones who will encounter God in the nitty gritty of life.

As we move further through the list of the blessed...

God meets the crushed ones. The flunk outs, the drop-outs, the burned-outs. The over-employed, the underemployed, the unemployable. The parents with children living on the street, the children with parents still hanging on in the “rest” home. You name it. God's favor will be upon them.

But that's not all. We have to go even a step farther...

God even meets the moral disasters. Yes, even they will be received by God as they come to rely on Jesus. The murderers, the brutal and bigoted, the terrorists, the perverted, the filthy and the filthy rich.

It is to these, yes even these, Jesus points and simply says, to his disciples, “Blessed.”

Again Jesus is turning our world upside down.

That's the foundation of the Kingdom of God as it comes in our midst. That's the foundation which you and I are invited to build our lives upon.

For those of us who wish to be disciples of Jesus, the demands of the Sermon on the Mount are not easy.

Jesus calls us to love, he calls us to turn the other cheek, to forgive continually, to live without greed, lust, or jealousy, to love as Jesus loved us, to “be perfect” as God is perfect.

The list goes on.

It is not easy, and as we try to put into practice those things Jesus teaches, we might very well find ourselves to be poor in spirit, in deed. And so, we will continually be driven back to this first blessing, which is the live blood for the living of the Sermon on the Mount.

We will be reminded as biblical scholar Dale Bruner tells us,

“Jesus blesses before he commands. He helps before he orders.”

It's pure grace. And it always goes before us.

So friends this morning, I hope you will receive these words of blessings from Jesus as your own. I hope you will continually fall back upon these blessings. It's my prayer you would come to know and trust that no matter where you find yourself in life:

Blessed are you. God's favor is upon you.