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.