A Epiphany 4 –
February 2, 2014
Text: Matthew
5:1-12
Our Redeemer
Lutheran Church, Grand Prairie, Texas
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May you be blessed with grace and peace from God our Father, and the
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today’s gospel lesson brings us the beginning of a whole section of
Jesus’ teachings. In the Gospel of Matthew, we call this collection “The Sermon
on the Mount” because in verse 1, we’re told that “Jesus went up the mountain,”
and then he begins to say all these things. By this point, Jesus is a sensation
– he has begun his earthly ministry in earnest and has large crowds following
him wherever he goes.
So, he climbs the mountain, sits down, and begins to teach. We’ll
actually have four Sundays in total of his teachings from Matthew 5, and they
begin today with a section called “The Beatitudes,” called this from the Latin
word for “blessed.”
Blessed are the poor in spirit, Blessed are those who mourn, Blessed are
the meek, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, Blessed
are the merciful, Blessed are the pure in heart, Blessed are the peacemakers,
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, Blessed are you
when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against
you falsely on my account – Jesus says.
Blessed. Blessed. Blessed. Jesus calls all of these people blessed, and
we begin to see a picture that maybe blessedness has less to do with us simply being
happy all the time, and more to do with the pure, unbounded love of God. Maybe
blessing – in this case, anyway - is that we “are not and will not be alone,”
that we are “accompanied wherever we go,” as one commentator said[1].
And the Beatitudes make it clear that we are blessed – we are
accompanied – by God in all different kinds of circumstances, even those that
are deeply painful or challenging. In pronouncing these blessings, Jesus is
giving us assurance that when we
mourn, God accompanies us. When we are merciful, God accompanies us. When we
attempt to make peace, God accompanies us. And on, and on, and on…God’s
presence goes on.
So, in thinking about this sermon, I began to think about times when I
have been acutely aware of the blessing – or accompaniment - of God. I’ll share
two here…
First example: I remember following my mother’s death – which was
followed by my cousin’s death four months later – I would lie in bed at night,
unable to sleep. It’s a terrible thing not to be able to sleep – and the grief
made it worse. Over time, I became aware of the sensation of being prayed for
by others in that same moment. It was as if I somehow had the assurance that
God was waking other people up in the middle of the night to pray for me at
that very moment. It was these prayers that carried me through my dark nights
of the soul.
Second example: Happy Anniversary! It was two years yesterday since I
began serving as the Pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Grand Prairie,
Texas. Over and over again, I have been aware of the blessing of God – through
visits I’ve made to people’s homes and in conversations I’ve had with you in
coffee shops, standing in the hallway, or sitting in my office. Through the
hard work I’ve seen many of you do for VBS, for Christian Ed, for all manner of
community events. In a few minutes, we’ll install our Council for this year –
and let me tell you – I’ve definitely been aware of God accompanying me through
our Church Council over the past year. And those are just a few examples.
And so now I turn the question over to you: where do you feel blessed by
God? Where are you aware of the accompaniment of God?
Maybe the blessing is hard to see. If so, that’s OK – because the
blessing of God depends on God, not on us. God’s blessing is there – not
because we see it or are somehow able to conjure it up – God’s blessing is
there because God loves us. God’s blessing follows God’s love.
So, in our culture today, what is one fairly common way that we remind
each other of God’s blessing?
Saying “God bless you” when someone sneezes goes back a long time – in
some cultures, it was seen as a way of warding off evil. Last week, I was in
Galveston attending a conference with about 350 pastors from all over the
state. At one point, I was in a meeting with a group of them and someone
sneezed. We were all so engrossed in what we were doing that no one seemed to
notice, until the person’s friend muttered under his breath, “Geez, a room full
of pastors and no one says, ‘God bless you?’”
Today, we’re going to reclaim the “God bless you.” As a reminder of the
blessing of God, I’d like us to try something later, when we exchange the
Peace. When we are exchanging the Peace later, instead of simply saying “The
peace of the Lord” or “Peace” or whatever you say – say this, instead: “God
bless you.” It’s not just something we say after someone sneezes – it’s a holy
reminder of the blessing of God that falls upon each of us.
May God bless you.
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