23 February 2014                 But, Comma                          Matthew 5:38-48

  It seems to depend on where the comma is. With Jesus not placing a comma anywhere in his “But I say to you” he is not offering a moment’s pause. He is going strongly for the emphasis. Take the high road, come with the mature response, be the rule and the example.

  We have spent these past few weeks with the full version of the Sermon on the Mount. Not just the beatitudes we know well, but these more obscure, less well known continuations of teachings. Often during these post-beatitude proclamations Jesus has repeated a familiar refrain. It is sort of a “Yes, but” statement. Jesus uses it to draw us in, “you have heard that it was said,” and then to set us apart, “But I say to you…” There is no comma after that “But.” Jesus goes right to the point to emphasize the importance of the teaching.

  Jesus knows well what this world is saying about life and faith and he goes along with the drama for a while until he stops us in our complacency with, “But I say to you.” He stops us most often when we find ourselves agreeing with the set up and not ready for the catch, “Yes. But I say to you there is another truth. There is another way. There is another life for you to consider.”

  The Sermon on the Mount has grown to be larger than we can live because God’s way to live in this world is not the way the world teaches. The world’s response is different.  “Yes. But, you must look out for number one.”

 Jesus is not to be deterred, “Yes but,” he says, listen instead to my opposition teaching. The teaching we all learn when we come to church with phrases like; “Turn the other cheek.” “Go the extra mile.” “Love your enemies.” “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is prefect.”

 We understand the point. We know the teaching. We have been told again and again – difficult, yes, but all things are possible with God. We may be God’s plan for the world, but we are not God, and some days we do not feel we are even with God. Far too many days we feel utterly alone in this world.

 Alone, but, not so totally alone. You see, we have our own “Yes but” responses do we not? Love our enemies? Yes, but surely not all of them. They are the worst known to humankind. Respond to body blows by opening ourselves up to more blows? Yes, but surely we are not to stand for abuse. Pray for our persecutors? Yes, but they persecute. Surely we should judge them!

 With these justifications on our lips we never quite hear Jesus’ final command. “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. “ Yes but wait, like Jerry in the car insurance commercial claims, I was perfect all along. Right up to the moment I ran up the light pool, again.

 Now it is Jesus’ turn. He has heard it said, by us, how justified we have made ourselves. Yes but, Jesus says, listen to my commands. And he means it.

 Truthfully we do listen to Jesus commands. We know them well. It is just that we are surrounded by the reinforcement that in this world, in this time and place, it is all about me, or you. We know there is little that is perfect about us or our station in life or even our potential. We are inherently flawed. Yes, we get that. But Jesus offers us an alternative. His offer is as good today as it was in the First century. Even today we can be perfect. Yet again we resist.

 Barbara Essex, Minister for Higher Education and Theological Education for the United Church of Christ speaks for us, “It is easier to be mean, hold grudges, and ignore those in need. If we give to everyone who begs, we will have nothing left for ourselves. If we turn the other cheek, we will get slapped again, if we get sued, we are hiring the best lawyer we can afford to find a loophole in our favor. If we love our enemies, we will be persecuted or even killed. If we are too nice, we will be seen as weak, a pushover, and a doormat.

 How often has the quest for perfection backfired? How many times must we labor for the elusive perfection? Be it in grades, the perfect job, the perfect spouse, or house, or kids. They do not exist. What vanity do we perpetrate next? Only to be reduced to depression and feeling unworthy and a failure. We dig ourselves deeper into despair. Yes, but, we counter, “I am only human.”

 Dearest ones, Jesus will not let us get away with any of our excuses. Jesus has climbed to the top of the mountain to teach us, to teach us in no uncertain terms.

 In God’s community there will be people who think of others first. In God’s community decisions and actions will be made for the common good. For in God’s place, all are sister and brother to one another and act out of love with concern and a giving spirit.

  Jesus knows about God’s place and he knows this life he preaches is possible because of the overpowering love of God. God, who is perfect love. God, who in and through us helps us be gracious, forgiving, hospitable, and generous because we are God’s plan. We are children of God and God showers us with abundant grace, mercy, love, and protection.

 Once we know God’s love in these ways, we can love our enemies. Once we experience God’s forgiveness in these ways, we can forgive those who persecute us. Once we realize Gods’ gift of generosity in these ways, we can give back to those who have little or nothing. We become able to do these things because in Jesus Christ we live in God’s community of believers and doers.

 Yet even with this good news Jesus persists. Yes, these things are true, “but I say to you,” you no longer have to rely on hearsay, the written word alone, what your elders teach you, or what your preacher’s preach to you. To understand God and God’s will for us and for all people and for all creation we simply have to look and listen to Jesus.

  Yes Lord, to Jesus.  But we also persist. We have to stay up on our current events don’t we? We have to listen to the experts or we will lose everything won’t we? We have this life here and now to worry about.

   This may be the hardest part of all. We do worry. We do hold anger and fear within. We cannot seem to avoid our “Yes but” approach to life. Yet in the midst of our present hurry and worry we learn even these times do their dance and then disappear. They are gone, over, finished. But we hold on to them in our minds and they drive our heart and soul to despair.

Then Jesus climbs to the mountain top, Jesus climbs to the depths of the darkest night of the soul, and Jesus finds us. No matter where or when or in what context, Jesus finds us because Jesus loves us. We know Jesus loves us because the truth is before us. We have the marks of ones fully embraced by God and empowered by God’s will.

 We first received those marks at our baptism. Those same marks are nourished each time we come to table for our Holy Supper. I see those marks in each of you. They are your story. The life you have lived filled with duty, faithful discipleship, mature faith, and deep love for God, for one another, and for this church. Dear ones, you cannot play your “yes but” card here.

 We who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior cannot play a “Yes but” card because Jesus does not set impossible goals for us. Jesus does not shame folk who cannot reach perfection. No. Jesus sets forth Gods’ vision of God’s world where genuine and unconditional love reigns.

  Jesus sets forth God’s vision of God’s world where to be perfect is to be assured we are not alone. God continues with God’s unconditional love to this very moment, now, and now, and now, to work in and through us.

 Barbara Essex reminds us, “Perfection is less about getting things right and more about living as God loves. Jesus is God’s concrete example of that love.”

 Jesus’ teaching this morning is a voice of promise. It is a good news story to the world that offers the truth that we may love the world as God has loved us – fully, richly, abundantly, and completely. It is a good news story to seek the perfection of God’s pure love. A love so powerfully available to us that when we embrace it we become filled with God’s perfect Son, our loving Lord and savior, Jesus, our Christ.

 I dare say that is a trump card worth playing.

 In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen                                           022314.gpc

16 February 14 “What Next?” Matthew 5:21-37

  This month we began an important journey with Jesus. It is as if he knows we have fudged a bit in our lives as Christians. It is as if he wants to make sure we understand what it is he wants us to understand.

  This journey for understanding began back in chapter 5 of Matthew’s gospel. Jesus saw the crowds and he went up the mountain. He sat down and began to speak to them and teach them.

 From that day we understand about the blessings for those who will be given the place of honor in the Kingdom of Heaven. From that day we have important clues about the life we are to lead. The life we are to lead if we are to become a follower of Jesus Christ, that is.

  We are familiar with those blessings. They are for the poor in spirit, those who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for the right things, those merciful, pure in heart, the peacemakers, and even those persecuted.

 Generally we can see these teachings in one of two ways. The first is centered in Matthew 5:48 where Jesus commands us to, “Be perfect…as your heavenly Father is perfect.” There seems little hope for us if we are called to perfection.

 The second way sees the hopeless nature of this perfection option and recognizes what we already know. The truth of sin makes it impossible for  us to live fully the commands of Jesus’ Sermon that day. What we then understand, in our Presbyterian and Reformed grounding, is our only hope lies in the necessity of grace.  It is by the grace of God that we are saved.

 But we know we cannot just sit around and wait for God to play the “grace” card. No, God is actually holding out for a different trump card to be played.

 I was reminded of God’s special card by one of Austin Seminary’s recent Mid-Winter speakers.  It is from Sam Wells. In speaking of God’s plan for the world and for us Sam said, “We are not a part of some grander plan. We are the plan!” We are not pawns in the scheme of God’s game of grace. No, “We are the plan.”

Your life, and mine, we are God’s plan for the coming of the Kingdom of Heaven, and there are no substitutes, no reserves. We are the “A” team. Actually, you and me, we are the only team.

What in the world was God thinking? At first we thought God was the problem. Now we see it has been us all along. We are the problem!

  This morning’s truth confirms the depth of our need for help.  So Jesus offers it. Matthew’s gospel gives Jesus the chance to continue delivering new interpretations of the law. Particularly, he addresses the hot button issues of his day.

 Concerning anger, his new interpretation extends judgment in murder to judgment in anger.  Being angry or insulting with a brother or sister can lead all the way to the fire of hell. Jesus’ new way is for us to be reconciled to and come to terms with our brother or sister.

  Concerning adultery, Jesus takes us through lust in our heart to tearing out what causes us to sin before our whole body is thrown into hell. This is the second time Jesus mentions hell. I wonder, should we be worried?

  Concerning divorce, Jesus says for most instances anyone who divorces wife, or to be fair, husband too, causes them to commit adultery.

   Concerning oaths, Jesus makes it clear swearing falsely is inconsistent with vows we have made to our Lord. We are to let our Yes be Yes, and our No be No, because anything else comes from the evil one.

  It sounds like Jesus judges harshly what in our day seems normal. What  then might we not understand?

Charles Cook, Professor Emeritus of Pastoral Theology at Seminary of the Southwest here in Austin, offers valuable help when faced with Jesus’ interpretations of the law that in 2014 seem harsh.

 He believes that in this call from Jesus to live the right way, with blessing and more, Jesus is setting as foundational a high standard for how we live with our brothers or sisters. Be it from these examples of anger, adultery, divorce, oaths, or others, we are to seek restoration or reconciliation with whomever we harm before we bring the gift of our life to God’s table. This would say old scores need to be settled and wounds healed before we abide with the Lord at God’s table. 

 But we know there are times when reconciliation and forgiveness is not immediately possible. The way to restoration often takes time, and not a small amount of patience on the part of both parties. It would be an awkward situation for all concerned if folk refused to offer their gift, the one called for in scripture, the gift of “ourselves – our souls and bodies” because of some unresolved relationship issue yet to be mended.

  We probably approach the Lord’s table with enough feeling of “unworthiness” to begin with. The reality of forgiveness must, therefore, intercede. In this way, forgiveness is the first step toward reconciliation. In the understanding  that we too have been forgiven, there is hope. It is that hope that moves us to forgive those with whom we are in conflict.

  At our recent Annual Meeting we heard many wonderful reports about our church. One of the strongest affirmations was how important and how close to the heart of our folks is the experience of worship. This is where we experience confession and forgiveness, reconnection with neighbors, and the renewal of life that makes a difference in the world. Scratch our surface and you will not find a lover of doctrine as much as a lover of worship.

    During the great historical period in England known as the Oxford Movement there was a renewed interest in the worship life of the church. Those in leadership positions, especially clerics, saw in liturgical practice the catalyst for being empowered for the mission of Christ to the world.

While these clergy certainly sought splendor in worship, most of them also had soup kitchens, and clothing pantries for the poor. There was a deep connection between worship and a starving world. These folk realized in forgiven and restored relationships, with ourselves and others, and ourselves and God, we hold possible the coming of God’s kingdom.

 One powerful place for that understanding to emerge is over our shared meal. It is our great place for fellowship and restoration. We hunger for a full life and we are fed at table. One of the members of this Oxford group said the Holy Eucharist is the only truly democratic moment in life.

 When we are willing to come together at table, offer ourselves without reservation, and receive in return all that we need not just to survive, but to be fully alive, then we have experienced something remarkably different and essential. For being together at table is the ultimate leveler, where status and opinion fade away, for those in relationship and those who are yet to be in relationship. Especially for those estranged from one another.

 While we strive for Jesus’ ideal, when things fall short of the mark, coming to the table, humbly offering our gift of self to God and one another is not a bad place to start anew. Jesus’ invitation to table for all sorts and conditions of folks serves as a powerful grounding in what ultimately matters.

  Dorothy Day, the founder of the Catholic Worker movement, knew what ultimately mattered. She used to say to her fellow workers, particularly in difficult and stressful times; “If each of us could just remember that we are all created in the image of God, then we would naturally want to love more.”

 Dear ones, here is the key. Here is what we are to understand. The basis for our understanding, the foundation for our new and renewed relationships begins in love.

 We are not a part of some grander plan God has in mind. We are the plan. You and me, with our love, we are God’s plan! It is as simple as that. In this simplicity, the living spirit that is ourselves with God renews itself as we understand what God would have us understand. This living spirit that is our lives, completes itself in Jesus Christ, and fulfills itself as we love even more.

  Standing shoulder to shoulder, hand in hand, at God’s table of life we live the plan and we understand that in God’s realm there are no outsiders. Every gift is accepted, each offering is received.

 From this point in our renewed understanding the hard work begins. For what once seemed impossible is now actually becoming God’s kingdom on earth, God’s kingdom in this place. It is Genesis Presbyterian Church, where our hearts are large with our love for one another and the one who stopped his world so we could get on.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen                                           021614.gpc

02 February 14 “What Jesus Did Say” Matthew 5:1-12

  I am not sure, I was not here back in the day. But the fire storm of our existence from the beginning may have provoked even the civilized folk of Wilshire Wood to shout “These people who have turned the world upside down have come here also!” What possibly could have provoked them? We were not snake handlers, we did not put up revival tents.

 Incredibly, our threat came from a couple of ex-convicts who had just been released from jail in a Macedonian town called Philippi, where they had been charged with “disturbing the city.” Paul and Silas were out and ours was hardly the last place in which their teaching touched off a small riot.

 Their teacher, Jesus, had been horribly executed. He had rudely crumpled up the mental map of the known world and no one in Galilee or Jerusalem appreciated having their traditional world view refolded and then redrawn. Paul and Silas, like many to follow them, were greeted with puzzled grimaces and clenched fists. We know the hue and cry, “These (people) who have turned the world upside down have come here also.” (Acts 17)

 We have come here and it is puzzling to others what we are about. After all, Jesus had been acting like a circuit preacher along the Sea of Galilee and the crowds were buzzing with excitement. The turnout had been growing and rumors about Jesus had been turning the world upside down.

 I suppose Matthew was trying to help when he stops the action and we get to overhear what Jesus, seated on a mountain, had to say. It is in these Beatitudes.

 At first we are struck by their sheer impracticality for the world we live in. We live in a time when the blessings given are to those who succeed. Often at the expense of ourselves and others.  To be poor in spirit, peaceful, merciful, and meek will get us nowhere in a culture grounded in fierce competition with an underlay of fear. Who can possibly survive in an attempt to live into the spirit of the Beatitudes?

  More importantly, when Jesus turns the values of the world upside down like he has done here, what does that mean for us as church? 

 Being good Presbyterians, we have a meeting!  As a matter of fact, we will have such a meeting today!  It will be orderly, well once we fill our plates that is, and we will read and remind ourselves of our Mission and Vision statements and our accomplishments in 2013. That is what good Presbyterian do!

 Now, our world as church is not upside down or crumbling, but it is just good business to step back and assess our lives. Be it Mission and Vision statements or  Beatitudes, a re-visit and honest checking-in on our progress is a good idea.

 Our Mission Statement says: In the name of Christ, we welcome and serve all of God’s people with energy, intelligence, imagination, and love. Let’s see – energy, intelligence, imagination, and love. I suppose two out of four is not so bad.

  Our Vision Statement says we are here to participate in worship that affects the way we live every day. We are here to learn how following Christ can change our lives. We are here to love our neighbors. We recognize everyone is our neighbor because we embrace diversity.

 Like the beatitudes, we find in these statements ways we have been faithful, ways we might improve, and clearly marked expectations from God for our discipleship.

 C. S. Lewis, in his sermon “The Weight of Glory,” challenges us to know God’s desire for our lives as Christians and as church. He offers that, “indeed , if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with life and ambition when infinite joy is offered us. Like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”

 No one would argue Genesis church is far too easily pleased. We have worked really hard to bring this church from the brink and become a viable and safe place welcoming and serving those whom God brings to our campus with energy! Yes, we do have energy. It is not with reckless abandon that we discharge our energy. It is intentional and well thought out and we pace ourselves.

 As for intelligence, imagination, and especially love. We know God’s the one who challenges us and we give our all when we put our mind and our heart to the task of being church.

 Archbishop Oscar Romero understood the struggles of Christians and a struggling church in a difficult world and echoes our sentiment when in he said, “The world does not say; blessed are the poor. The world says: blessed are the rich. You are worth as much as you have.  Jesus Christ says: Wrong! Blessed are the poor because they do not put their trust in what is so transitory. Blessed are the poor for they know their riches are in the One whom, being rich, made himself poor in order to enrich us with his poverty. Teaching us the Christians’ true wisdom.”

 We are blessed because this church did not put our trust in what is transitory. We know our riches are in Jesus Christ. He shows us the way to follow. It is his way. So our life mission is to embrace Christ’s way of service, as a people and as a church.

 Discernment and discovery of the presence of God and this will of God, and our future path with God, takes more than our energy. It takes extraordinary faith and staying power. It requires a love deeper and more giving than we can give on our own. It means we take Jesus up on his invitation and, with his help, we live like he lived.

 From his childhood to the last week of his life, Jesus found his staying power in the Jewish daily prayer  the Shema. It is one of those grounding  prayers we should all know.

 “Hear O Israel. The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.”

 Jesus found his energy, faith, and staying power in the Shema and from it God’s command that we “Keep these words . . . in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down, and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” The Lord is our God, the Lord alone.”

  Grounded this way these beatitudes have a chance to find their way into the fabric of our life as Christians and as church. They have a chance because of who said them. It was Jesus who spoke them and embodied them and we are compelled to care. This Sermon on the Mount is Jesus’ sermon and he is the embodiment of all the Beatitudes. We find in them a glimpse of what life with Jesus is like.

 The poor in spirit who are blessed are those who recognize their need for God in all things and that only God can save and protect them. We help bless them when we make room for God in our hearts and in our lives. For then many will be blessed and our church will come closer to bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to our little corner of the world.

  Those who mourn are blessed as they realize their wish for God to send a Messiah, to restore God’s kingdom, and set the world right, is here in Jesus. We help bless them when we place our fear and the future of this church with him. Those who mourn will be blessed and our church will come closer to the Kingdom of Heaven when we rely on Jesus for our service of mission and vision.

 Those who are meek are blessed when they remember to trust that God knows what God is doing. We, in turn, will bless them when we remember  to trust God as well, and our church will come closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

 Those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness are blessed when they recognize their spiritual poverty leads to a hunger for right living. We will bless them when we insist on living in God’s right way, following God’s rule. Our church will come closer to the Kingdom of Heaven as well.

  Those who are merciful are blessed when they recognize mercy is part of God’s nature. We will bless them when we risk our own comfort for the good of another and our church will come closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

  Those who are pure in heart are blessed when they realize the heart that desires only what God wants is not the result of personal effort. God works in and through us. We will bless them when we faithfully seeks God’s way, pray and act on what God wants. Then our church will come closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

  Those who are peacemakers are blessed when they who would normally be at war with one another will be in harmony. We will bless them when we invite those with whom we war into our lives. Our church will then come closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

  Those who are persecuted for righteousness sake are blessed  when persons revile them and persecute them and utter all kinds of evil against them falsely on God’s account. We will honor them when we take up our cause for doing the right thing. We then come closer to the Kingdom of Heaven.

  These Beatitudes are not calls to action, they are not commands. They are telling us the way things are to be. They do not call us personally to be poor in spirit, to mourn, or to be meek. No, they are promises of how the Kingdom of Heaven will be.

  As such, they define our faith. They assure us “Christianity is not a scheme to reduce stress, lose weight, advance in one’s career, or preserve one from illness. Christian faith is a way of living grounded in the firm and sure hope that meekness is the way of God. That righteousness and peace will prevail and God’s future will be a time of mercy and not cruelty.

 So, blessed are those who live this life now. Even when such a life seems foolish. For we will, in the end, have our fear taken away by God.”

  Does this define our church? I believe it does. It is affirmed  in our statements of mission and vision. It is loudly shouted  in our actions. For they do speak louder than our words.

  In Christ’s name, we welcome and serve all of God’s people. Our worship affects our lives, our learning about Christ changes our lives, and we love our neighbors.

 To God be the glory. These people who have turned the world upside down have come here, and the Kingdom of Heaven is near.

In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen

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