Rector's Sermon - Sunday, February 3, 2002

First Reading	Psalm	Epistle	Gospel
Micah 6:1-8	15:1-7	1 Corinthians 1:18-31	Matthew 5:1-12

     The place where Jesus is thought to have delivered what is called the sermon of the mount was on one of the hills at the end of the lake, giving a broad view of Galilee. The water would have been behind Jesus as he spoke, framed by mountains on one side and rolling fields on the other. The sermon was a descriptive summary of the new community Jesus had set out to form. It was appropriate that it would be introduced at a spot with such a spacious view. It was an easy climb. There were no rivers to ford; deep gullies to breach; or cliffs to tackle. No natural walls, gates, or barriers would have prevented young and old to come and go. The open hillside to those who farmed the hills; fished the lake, and herded the flocks was an unmistakable contrast to the fortresses and fortified cities of world empire.

     Jesus does not give advice on we ought to do in order to gain divine favor. Jesus does not invite us to become poor so that God will bless us, but He does want us to know that the poor are not excluded from God's blessing. Indeed, there is something important we all need to learn about the condition of poverty. Those who have experienced emptiness or have an awareness of their need, have something that proud, independent and self-reliant egos lack. Many of us are very good at giving, but don't quite know how to receive. Yet through the experience of being given something that we really need, of knowing what it is like to be thankful, is how we learn how important giving is. The expression of "you don't know how much that means to me", is a reminder that healthy relationships involve the recognition that we all need some help from friends at one time or another. It is a blessing to learn that even the smallest gift that we give, can mean something very great to another.

     Blessed are those who mourn. Like those who have an awareness of poverty, those who have an awareness of loss, have an understanding that helps others. Those who can cry together find it also easier to laugh and rejoice together.

     Blessed are the meek is one of those unfortunate translations that we seem to be stuck with because we can't think of another appropriate English word. Meek does not mean someone who is a spineless zero. The only specific people in the Bible described as meek were Moses and Jesus. Meek is used in the context of having a sense of being able to exercise self-control, and having a sense of one's limitations. It describes someone who is not afraid to say 'I don't know' and who is not violently tortured by always trying to be someone else.

     Those who seek God's justice and righteousness are those who are not smug in their own knowledge, but understand that there is always more to learn and always those in need of good news and healing. Those who thirst for God's continual guidance are those whose egos have not blocked or arrested their continuing development. They are those who do not hold back when the Holy Spirit invites them to travel further.

     Blessed are the merciful, for those who are unforgiving are trapped in their own harsh prison. It is not God who punishes them, for the unforgiving are not only unable to forgive others, they are unable to forgive themselves either. Hence, they are continually victims of self-inflicted wounds.

     Blessed are the pure in heart. Jesus not expect us to be sinless. But there are choices and priorities to make that no spin doctors can remake. A wise friend once told me, that it is always easier to tell the truth, because if you tell the truth you don't have to worry about what you said. Those who lie successfully have to be a lot smarter and have a memory like a steel trap because they always have to remember what they fabricated in their past lies.

     Blessed are those who pursue and work for peace. In one sense peacemakers reflect the magnanimity of God. Peace is not simply the cessation of active hostility, but the reconciliation and healing of peoples. God knows, it is hard work.

     There are those who preach what you must do in order to be saved; those who would insist that there is a clear list of entry requirements one needs to fulfill before God offers any blessings; and those who list threats of curses as the reason to join a community of faith. I don't think any of that comes from Jesus. In Jesus I don't see a king who ordered his soldiers to gather up his subjects, compelling them to come to his palace to hear his edicts. Instead, I picture Jesus using the setting of an open meadow under a sky filled with puffy clouds and overlooking a windy lake as an opportunity to amplify the hopes God has for humanity. I picture a teacher among students who are free to ask questions, and come and go as they please. I picture a teacher who opens and stretches minds as he offers various images and reveals the potential of a new community. I picture a Jesus who always begins and ends his teaching with the gift of blessing. I picture Jesus as offering an example of how God is like. That is what the sermon on the mount is all about.

     And I offer this to you in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Amen