You Are Blessed, Epiphany 4, Jan. 29, 2017

Fourth Sunday of Epiphany (Year A)

Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017

Theme: You Are Blessed

(Today’s Gospel reading begins a series from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, in four or six parts, through the Seventh Sunday of Epiphany or Ash Wednesday. A six-part series requires going off lectionary for Transfiguration Sunday, Feb. 26. Both options will be posted that week.)

Intro:  Imagine, if you can, walking with Jesus and a handful of newly chosen disciples. Put yourself a day’s journey from the Sea of Galilee. Imagine your wide-eyed surprise when this little-known 30-year-old begins healing people who have suffered with serious illnesses or impairments for years. If Jesus can respond to the hurting, he certainly can observe that his new recruits have no idea what to make of him. This isn’t the way they expect a holy man to lead. What is going on here?

Jesus decides it’s time to step back, to clue his beginners into how his ministry may vary from their expectations. Maybe so … but only because generations of Jewish leaders had turned the long, loving arc of the law and the prophets (see this week’s Old Testament and Psalm readings) into legalities and punishments. Jesus sits down with them, begins to open their minds to new possibilities, and a crowd gathers…

The Beatitudes are identifiers of discipleship; characteristics of the faithful; attributes of believers. They are truth-tellings. They name our blessings but also what is at stake in these blessings. This is why this sermon has to be preached here and now to the disciples and not later. They have to know who they are in order to be able hear the rest of what Jesus has to say about who he needs them to be. This first sermon has to be delivered to them so that the Great Commission might actually come to fruition.

– Karoline Lewis, Luther Seminary

Claiming your own blessedness always leads to a deep desire to bless others.

– Henri Nouwen

Reflection:  Folklore tells us that when British Gen. George Cornwallis surrendered to the Revolutionary forces at Yorktown on Oct. 19, 1781, their band played “The World Turned Upside Down.” The idea of simple American farmers, shop owners and tradesmen defeating the well-trained British military went against any expectations either side brought into the conflict.

“The World Turned Upside Down” came to mind this week when I re-read the Beatitudes through the eyes of these new disciples, sitting on the hillside, settling in to listen to Jesus teach about the Kingdom and its upside-down rules.

Blessed are the mourners, the meek, the peaceful, the persecuted? What universe are you talking about, Jesus? The disciples must have looked at each other in wide-eyed wonder. It seems like the blessed are the rich, the powerful, the violent and the persecutors – at the expense of least of us.

That is why God’s kingdom still is coming. We have work to do, Jesus might have said. But he needed to stick to the basics, and let the new disciples realize on their own what he was saying, as they were surrounded by people in need, being bullied by Pharisees, or running scared when their Rabbi was hanging on a cross. They needed to understand it for themselves when the tomb was empty Easter morning, when the Spirit set them on fire, when some of them were spreading Jesus’ words throughout the empire.

I’ve always wondered what is the shortest message that would still be the Gospel. The New Testament? One of the Gospels? John 3:16? But I think Jesus boiled it down to three words:

Blessed are you.

Blessed and beloved, children of God. Every one of you, created in God’s image. Male and female, born into a rich family or dirt poor. Gay or straight. Resident or immigrant. Cradle Christian or mid-life believer. Professional or laborer, healthy or ill. All beloved and beautiful and gloriously blessed.

Rejoice and be glad. Be very glad … now, not in some far removed, faraway place called heaven. In God’s kingdom now. Rejoice and spread God’s saving message of light and love. Rejoice and use God’s love to even the playing field for every one of God’s children. Start – and don’t finish until everyone is rejoicing.

The rest of today’s lessons were the echoes that Jesus heard as he kept repeating “Blessed.”

Blessed … doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God.

Blessed … walking blamelessly, and doing what is right, and speaking the truth from your heart.

Blessed … weak, lowly and despised, as God calls you to proclaim Christ crucified.

Blessed …

Blessed …

Blessed are you.

Faith App: This week, who will you reach out and bless? Whose world will you turn upside down by acting in love? You may end up blessed in the process!

HYMN/SONG SUGGESTIONS

We Are Called, ELW 720

Blest Are They, ELW 728

Arise, Your Light Has Come, ELW 314

Let Streams of Living Justice, ELW 710

We Come to the Hungry Feast, ELW 479

To Be Your Presence, ELW 546

And All the People Said Amen, Matt Maher

Unwavering, Matt Maher

Blessings, Laura Story

Keep Making Me, Sidewalk Prophets

LESSONS

Micah 6:1-8 What does the Lord require of you?

Psalm 15 O Lord, who may abide in your tent?

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 We proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.

Matthew 5:1-12 Then Jesus began to speak, and taught them.

Summary of the Lessons: Imagine if you had never been exposed to the gospel, to God’s mercy. Imagine being persecuted under Roman rule, never living into the freedom of grace. Jesus has, at most, a couple of days to speak to followers on a hillside, to begin to share the light and love of God. What would Jesus teach that would open people’s hearts? Lesson 1 – uncommon sense: turning wisdom on its head.

OPENING LITANY based on Psalm 15

L:  Lord, who can approach the place where you are?

C:  Who do you allow to dwell on your sacred ground?

L:  God answered: You are set right, so this is how to live –

C:  Do what you know is right – don’t look for a loophole,

L:  Speak truthfully and kindly – words can’t be unsaid,

C:  Don’t argue with your friends, or even your enemies.

L:  Run from evildoers – but encourage people who honor me;

C:  Support those who keep their word even when it costs them;

L:  Don’t make a living by cheating the helpless and hurting;

C:  And don’t lock up the innocent, even if you would benefit.

L:  It’s not easy, but keep following the high road,

C:  Don’t give up, for it’s the way that leads you home.

CONFESSION

L:  Lord, we confess we still are in shock,

C:  Your list of the blessed cannot be right,

L:  These aren’t the people who are doing well,

C:  These are the ones the world pushes aside.

L:  Lord, we ask for power to enforce justice,

C:  We pray for strength to make things right,

L:  We want you to bless the leaders we choose,

C:  We expect that you will support our cause.

L:  Instead, you bless the meek and the peaceful,

C:  Give your kingdom to the hurting and oppressed,

L:  Show your face to the kind and the gracious,

C:  Perhaps it’s time we let you be our God.

(Silent reflection)

L:  In our confession, we pray together,

C:  Most Merciful God … you turn this world’s wisdom upside down, blessing the least and the little, asking us to humble ourselves and serve others. You showed your great love by coming to us as a frail baby, then giving up your life on a cross. Keep reminding us that your ways aren’t the world’s ways, that we must humble ourselves to let you work in and through us.

Hear this Good News: God has called you, not because of your wisdom or power, but because you are open to allowing God to do good work through you. Be blessed and rejoice greatly, for you are forgiven by the gift of grace, so much greater than we can believe. Freed from your sin, go and work for justice and mercy for all people.

In the name of…

Amen.

PRAYER OF THE DAY

L:  We pray together, 

C:  Compassionate God … teach us today and bring us back to the basics of how to be your disciples. Not just reciting religious words in a sanctuary, but walking in the real world, bringing justice and mercy to those who need it; reaching out in love to people who feel lonely and forgotten; serving the hungry, the poor and the homeless – caring for all people, your beloved people you call blessed.  Amen.

COMMUNION BLESSING

L:  We pray together,

C:  We give thanks, most gracious God, for your upside-down teaching in this bread, your uncommon wisdom in this cup. Send us now, made right by this meal, and made ready to be people who do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with our God.  Amen. 

SENDING

L:  Jesus gave us marching orders,

C:  Be people of action – rise to your call,

L:  Work for justice, speak love, and stand firm

C:  Rejoice, disciples, and bring in the kingdom!

L:  Go now, blessed to be blessings, to love and to serve the Lord.

C:  Thanks be to God!

First Reading Micah 6:1-8 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Micah was a prophet to the people of Judah in the latter half of the eighth century B.C. While most prophets tried to call people into closer relationship with God, Micah says God needs some answers from the people.

Hear what the LORD says:

    Rise, plead your case before the mountains,

    and let the hills hear your voice.

Hear, you mountains, the controversy of the LORD,

    and you enduring foundations of the earth;

for the LORD has a controversy with his people,

    and he will contend with Israel.

“O my people, what have I done to you?

    In what have I wearied you? Answer me!

For I brought you up from the land of Egypt,

    and redeemed you from the house of slavery;

and I sent before you Moses,

    Aaron, and Miriam.

O my people, remember now what King Balak of Moab devised,

    what Balaam son of Beor answered him,

and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,

    that you may know the saving acts of the LORD.”

What God Requires

“With what shall I come before the LORD,

    and bow myself before God on high?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

    with calves a year old?

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,

    with ten thousands of rivers of oil?

Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,

    the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”

He has told you, O mortal, what is good;

    and what does the LORD require of you

but to do justice, and to love kindness,

    and to walk humbly with your God?

Second Reading 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: Continuing from the letter of Paul to the church at Corinth, Paul picks up with last week’s ending verse. There were powerful, wise and rich people among the Corinthians, but not many. They were called not because, but despite their attributes.

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

    and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, God decided, through the foolishness of our proclamation, to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength.

Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, in order that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Gospel Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV)

Setting the Scene: After calling a group of disciples, and healing some people around the Sea of Galilee, it was clear his disciples needed Introduction to Ministry 101. Jesus led his disciples away, up a hillside. A crowd gathered.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, 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.

“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.

“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.