Jesus says, "'So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.'" (Mt. 6:34)
Well, ain't that the truth????!!!!
But it is also easier said that done. In the center of St. Matthew's version of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about managing the anxieties of everyday life. He gives a calming, soothing word about not getting hooked into the myriad things every day that cause us to have stress, and for some of us, stress that makes us die too young. He uses as examples some of the most beautiful things in all creation -- birds in the air, lilies of the field - and says God provides for them lavishly. So, he asks, why will not our loving, providing God (who created us all) provide for us as well. Because of God's own faithfulness, we have no reason to believe otherwise.
Keep your focus, Jesus says, on LIVING the Kingdom of God. He has repeated that theme constantly in this Sermon, and does in yet again with these words on how silly it is to worry.
"Trust God!" he says. "Trust God!" God keeps promises.
Okay. Good words. They always bring a sense of peace when we read/share them. Yet, how many of us are scrambling every day to live in the midst of anxieties swirling around us from every direction: family, job, friends, community, even church. Most of us struggle to stay upright in it all.
Jesus' words we know are true and good. He doesn't lie or let us down.
So, why can't we do what he asks?
Talk amongst yourselves . . . and tell me.
a.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
about "turning the other cheek."
We often hear this scripture from St. Matthew's Gospel quoted: ". . . if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; (5:39b). We usually take it on surface value -- don't strike back. However, we need to look deeper. In Jesus' time it was an act of defiance, not submission. In other words, rather than striking back, turning to offer the other cheek was, in essence, saying, "Hit me again. I'll still be here and you will STILL have to deal with me." In a way, we saw that same kind of response unfold with the non-violent protests in Egypt over these last two weeks. The protesters did not give in to violence -- even when violence was thrust upon them. And, guess what -- it worked. It worked like Ghandi's worked to change things for the better in Indian 60+ years ago. It worked like Martin Luther King's worked to bring about desegregation in the South 50+ years ago. Not without difficulty, but it worked.
"Hit me again. I'll still be here and you will STILL have to deal with me. I won't give in to that kind of violence, that kind of relationship. And, I won't submit to your abuse. You don't get that kind of power over me. You can't have it. I won't give it to you. I will give you love, instead."
That's what Jesus is saying. And, think about it -- that's what he did when confronted with the absolute worst of humanity's capacity for violence at his own crucifixion.
Talk about it -- and let me know your thoughts.
a.
"Hit me again. I'll still be here and you will STILL have to deal with me. I won't give in to that kind of violence, that kind of relationship. And, I won't submit to your abuse. You don't get that kind of power over me. You can't have it. I won't give it to you. I will give you love, instead."
That's what Jesus is saying. And, think about it -- that's what he did when confronted with the absolute worst of humanity's capacity for violence at his own crucifixion.
Talk about it -- and let me know your thoughts.
a.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
about forgiveness ... .
Matthew 5:21-24.
Jesus talks pretty squarely about the Law in the continuation of the conversation he's started in the previous verses. This is the opening chapter of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. But, as important as the Law, the Torah, was to him and his constituency, he takes it one step further -- putting face and hand and heart into it. For example, when discussing murder -- he says forget about the state of being mad enough to kill, even simply being angry with another makes us subject to God's judgment. Insulting another -- same. Calling someone "fool" or "stupid" -- same, but with the fires of hell added to the judgment mix.
He goes on: don't bother to come to church if you know that any brother or sister has something against you. First, go and be reconciled to them . . . then, bring what you have to offer to God and worship freely, and with a good conscience.
Wow!!!
Powerful, convicting -- yes, INDICTING words.
Proposition: we cannot honor God unless we forgive one another.
Discussion: how in God's name are we able to DO this?
Because, forgiveness is the hardest thing we are required to do as Christians, I think. And yet, that is exactly his command. We can't really live without it.
Why is it so important?
Let me know what you think . . .
a.
Jesus talks pretty squarely about the Law in the continuation of the conversation he's started in the previous verses. This is the opening chapter of Matthew's Sermon on the Mount. But, as important as the Law, the Torah, was to him and his constituency, he takes it one step further -- putting face and hand and heart into it. For example, when discussing murder -- he says forget about the state of being mad enough to kill, even simply being angry with another makes us subject to God's judgment. Insulting another -- same. Calling someone "fool" or "stupid" -- same, but with the fires of hell added to the judgment mix.
He goes on: don't bother to come to church if you know that any brother or sister has something against you. First, go and be reconciled to them . . . then, bring what you have to offer to God and worship freely, and with a good conscience.
Wow!!!
Powerful, convicting -- yes, INDICTING words.
Proposition: we cannot honor God unless we forgive one another.
Discussion: how in God's name are we able to DO this?
Because, forgiveness is the hardest thing we are required to do as Christians, I think. And yet, that is exactly his command. We can't really live without it.
Why is it so important?
Let me know what you think . . .
a.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Make Your Own Beautitudes
This week's preaching Scripture is from the Gospel of St. Matthew, the 5th chapter -- a familiar text, to be sure: the Beautitudes (5:1-12).
These are the "Blessed are the _____________, for _________________ . . . you can fill in the blanks.
Jesus was in teaching mode here, according to Matthew. There were lots of people hungry to hear him, and ready to listen. These are, according to the Evangelist, the first words of Christian teaching. Real disciples follow them. Divine commandments, as it were, calling for a higher kind of right-living that sets those who follow apart from others who do not.
Proposition: Jesus sets a really, really high standard of behavior for his disciples.
Question: Is it too high for us to follow, even too high to aim for?
Here's what I think:
Christian discipleship is not easy. It never was meant to be. Look what happened to Jesus the Christ himself? Things didn't exactly turn out so well for him in human terms.
If we don't aim for this standard of behavior, we are not truly his disciples. That seems pretty clear. Yet we are pulled constantly away from this kind of "blessedness". It is very, very hard.
The only example we have of how it is done, truly, is with Jesus himself.
Blessed are -- the poor in spirit . . . if your heart hurts, there is hope, he said;
Blessed are -- those who mourn . . . in loss there will be healing, he promised;
Blessed are -- the meek . . . but meek does not equal doormat, he lived;
Blessed are -- those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . . you are the real agents of change, and he was;
Blessed are -- the merciful . . . it costs us nothing, he said;
Blessed are the pure in heart . . . for God has a soft spot for optimists, he believed;
Blessed are the peacemakers . . . because sometimes real peace means division, he knew;
And so on . . . .
Do we even have a shot of fulfilling his charge in these powerful, ancient, popular words?
These are the "Blessed are the _____________, for _________________ . . . you can fill in the blanks.
Jesus was in teaching mode here, according to Matthew. There were lots of people hungry to hear him, and ready to listen. These are, according to the Evangelist, the first words of Christian teaching. Real disciples follow them. Divine commandments, as it were, calling for a higher kind of right-living that sets those who follow apart from others who do not.
Proposition: Jesus sets a really, really high standard of behavior for his disciples.
Question: Is it too high for us to follow, even too high to aim for?
Here's what I think:
Christian discipleship is not easy. It never was meant to be. Look what happened to Jesus the Christ himself? Things didn't exactly turn out so well for him in human terms.
If we don't aim for this standard of behavior, we are not truly his disciples. That seems pretty clear. Yet we are pulled constantly away from this kind of "blessedness". It is very, very hard.
The only example we have of how it is done, truly, is with Jesus himself.
Blessed are -- the poor in spirit . . . if your heart hurts, there is hope, he said;
Blessed are -- those who mourn . . . in loss there will be healing, he promised;
Blessed are -- the meek . . . but meek does not equal doormat, he lived;
Blessed are -- those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . . you are the real agents of change, and he was;
Blessed are -- the merciful . . . it costs us nothing, he said;
Blessed are the pure in heart . . . for God has a soft spot for optimists, he believed;
Blessed are the peacemakers . . . because sometimes real peace means division, he knew;
And so on . . . .
Do we even have a shot of fulfilling his charge in these powerful, ancient, popular words?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
"Talk amongst yourselves . . . ".
Welcome to this blog. It is a new venture for me as I come kicking and screaming into the technology now available to us in the 21st century. I realize it is one more very useful tool in widening the conversation about life together in light of the Word of God and our faith journey. But, I thank you in advance for your patience. My purpose herein is listening. I want to hear and really LISTEN to what you have to say about and for the sermons I hope we share. To this end, I would simply like to offer two things each week:
1.)A proposition -- based on the Scriptural text for the upcoming Sunday;
and
2.) An observation -- based on same.
From there, it is up to you to respond and I hope you do. No word from you will go unnoticed or unappreciated, I promise as well. For we are all bound by the Living Word that is the grounding of our faith, Word that breathes and challenges, cajoles and perplexes, amuses and confounds us because it is grounded in God and LIFE -- and God's own abundant life.
I hope this adventure is both informative and creative. I thank you for your time and your interest. I look so forward to hearing your 'word' as well.
So, week one -- here goes:
In Matthew's text this week, 4:12-23, Jesus calls his first disciples.
Proposition: He meets them exactly where they are -- fishing, working, sweating, LIVING.
Obviously, he sees something in them that they don't see or are unaware of, and what he sees in them he likes, no -- loves, and he knows they can be useful to his own work and the Kingdom of God. They follow "immediately" and seemingly without question. So, one might draw the conclusion that they in turn, meet him where he is -- and see something in him that pulls them in his direction without the slightest reservation.
How did he know to do that, to call those men at that time? (And don't cop out by saying "he was God." He was human, too.) And, how did they know to trust enough to respond?
Finally, what is it that keeps us from doing the same in our relationships with one another -- meeting others where they are and accepting, seeing beyond the obvious to the deeper promise of the possibilities of relationship they may possess?
What's your observation?
a.
1.)A proposition -- based on the Scriptural text for the upcoming Sunday;
and
2.) An observation -- based on same.
From there, it is up to you to respond and I hope you do. No word from you will go unnoticed or unappreciated, I promise as well. For we are all bound by the Living Word that is the grounding of our faith, Word that breathes and challenges, cajoles and perplexes, amuses and confounds us because it is grounded in God and LIFE -- and God's own abundant life.
I hope this adventure is both informative and creative. I thank you for your time and your interest. I look so forward to hearing your 'word' as well.
So, week one -- here goes:
In Matthew's text this week, 4:12-23, Jesus calls his first disciples.
Proposition: He meets them exactly where they are -- fishing, working, sweating, LIVING.
Obviously, he sees something in them that they don't see or are unaware of, and what he sees in them he likes, no -- loves, and he knows they can be useful to his own work and the Kingdom of God. They follow "immediately" and seemingly without question. So, one might draw the conclusion that they in turn, meet him where he is -- and see something in him that pulls them in his direction without the slightest reservation.
How did he know to do that, to call those men at that time? (And don't cop out by saying "he was God." He was human, too.) And, how did they know to trust enough to respond?
Finally, what is it that keeps us from doing the same in our relationships with one another -- meeting others where they are and accepting, seeing beyond the obvious to the deeper promise of the possibilities of relationship they may possess?
What's your observation?
a.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)