Communion Sunday and Lent 1

We begin our Lenten journey this week 

and share together in the Lord's Supper - 

join us, all welcome!

Worship Sun 9: pt 2 The Beatitudes - 'Blessed be'

picture - Jen Norton

READINGS 1 Cor 2:1-16; Matt 5:1-12

SERMON
Let’s pray: may the words of my mouth and the thoughts of all our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen.

What helps us live a happy life –
a blessed life?

Before we begin to answer that, a short recap.
Last week, as we began thinking about the beatitudes, we did a little unpacking of the word itself –
‘beatitude’.
Basically, it means 'blessing'.
And we thought about Jesus, who blessed all who came to him –
regardless of age, status, gender, wealth, or health –
no-one was off limits from a blessing...
well, apart from those who refused to be blessed.
But what is it to be blessed?
A blessing can be:
a way of saying or doing something that encourages us to be an even better version of ourselves;
it can be a protection from harm,
it can be a guide and a guard on us to help keep us from doing wrong –
and in so doing, not being a blessing to others.
A blessing is a reminder that we don’t walk through this life alone –
that God is by our side...
when we are blessed it’s a reminder that God cares for, and loves us, and wants the best for us...

And, as we began exploring the text from Matthew last week, we saw in this, Jesus’ first sermon,
just who Jesus thought were particularly blessed within God’s kingdom.
We also thought about another way of translating the word ‘blessed’ –
some bibles use the word ‘happy’ instead...
So ‘happy are the poor in spirit’ and so on.

So, today, back to that question:
what helps us live a happy life –
a blessed life?
While the state of being blessed is a happy state of affairs –
the happiness isn’t just a wee fleeting feeling:
happiness is not always all wrapped up in a McDonald’s happy meal.
Happiness is not always a cigar called ‘Hamlet’.
And, controversial for some:
Disneyland may not always be the ‘happiest place on earth’ –
and at some point, you do have to leave the park and head out back into the world.
This definition of happiness moves on –
and the endless pursuit of this kind of short-term happiness fix can often lead to us feeling
well, just a little hollow, empty... always wanting more,
always chasing the next thing promising to give us another wee happiness fix.
And it can become a habit –
a way of being that isn’t particularly helpful.

Rabbi Harold Kushner – who wrote the very helpful book
‘When bad things happen to Good people’, which I really recommend –
Rabbi Kushner tells a great wee story about a young man who had managed to get
a much sough- after place in a very prestigious university.
He was studying medicine, and, having done exceptionally well in his first year,
his parents rewarded him with a trip to Asia over the summer break.
And so the young man travelled far and wide –
up into the deepest depths of river valleys that few human eyes had seen,
high into the highest heights where small villages hung precariously onto the sides of cliffs.
During his travels, he came upon a guru, and they spent time together.
The young man was keen to tell the ancient guru all about himself,
and what he’d accomplished,
and how he hoped to make his mark on the world.
It would take discipline, hard work, but his greatest desire was to be a success.
Success was all that really mattered.

The guru listened to the young man listing off his successes and ambitions,
and when the young man stopped there was a long silence between them.
Eventually, the guru said to him:
‘Helping others is good – and you will help others with your medicine. 
But, don't you see how you are poisoning your soul with this success-oriented way of life? 
Your idea of happiness is to stay up all night studying for an exam so you can get a 
better grade than your best friend. 
Your idea of a good marriage is not to find the woman who will make you whole, 
but to win the girl that everyone else wants.
Basically, your idea of happiness is not actually about helping others at all, 
it’s based on beating everyone else.
Following this path cannot truly lead to happiness – 
for there will always be another person to beat and you will never be satisfied.
My friend, that's not how people are supposed to live, let go of that idea of happiness; 
come join us in an atmosphere where we all share and love each other.'

The young man was shocked.
So caught up within a competitive culture, he had never thought of any other way of being.
After many days of reflection, he called his parents and told them that he would not be
coming home, and that he was dropping out of university to live with the guru and his community.
This would be his path to true happiness.

Six months later, his parents received a letter from their son:
‘Dear Mum and Dad,
I know you weren't happy with the decision I made last summer, 
but I want to tell you how happy it has made me. 
For the first time in my life, I am at peace. 
Here there is no competing, no hustling, 
no trying to get ahead of anyone else. 
Here we are all equal and we all share. 
This way of life is so much in harmony 
with the inner essence of my soul 
that in only six months I've become the number two disciple in the entire community, 
and I think I can be number one by June!

Jesus talks often about abundant life, about life in all its fullness,
life not just splashing in the shallows,
but life that dares explore and reflect,
a life that dares to stop,
and to challenge behaviour in ourselves that stops us from having life in all its fullness –
to pursue happiness rather than distractions...
that is the way to finding and to understanding just how truly blessed we are.
The kind of happiness talked about in the beatitudes is one that runs deep –
beatitudes comes from the Latin which means ‘a state of bliss’.
This kind of happiness is a state of being that runs right down to our core
so that no matter what may be going on in our lives, yet, we are blessed –
and we are blessed because we are God’s.
And that’s the whole point:
we are blessed,
we are happy,
we find our bliss
when we find our focus on God.

The beatitudes help us in finding that focus –
in the attitudes we see displayed in those who Jesus describes as blessed.
What are these attitudes?
Essentially:
1/ poverty of spirit – or simply, having humility;
2/ mourning – or, simply, dropping the mask and not being afraid to honestly express loss –
the mark that someone has made on your life - an expression of love;
3/ meekness – a little like humility – but the ability to put others first, to see their needs,
to hold yourself back and by doing so, allowing others their moment in the sun;
4/ a hunger and thirst for righteousness –
following God’s way of justice and fighting on behalf of those who have been treated
unjustly - speaking up on behalf of ‘the little ones’;
5/ mercy
6/ purity of heart
7/ being a peacemaker – a builder of bridges, a reconciler;
8/ not bowing to peer pressure – faithfully following God’s way despite the temptation to try to
take short cuts – it’s following the way of the cross;
and 9/ proclaiming whose you are no matter what.

These attitudes are ones that are about letting go, and, of taking on:
letting go of your ego;
letting go of your masks;
letting go of the need to compete so much that no others have a chance;
letting go of a desire for revenge;
or the desire for distractions and desires that would turn your focus from God;
there’s the letting go of the fear that would prefer to divide and conquer
rather than see and share common ground;
letting go of the need to fit in, no matter what you have to sacrifice...even God;
and... letting go of the notion that you don’t belong and taking on your identity as God’s own.

And, as you work through these nine different attitudes, and then take a wee step back,
you discover that they are best seen in one particular human being:
Jesus.
In his life, in his words and actions, he is the very flesh and blood that shows us the beatitudes –
the way to happiness,
bliss,
blessing.
It doesn’t come without a price –
but what is important,
what is of value,
rarely comes easily.
Keep looking at Jesus –
he is the beatitudes in motion,
showing us how to be fully human,
truly happy –
it is an attitude of being that is prepared, as Paul says,
to look foolish at times,
to look weak at times,
so that our faith, our very lives,
don’t rest on being hung up with the quick fix,
but rather, rest on God -
to be grounded and focused upon Him...
for it is God, and only God who can ever be our source
of true and lasting happiness,
blessing.
And the more we enter into God’s blessing,
the more we demonstrated those be-attitudes –
attitudes of being –
that not only bless us,
but bless our families, our neighbours, our communities, and our world.
Not only will our reward be great in heaven, we’ll see the reward even here,
for the God of heaven is present on earth in us, for we are Christ’s body.

So:
Blessed are you who make room at your table
for in that way even tax-collectors shall be redeemed;
Blessed are you who seek out lost sheep
for your seeking you find more than a lamb;
Blessed are you who touch the leper
for you make a home for the excluded;
Blessed are you who welcome the prodigal
for you express the fullness of the love 
that is God;
Blessed are the silenced
for you hear the cry of God;
Blessed are you who make friends 
with your enemy,
for you know the way to lasting peace;
Blessed are you who turn the other cheek
for you show more strength than the oppressor;
Blessed are you who break bread 
with the stranger,
you will have a foretaste of the kingdom;
Blessed are you who heal on the Sabbath,
you will reveal what is important to God;
Blessed are you who seek company 
with the outcast and unclean,
for you shall be accompanying Jesus;
Blessed are you who overturn the tables,
you are the freedom fighters of love.
Blessed are you who love your neighbour,
for you already live in the realm of God;
Blessed are you who walk the way,
for you shall move within the company of heaven;
Blessed are you who carry a cross,
for you shall see God’s wisdom;
And, blessed are you who wait for the morning,
for you shall see the renewal of life...*

What helps us live a happy life –
a blessed life?
In the end, simply...
to have God at our centre,
and Jesus as our example.
It’s no quick fix,
but it is the way to our true bliss.

Let’s pray:
Give us, O God, this day:
humility -
so we can see you in the most vulnerable;
a cup -
to catch the tears of all who weep;
an arm -
for the long-suffering to cling to as they walk through life;
a broken heart -
which can heal those who have harmed me;
purity -
which looks at another and sees your beloved;
friendship -
which embraces those we are taught to fear;         
hospitality -
which welcomes those who are mocked for following you;
words -
of hope, of comfort, of grace whispered in the ears of all who are slandered for your name;
Give us, O God, this day:
a heart –
that loves, and knows itself beloved...
We ask, in Jesus’ name,
who showed us how to be. Amen

*Roddy Hamilton

Worship Sun 2 Feb: 'Blessed are...' pt1 on The Beatitudes

This morning, the first of a two part mini-series exploring
the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount, known as 'The Beatitudes'.
This week, it's a case of 'who' - who are the blessed?
Next week, we reflect on the how - 'be' attitudes that help us to not only
live in to the gift of being blessed, but also, to cultivate a culture and
community of being a blessing to the lives of others and the life of the world.

READINGS/
1 Cor 1:18-31; Matt 5:1-12

SERMON/ ‘Blessed are...?’ Beatitudes, pt 1
Let’s pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of all our hearts,
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Every now and then, on a friend’s twitter feed, a photo of a coffee mug will randomly appear.
And a very handsome coffee mug it is, too –
lot’s of lovely multi-coloured stripes makes it positively cheerful,
but it’s the logo on the mug that always makes me laugh – it says:
‘too blessed to be stressed’
What a great attitude, tho, over time, I’ve noticed that the mug most often appears
when her life is at its most hectic...
I’m minded of the mug because, today, as you’ve already picked up,
we’re thinking about this idea of blessing –
of being blessed,
and of those who are blessed.

Over the last 6 weeks, we could all be forgiven for being left a little breathless
by the breakneck speed in which we’ve moved from preparing the way for
the promised Messiah, to the celebration of his birth in the manger at Bethlehem,
to his baptism, and then the call of those first disciples.
And in our gospel passage this morning, here at last, we meet Jesus in teaching mode –
and we’re introduced at last to his understanding of God and of God’s kingdom values
who God values,
and the type of actions that God values.

As people had flocked to see his cousin John, so people are now beginning to flock
to hear Jesus, who has started to inspire,
who has started to capture people’s imaginations.
While throughout his childhood he was largely kept in the shadows –
well, certainly by those who have written down the story of his life –
we see Jesus, now in the spotlight and talking about the blessed, or the happy:
blessed are they
is as easily translated into
happy are they.
And, as we sit alongside the great multitude listening to Jesus,
at the very beginning of what will be later called the Sermon on the Mount,
we start with the Beatitudes,
and we discover the ones in particular who Jesus believes are happy, are blessed.

So, in the framework of the Kingdom of heaven, just who does Jesus say are blessed?
The poor in spirit,
those who mourn,
the meek,
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
the merciful,
the pure in heart,
the peacemakers.
And then, the list of those who are blessed becomes even more interesting:
blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness,
those who are insulted, who are falsely accused of terrible things because of Jesus...

Let’s think about this wee list of the blessed.
What of those described as ‘poor in spirit’?
Here we have a nod to self worth,
or, more accurately to those who lack a sense of self worth...
On a positive reading, it could be interpreted as those not to bothered by a hungry ego.
On a different slant, perhaps the term could be extended to those particular folk who
find it hard to get their heads around the fact that they could possibly be loved.
Perhaps, these are the folk who have been so beaten down by the challenges of
and in the world, that it’s hard enough to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
But to these, the kingdom of heaven will be granted:
those who have viewed themselves as
not particularly valuable,
not particularly wanted,
those so weighed down by their harsh inner critical editor that they are not sure if next time
some difficulty happens, that they’ll be able to rise up once more and re-enter the fray.
The kingdom of heaven is given to these,
a demonstration and an offering of love –
these who value themselves so little are especially of value to God;
these who feel their lives amount to little, matter hugely to God.
They are blessed, as are we, as we open up our arms and accept God’s’ love –
a love that can’t be earned, because it’s a love that is freely given.
And, I will keep on saying this until the cows come home:
each and every one of us matters to God,
and is loved, so very much loved by God.
For those who feel worthless,
this opening volley in the Sermon on the Mount reminds them – reminds us that,
our true worth is found in simply accepting that we are God’s beloved –
We are important, for we are God’s.
That is all we need – and knowing that, then, whom shall we fear?
That love of God, is like putting on a great big comfort blanket.
For those of you here who may be feeling a little poor in Spirit remember this:
remember you are loved,
you matter,
and that you are not invisible but that you are seen by the One
who created the whole Universe...
Stop and pause, take a deep, deep breath, and as you breath in, may you feel the warmth
of God’s love for you –
God’s blessing for you.

Who is next on this list of the blessed?
The ones who mourn.
And, my word, even just over the last couple of days since I’ve been back from holiday,
I’m already in the midst of a lot of funerals –
Within our parish, and in the midst of our congregation, there are the folk who are
mourning the loss of friends or family.
And while being bereaved is a hard and hostile place to inhabit, even in the middle of the dark
and lonely space caused by grief, yet, there is hope, there is light –
the hostile land of bereavement doesn’t get the last say:
Jesus does.
Those who mourn are blessed,
for the ones who have chosen to throw in their lot with Jesus
will learn the language of restoration –
and again, there’s comfort –
God knows what the pain of loss and bereavement looks like –
he sent Jesus to live among us,
and eventually to die among us –
and the blessing is found in knowing that it doesn’t stop at death:
we are a resurrection people, after all.
Those who mourn will, in time, discover the comfort of resurrection’s song.

We also have the ones described as ‘meek’
The meek?
The ones who hang back,
who can be heard apologising a lot,
who are very easily trampled over.
At a dance, they’re the quiet ones -
but these ones are blessed
because they will never easily seduced by the siren sounds of power for power’s sake.
They are blessed, for they learn that with God,
they have all that they need, and more.
They are blessed, for they have learned that the path of contentment
is found in the God who supplies all their needs.

And, what of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
the merciful,
the pure in heart,
the peacemakers...
even those who are persecuted for Jesus’ sake?
They too, are blessed:
they walk the way of the kingdom of heaven,
letting go of the need to justify themselves –
to always be right no matter what...
finding instead that God is the only source of true righteousness;
the merciful have let go of the need for vengeance, trusting in God’s justice;
the pure of heart have let go of the strange human need to do almost the
exact opposite thing which lead to life –
but rather, can lead to self-destruction.
The peacemakers have let go of the habit of war –
spears have been turned to pruning hooks, in the desire to live into truly loving one’s neighbour:
they demonstrate to a world itching for a fight, that there are other ways to live –
to be a community of reconciliation;
...and, then, what of those who are persecuted?
They have let go of their fear of being seen as different for being a person of faith.

These ones, all, are blessed:
these ones, all,
whom are most often overlooked
or despised by others...
show again that sense of God’s upside-down
notions of the kingdom –
where love and honour and respect is extended to all...
a kingdom of blessing,
where all are blessed,
and from the experience of being blessed,
stretch out their hands to bless others.
because there’s plenty enough love in God’s limitless ocean of love for all to be blessed.

The Beatitudes tells of those who are on the margins being
brought into the centre and celebrated...
And in that telling, reminds us that we, too, are blessed –
too blessed to be stressed...
And, as we walk with God, so God walks with us –
just as, in flesh and blood,
Jesus walked with his first disciples,
shared conversation and communion with them,
and then, walked a little way ahead,
to the Cross, and beyond,
showing them, and now, us,
the way to glory and the promise of the resurrection.

Where will we see the beatitudes lived out today –
lives that are blessed and that bless the lives of others?
Where will we bear witness to the alternative kingdom full of those whom Christ calls blessed?
Will we recognise the poor in spirit or those who mourn?
Will we notice the meek and those who hunger for righteousness?
Will we be able to point out the merciful or the pure in heart?
Will we stand alongside the peacemakers and those who are treated unfairly,
close enough to attract some of their harassment?
When we can see and stay close to those whom Christ calls blessed,
we will learn how to live as a community of blessing
Today, and each day, let's live into that promise,
and be blessed,
and be a blessing to all:
as we find our true selves and our true worth, in God.

Let’s pray:
God of life and of truth,
Your Son invites us to see the world 
through your eyes
and we find ourselves disoriented:

You bless the poor
You bless the meek
You bless the pure in heart.
You turn our world and its values upside down.

We have signed on to follow your Son
but this is strange territory.
It doesn’t look anything like
the life we have been taught to yearn for,
to work for,
to believe will bring us happiness.

Yet, You know the despair that besets
so many of our young people
who fear that their future has been mortgaged
by our greed and carelessness.
You hear the cries of those who
have traded their souls for power and money
and now have emptiness as a friend.
You see those who are caught in lives that
lead only to weariness and anxiety.

Set us at Jesus’ feet
so we can learn to judge our lives differently.
Awaken in us that hunger and thirst for you
which will lead us to your will
and your peace.

Open our eyes to see your unexpected blessings.
Open our hearts to welcome you
when you come to us in strange ways.

Then make us into a community of blessedness
that beckons this neighbourhood
into your joy.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus
who blesses us with your living presence
and fills our lives with your life-changing truth. Amen.*
*prayer from 'Roots'