Rev. Dustin ParkerBlessed, Really?
Concordia Lutheran Church
4th week of Epiphany, January 30, 2011
Blessed? Really?
Matthew 5:1-12
May we grasp how truly blessed we are, for the gifts of mercy, love, forgiveness, and a peace-filled life are ours! Gifts from our Father in Heave, and our Lord Jesus Christ!
IN HIS NAME!
Be Careful of what you ask for… you might get it…
Especially true when it comes to being Blessed….
Blessing of Cathedral bells…
It’s one of those pieces of advice that our grandfathers, or maybe a wise old aunt passed onto to us in our youth, and we ignored it. Until of course we learned it the hard way, and then it became an controlling rule in our lives.
“Be careful of what you ask for, because you might just….. (let them say it)
It is also called Murphy’s Law of Unintended Consequences. Example is the child who wants a dog, and the parents want a happy kid, so they get the puppy and everyone is happy, right? Or my pastor friend in Maryland, who wanted to play with his new snow blower… and prayed for snow in church... and his congregation now hates him! Or the parents who are tired of driving their teenager around, and wish for an option… and along comes the driver’s license, the insurance rate hike and.. Or the people of Israel who cried to God for a King, and despite God’s warnings, cried out even more. Then along with the King came taxes, and taking their children to fight wars, and serve in the palace.
There is similar role in the church – be careful of praying for patience, or faith, because someone might enjoy giving you the ability to develop those characteristics!
The beatitudes, the Blessed are those statements that make up our gospel message today, are similar paradoxes. One writer described them this way:
“Blessed!” intoned again and again, sounds like bells of heaven, ringing down into this unblessed world from the cathedral spires of the kingdom inviting all men to enter.
Sometimes I think people think of being blessed in that kind of near… romantic manner. That it is all rainbows and flowers, super bowl victories and fat checking accounts, perfect children and perfect bodies smiling as they bask in the pleasure-filled life.
These are the ones that ask, “Pastor, can you pray that God blesses me….”
Which brings another quote of Jesus to mind… “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do….”
A Look at Who is Blessed
Matthew 5, James 1:2 and 1 Peter 4:14
Are we willing to endure this… to be considered Blessed?
Aren’t we already dealing with such?
Transcendent joy…
Look at verse 3 in our gospel reading. Are they really asking to find yourself at the end of your rope? Do they want to lose what most dear to you? Do you want to be content with who you are, where you are, not the superstar, nor the martyr? Do you want to have to work up a good appetite for God?
Look down to verse 9, it says your blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight, it sounds nice till you realize that means your right in the middle of the battle royale! At least in the last verse, it gets a bit better, because Saint Matthew tells us that Jesus says we are in good company, the company of prophets and those that can bear witness to God’s excellence!
Until you look at the prophets whose company we keep! Those prophets and those who witnessed to God have always been put down, lied about, discredited, never mind getting stoned and beaten and whipped. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote in his letter to the churches,
2 My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you, 3 for you well know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and 4 perseverance must complete its work so that you will become fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way. James 1:2-4 (NJB)
Trials? Great Joy? Testing of Faith?
Being considered Blessed may start to lose some of its luster, as we look at those whom Jesus describes as truly blessed. We are faced with a challenging issue, for in a world that tells us that we have to look after number one, this is just too much of a paradox. I mean, I realize that God has always used the simple and humble to confuse the proud and wise, but this simple? This humble?
Yeah – and it will take an hour to explain even more – luckily, we have that hour – just after this service! But the point is that there seems to be a cost to being blessed, a humility, a meekness, finding ourselves thirsting for justice, for righteousness, being required to endure trials and temptations.
There is part of us that really doesn’t like to hear this, we want to believe everything will not only work our right, but that we will enjoy it. Doesn’t blessed mean joyful, and isn’t that really about being “happy”? Sort of, and not really. Indeed, there is joy in being considered blessed, but it is joy no matter the situation.
Being blessed is not about us, it is about Jesus. It is about God. It’s not about our faith, but His faithfulness. Joy isn’t found in our situations, but that in every situation, we are never alone, we walk with God, who guides and protects and gives us strength.
A Look at Why they are Considered BLessed
Because the Rock at the Bottom is Jesus…
Stripped of Everything, we find everything
You see, people are not blessed because they are poor in spirit, or in mourning, or because they are meek and have a balanced perspective on who they are.
They are blessed, because God is faithful to His promises. He is faithful to guide us, to be with us in the valleys of shadow, to burst into the darkness that seems to reign in this world, with the purpose of being with us, healing us, bring us that peace and yes, joy, even as we have to deal with a sinful broken life in a sinful broken world.
The needs described in the beatitudes are met, because God doesn’t leave us alone. Our weakness becomes our strength, simply because in realizing we are weak, we respond to His presence. Because for the tired, the offer of rest is too incredible, too irresistible. It’s not about the situation, it is about His presence.
We are blessed because even stripped of everything – we find that we have more than we can ever dream of, a Father, a Brother, a Companion, a Master, a Deliverer, a God.
Who invades life for us, to come to us, to make everything work out for the best for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
That is what the cross is about, God saving us, and demonstrating His love and power to us, to cleanse us from all sin, from all unrighteousness. To take even that which the world meant for evil, and to use it to bless us. Including our own sins, All sin – all of the ways we have created to mess up our lives, God can rescue us, heal us, at the price of Jesus being crucified. It really is done!
Faith is nothing more, nothing less than trusting that God will be faithful to His promise.
Weighed I the balance… yeah… let’s ask!...wait…we don’t have to!
As we grasp this, as we wrestle with the incredible gift given to us, as Jesus Christ came and dwelt among us, we begin to realize what being blessed is really about – Him, here, now. Here when we don’t know the future, here when we do, and it scares us. With us when we sin, and here to pour out His love and forgiveness. Even if the world is against us, even if we don’t know the unintended consequences, let us desire His presence, and the blessing of peace it brings.
For being blessed is nothing to be afraid of, this passage doesn’t say who is not blessed, but assures us, no matter what the world is like, nothing can tear us from the presence of Christ.
We are secure, our hearts and minds guarded by our Advocate, our Defender, our ever present Paraclete. Hearts and minds that know the peace of the Father. The distinctive, unsurpassable, unfathomable peace of God, which blesses us, the people of God!
4th week of Epiphany, January 30, 2011
Blessed? Really?
Matthew 5:1-12
May we grasp how truly blessed we are, for the gifts of mercy, love, forgiveness, and a peace-filled life are ours! Gifts from our Father in Heave, and our Lord Jesus Christ!
IN HIS NAME!
Be Careful of what you ask for… you might get it…
Especially true when it comes to being Blessed….
Blessing of Cathedral bells…
It’s one of those pieces of advice that our grandfathers, or maybe a wise old aunt passed onto to us in our youth, and we ignored it. Until of course we learned it the hard way, and then it became an controlling rule in our lives.
“Be careful of what you ask for, because you might just….. (let them say it)
It is also called Murphy’s Law of Unintended Consequences. Example is the child who wants a dog, and the parents want a happy kid, so they get the puppy and everyone is happy, right? Or my pastor friend in Maryland, who wanted to play with his new snow blower… and prayed for snow in church... and his congregation now hates him! Or the parents who are tired of driving their teenager around, and wish for an option… and along comes the driver’s license, the insurance rate hike and.. Or the people of Israel who cried to God for a King, and despite God’s warnings, cried out even more. Then along with the King came taxes, and taking their children to fight wars, and serve in the palace.
There is similar role in the church – be careful of praying for patience, or faith, because someone might enjoy giving you the ability to develop those characteristics!
The beatitudes, the Blessed are those statements that make up our gospel message today, are similar paradoxes. One writer described them this way:
“Blessed!” intoned again and again, sounds like bells of heaven, ringing down into this unblessed world from the cathedral spires of the kingdom inviting all men to enter.
Sometimes I think people think of being blessed in that kind of near… romantic manner. That it is all rainbows and flowers, super bowl victories and fat checking accounts, perfect children and perfect bodies smiling as they bask in the pleasure-filled life.
These are the ones that ask, “Pastor, can you pray that God blesses me….”
Which brings another quote of Jesus to mind… “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do….”
A Look at Who is Blessed
Matthew 5, James 1:2 and 1 Peter 4:14
Are we willing to endure this… to be considered Blessed?
Aren’t we already dealing with such?
Transcendent joy…
Look at verse 3 in our gospel reading. Are they really asking to find yourself at the end of your rope? Do they want to lose what most dear to you? Do you want to be content with who you are, where you are, not the superstar, nor the martyr? Do you want to have to work up a good appetite for God?
Look down to verse 9, it says your blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight, it sounds nice till you realize that means your right in the middle of the battle royale! At least in the last verse, it gets a bit better, because Saint Matthew tells us that Jesus says we are in good company, the company of prophets and those that can bear witness to God’s excellence!
Until you look at the prophets whose company we keep! Those prophets and those who witnessed to God have always been put down, lied about, discredited, never mind getting stoned and beaten and whipped. James, the brother of Jesus, wrote in his letter to the churches,
2 My brothers, consider it a great joy when trials of many kinds come upon you, 3 for you well know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and 4 perseverance must complete its work so that you will become fully developed, complete, not deficient in any way. James 1:2-4 (NJB)
Trials? Great Joy? Testing of Faith?
Being considered Blessed may start to lose some of its luster, as we look at those whom Jesus describes as truly blessed. We are faced with a challenging issue, for in a world that tells us that we have to look after number one, this is just too much of a paradox. I mean, I realize that God has always used the simple and humble to confuse the proud and wise, but this simple? This humble?
Yeah – and it will take an hour to explain even more – luckily, we have that hour – just after this service! But the point is that there seems to be a cost to being blessed, a humility, a meekness, finding ourselves thirsting for justice, for righteousness, being required to endure trials and temptations.
There is part of us that really doesn’t like to hear this, we want to believe everything will not only work our right, but that we will enjoy it. Doesn’t blessed mean joyful, and isn’t that really about being “happy”? Sort of, and not really. Indeed, there is joy in being considered blessed, but it is joy no matter the situation.
Being blessed is not about us, it is about Jesus. It is about God. It’s not about our faith, but His faithfulness. Joy isn’t found in our situations, but that in every situation, we are never alone, we walk with God, who guides and protects and gives us strength.
A Look at Why they are Considered BLessed
Because the Rock at the Bottom is Jesus…
Stripped of Everything, we find everything
You see, people are not blessed because they are poor in spirit, or in mourning, or because they are meek and have a balanced perspective on who they are.
They are blessed, because God is faithful to His promises. He is faithful to guide us, to be with us in the valleys of shadow, to burst into the darkness that seems to reign in this world, with the purpose of being with us, healing us, bring us that peace and yes, joy, even as we have to deal with a sinful broken life in a sinful broken world.
The needs described in the beatitudes are met, because God doesn’t leave us alone. Our weakness becomes our strength, simply because in realizing we are weak, we respond to His presence. Because for the tired, the offer of rest is too incredible, too irresistible. It’s not about the situation, it is about His presence.
We are blessed because even stripped of everything – we find that we have more than we can ever dream of, a Father, a Brother, a Companion, a Master, a Deliverer, a God.
Who invades life for us, to come to us, to make everything work out for the best for those who love God and are called according to His purpose.
That is what the cross is about, God saving us, and demonstrating His love and power to us, to cleanse us from all sin, from all unrighteousness. To take even that which the world meant for evil, and to use it to bless us. Including our own sins, All sin – all of the ways we have created to mess up our lives, God can rescue us, heal us, at the price of Jesus being crucified. It really is done!
Faith is nothing more, nothing less than trusting that God will be faithful to His promise.
Weighed I the balance… yeah… let’s ask!...wait…we don’t have to!
As we grasp this, as we wrestle with the incredible gift given to us, as Jesus Christ came and dwelt among us, we begin to realize what being blessed is really about – Him, here, now. Here when we don’t know the future, here when we do, and it scares us. With us when we sin, and here to pour out His love and forgiveness. Even if the world is against us, even if we don’t know the unintended consequences, let us desire His presence, and the blessing of peace it brings.
For being blessed is nothing to be afraid of, this passage doesn’t say who is not blessed, but assures us, no matter what the world is like, nothing can tear us from the presence of Christ.
We are secure, our hearts and minds guarded by our Advocate, our Defender, our ever present Paraclete. Hearts and minds that know the peace of the Father. The distinctive, unsurpassable, unfathomable peace of God, which blesses us, the people of God!
