Blessed
Are Those Who…
Rev. Charles Lewis Luke
6:17-26
Feb. 11, 2007 Psalm
1
Snohomish P.C.
Prayer:
May we be receptive your gospel, gracious God. In the blessings and in the woes, in words of comfort
and those of discomfort, may our hearts be receptive. Fall
afresh with your Spirit’s power upon us, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Sermon
About 450 years ago, a man named Nicolaus Copernicus helped
launch what we know today as the scientific revolution that issued in the age
of Enlightenment. Copernicus challenged
previously held convictions about our understanding of the cosmos. Up to the 16th century, the
prevailing belief was that the earth was the center of the universe. Over a millennium and a half earlier Aristotle
- and Ptolemy who followed him - had located the earth as the immovable center
of things. They based their claim on observable
data. It appeared obvious, after all to any
observer, that the sun rose every morning around a fixed earth. But along came Copernicus over 1500 years
later, asserting that this long assumed notion of an earth-centered cosmos was
wrong. The sun, he claimed, was actually
at the center and the earth revolved around it.
Not surprisingly, his new theory failed
to convince most of the scientific community and met with rejection, even
condemnation, by the religious community.
They objected that Copernicus could provide no observable proof. But, as we know, of course, this revolutionary
new idea that challenged and changed the old, was right. It
would be another hundred years before his theory, built upon by Kepler and
Galileo, would gain endorsement.
This is not a science 101 course I’m offering this morning
in worship. I’m not playing Char-lie
science guy. My point of using this
illustration is to say that what’s true in science can also be true in
spirituality. Things are not always as
they appear to be. What we observe,
what seems to make sense, is not always the way things really are. Sometimes it takes a revolutionary new way of
seeing things to see things as they truly are.
The beatitudes are such a case.
One of the themes that runs though Luke's Gospel and is
concentrated in the beatitudes is Jesus' stubborn insistence that things are
not exactly as they appear. A lot of the
time, it's all backwards and up-side-down.
The poor end up with spiritual wealth while the wealthy end up
spiritually poor. The empty are
pronounced full and the full pronounced empty.
Which means that what we all just participated in just a moment
ago could be called by an old world view “a corporate act of craziness.” It’s all backward and up-side down. We listened respectfully to the Gospel
lesson which told us in no uncertain terms that most of what we seek in life is
cause for lament and most of what we avoid in life is a cause for
joy. With minds on autopilot we responded to “This is the Word of the
Lord,” with “Thanks be to God.” If we were listening to what Jesus is
saying, would we really be thankful? Blessed
are the poor? God’s favor is upon the
hungry? Happy are those who
mourn? Then he tells us that those who have more than adequate resources,
those who are satisfied, those who enjoy life and those who are respected in
the community are to be pitied? Woes to
the rich, the full, the content, the well liked. Like you, I spend much of my time and energy pursuing
those woes and running as fast I can away from the blessings. [1]
The part of the Jesus' sermon that we heard today is
traditionally called "the beatitudes." But these beatitudes are hardly pious
platitudes! They are, as Presbyterian
pastor Michael Lindvall comments: “deliberately discomforting, a rhetorical hyperbolic
arrow aimed right at you and me, striking us right in that place in our hearts
where we are tempted to believe that being rich and full will for sure make us
happy.” “The deeper truth we hear again
and again in this Gospel is that oddly enough, woes often come in the
blessings, and believe it or not, sometimes blessings are hidden in the woes.”[2]
Of all people, we in
I read this past week the story
of one of a teen-ager who for Christmas had received a TV, a digital video
camera, and a new computer. And then, surrounded by a mountain of wrapping
paper, the kid asked his parents, "Is this it?" It wasn’t just greed behind the comment; it’s
that we are raising cornucopia kids who have everything and think that all
their stuff - their TV’s and digital cameras and computers will fill the void
in their lives, and when it doesn’t the only imaginable answer is more of the
same…. and it can never be enough." [4] It’s like a person dying of thirst who keeps
lusting after salt (F. Buechner).
Friends of ours kept wondering
how they were going to stop all the stuff from drowning their own
children. They had lamented how they
felt their children were being inundated with gifts from family members. While
deeply grateful, they were also concerned.
They didn’t want their kids to grow up “having it all given to them on a
silver patter” so they never learned to appreciate the hard work of earning a
reward for themselves. It was also a
practical matter. They had no more room
in their house for more toys. So our
friends thought of a creative idea. They
would have their children line up all their toys on side walk outside their
home as far down the sidewalk as they would go.
Then they would take a camcorder and zoom in on a few toys in front of
their house and then beginning panning the sidewalk of toys running all the way
down the street. This would give the
message that maybe a check for college would be a better choice for a
gift. Sometimes are riches can bury
us. Sometimes we can have so much we
have no time for anything else, for anyone else.
You’re right, Jesus, things are not
exactly as they seem. Often, it's all
backwards and up-side-down and takes revolutionary new eyes to see things right. There really can be woes in these blessings.
And believe it or not, the
inverse is just as true. There are
blessings to be found in our woes as well. One of my closest friends, Bob Dykstra,
teaches at Princeton Seminary. Bob tells
of traveling once... "through
You're right Jesus, things are not
exactly as they seem. Often, it's all
backwards and up-side-down and takes revolutionary new eyes to see things right.
I discovered this truth six
years ago when I lost my brother to suicide, and this past year and half as I
faced the loss of both of my parents.
Woes, while still very painful for me, have nevertheless produced
blessings. The blessings I’ve found are a
deeper appreciation for the gift of life, the gift of each other, and the need
to tell others what a gift they are to me.
The woes have enhanced my sense
of gratitude for the precious nature of life, this tender, fragile gift from
God.
I’ve also discovered the blessing that comes in being broken,
not that it is something to pursue, but something that eventually comes to us –
and to some over and over and over again.
The blessing of being broken brings with it the natural empathy to
connect with and stand in solidarity with others whose lives have been broken –
the poor, the hungry, the homeless, the grieving, the one in pain. September 11, 2001, horrible as it was, may
have also enabled us, if we were attentive to God, to identify with much of the
world which suffers that kind of injustice regularly. The blessings I’ve found is to have my heart
break when God’s heart breaks at the hardships that inflict all of us and the
wounds that inflict God’s world whom he loves.
At the very core of our faith is a God who does not stand above and
beyond the woes, but is immersed in them, a God who, in Christ, is broken and
bruised and by these very means is able to offer the blessing of healing and
hope.
You're right Jesus, things are not exactly as they
seem. Often, it's all backwards and
up-side-down and takes revolutionary new eyes to see things right. Sometimes blessings come through woes.
Christian educator Dennis Benson tells
the story of a young father named Barry who "has taken the long journey
through depression to nervous breakdown and back. His son Andrew had lots to do
with his climb back to health... In previous days Andrew had contributed
greatly to Barry's breakdown. Although Andrew has the body of a
fifteen-year-old, his mind stopped growing at four. Barry never could get used
to the fact that Andrew would not progress beyond that point... Barry's
disappointment in Andrew grew and compounded until the resentment ravaged
Barry's mind and spirit.
Gradually, Barry's therapist
enabled him to see that his disappointment had been a cause of his breakdown...
He began to see Andrew in a new light. He was able to see Andrew as he was and
not just as he had determined he should be. Viewed from this new perspective, Barry found
the real Andrew to be more attractive than he had ever dreamed possible. This
change set off a reaction in Andrew. Very tentatively, Andrew began to explore
ways of relating to his father.
At Andrew's Sunday school, one
of his teachers had made a connection between the rising of the sun and the
moon and the constantly renewed love of God. Andrew became totally enthralled
by this concept. He asked his father if he would sit with him and watch the
moonrise.
On the night of the full moon,
the whole family sat of the porch facing the eastern horizon. As the moon
climbed over the edge of the mountains, Andrew shook with excitement. Then, as
it moved into full view, he did something he had never done before. Andrew
reached out and encircled his father with his arms. Barry was completely taken
by surprise. Tears streamed down his face. Andrew continued to grip his father.
He spoke in awed tones. "I've never seen the moonrise before. Have you,
Dad? Barry was too caught up in his emotions to reply.
A
few more minutes passed in silence. It was as if Andrew's awe was infectious.
It was as if none of them had ever seen the moonrise. When the moon was fully
launched into the sky, Andrew announced: "God keeps loving all of us, you
know, Dad." Every month now, Andrew and his family wait together for the
moonrise. Andrew and Barry always sit together with their arms around each
other." [6]
You're right Jesus, things are
not exactly as they seem. Often, it's all backwards and up-side-down and takes
revolutionary new eyes to see things right…to see that God keeps loving us all
through every blessings and the woes.
That, says Jesus, is the gospel truth.
So this, good friends, is the word the
Lord for today. Blessed are those who
can say “Thanks be to God.”
Prayer: Gracious God, bless us with new eyes to see
not only the woes in what we perceive as blessings, but your blessings in what
we perceive as woes. Grant us, then, a
spirit of poverty and humility, with hearts broken and ready to receive your
grace and truth. As every prop is moved
out from under us and every false god we erect pulled away, catch us with your
loving arms as we entrust our grateful lives to you. Amen.
[1] Rev. Dr. Francis H. Wade,
St. Alban’s Parish,
[2] Rev. Michael L. Lindvall, The Brick Presbyterian
Church, “Blessings in the Woe: Woe in the Blessing.” Feb. 14, 2004. I credit and thank Michael Lindvall for his
insights, much of the content, including some stories included in my sermon.
[3] Ibid.
[4] ibid.
[5] Dr.
Robert Dykstra, “Discovering a Sermon” Chalice Press,
[6] As retold in “Alive” magazine, March-April 1988 issue and quoted in Michael Lindvall’s sermon.