Sermon - January 30, 2011Year A - The Year of Matthew - Epiphany 4
Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 37:1-6; 1 Corinthians 1: (18-25) 26-31; Matthew 5: (12) 13-20
I am going to begin today with a sermon about a sermon: the Sermon on the Mount. The church sometimes refers to it as The Beatitudes.
The traditional setting ascribed as the place where the Sermon on the Mount occurred is a beautiful place. It overlooks the Sea of Galilee and the city of Capernaum. From the Mount of the Beatitudes, one can see the city of Tiberius, the River Jordan, and the Golan Heights. To my mind, the Mount of the Beatitudes is the most beautiful and peaceful place in all of Israel. Ironically, the church of the Beatitudes, which stands on the top of the hill, was built by the dictator Mussolini in the thirties. However, I suppose that even a fascist dictator can sometimes do something right.
When I was there walking around the church set on the hill, one could hear the nuns singing in Latin. There were also groups of people gathered in various parts of the gardens. I could hear different talks in all different languages all focused on the beatitudes given by Jesus.
In that setting, one realizes the worldwide and universal importance the beatitudes have had upon people all over the planet.
[3] "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[4] "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
[5] "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
These words have meant something important to people ever since Jesus spoke them on the hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee.
The words of the Sermon on the Mount echo the words of the prophet Micah. There the Old Testament prophet reflects on what people can do that would please the Lord. Micah lists all manner of things that can be done to please God. All of these things sound dramatic to humans. However, Micah tells us that the things that sound dramatic to us really mean very little to God. All God asks is for mercy, kindness, and justice. This is because these things reflect a way of living. They are not simply things to be done and then forgotten. God asks that we live in a way that shows good to others and is one that gives us a new way of being.
Look at some of the lines Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount.
[4] "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
[5] "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
[6] "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
[7] "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
[8] "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Jesus continues, "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account."
Most of us have had a point in our lives when someone has said bad things about us. Perhaps we have even had people tell lies about us in an attempt to hurt us. That experience did not feel like a blessing. To think that such things are a blessing seems almost silly. In fact, it seems to be foolishness. However, that is the point. The standards that Jesus presents are different from what the world wants. The prophet Micah showed us this. Furthermore, the Apostle Paul also tells us that this is the case.
Think of these words: fool, foolish, foolishness, and foolhardy. I was taught when I was young that to call someone a fool was a very serious thing. In fact, by doing so, one was actually calling oneself a fool because it showed poverty of thought. In other words, if I disagreed with someone, I should be able to say more than just name-calling. It is a bit like arguing by simply saying, "shut up;" there is no thought just a desire to silence someone. I was also taught that Jesus did not like the word "fool." After all, consider these words from Matthew 5: 22, “Whoever shall say to his brother ‘you fool’ shall be in danger of the fire of hell.”
Then, along comes Paul writing to the Church gathered at Corinth. Paul writes, "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..." I take notice when I read this because Paul is saying God took what is relegated to name-calling and elevated it to something important.
I am going to repeat Paul's words, "Consider your own call...God chose what is foolish." Paul is telling us that God takes what the world sees as foolish and remakes it in order to display the wisdom and power of God. God foolishly remakes us in the image of Jesus Christ who is our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
Paul said that God made foolish what is wise in this world. He continues by saying, "Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, [23] but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, [24] but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. [25] For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength."
Paul is writing to the Christians in the city of Corinth. It was a sophisticated city. The people of Corinth were just oh so pleased with themselves. In this city, there are those Greeks who are Christians. When their fellow Corinthians would ask them what they believed, the Christians would say in a voice that was embarrassed, "Well, we believe in Jesus. He was the Son of God. He was human and divine at the same time. He was crucified, buried, but now he is alive for he rose from the dead." In response, the Corinthians would react with gales of laughter and smug comments on how stupid and what a fool one would be to believe such a thing.
This is the ancient version of a self-important Bill Maher mocking anyone foolish enough to believe in Jesus. Virgin birth, Jesus dead but now alive, what fools people are to actually get up on Sunday and come to a church to worship such nonsense.
To counter this, and to try to appease the Corinthian critics, many of the Christians in Corinth tried to reconstruct the faith to something more palatable to their neighbors. After all, nobody wishes to be called a fool. The Corinthian Christians came up with sophisticated solutions such as Christ was raised in spirit and not the resuscitation of the corpse. They would downplay Jesus; he was a great teacher. The resurrection we are promised is not physical but spiritual.
Paul would have none of this sophistication. He held up the resurrection boldly and for all to see and hear. The cross he said is a scandal because it is not what humans would do.
The foolishness of God is greater than our wisdom. We preach Christ crucified because the resurrection of Christ looks directly into the eyes of the tyrant Satan who lives under the illusion that the power of death still has power over us.
We preach Christ crucified because a Lord who defeated Satan’s last weapon, which is death, threatens those in power, the social and intellectual tyrants, the bullies, and the Caesars of this world. They know that those who have hope in the midst of death are people freed by an authority bigger than their wisdom, power, smugness, or sense of superiority. This is why they call you a fool for God has shown them to be foolish.
This brings us back to the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus says:
[4] "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
[5] "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
[6] "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
[7] "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
[8] "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Jesus continues, "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account."
We are blessed because we bow to a foolish that is greater than the wisdom of the world. We worship a power that is greater than death. We worship a power that is greater than sin.
Do not be ashamed of our God. I saw recently that a Lutheran college on its mission statement did not even mention Jesus or Christianity. They changed the word Christian environment to caring environment. They are so wise by the world’s standards that they have forgotten what is truly important.
Do not be ashamed of our God. We worship a power that has hope, life, and joy. If people call us fools for our beliefs, so be it. It is better to be embraced by the foolishness of God than the empty praise of the world's wisdom. Amen.