17 He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. 18They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. 19And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
‘Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21‘Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
‘Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
24‘But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 ‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, we invoke your presence. Speak, for we are listening. Amen.

Sometimes it’s hard to read the signs: Last week during Ministers Week at SMU, I was in the School’s parking garage looking for the ramp down to the next level. As I rounded a corner I noticed some orange traffic cones, on their sides, blocking part of the lane. I barely made it around them when I saw the ramp down to the next level. It was a tight turn but with a little finesse, I was able to whip down the ramp to the next level and park. It took me a few moments before I realized what I had done: Driven down the up-ramp!
I couldn’t believe what I had done. What would have happened if some driver had been charging up the ramp as I whipped down it! Someone might have gotten hurt or worse! “SMU parking garage head-on takes lives of two local ministers, news at 10:00.”

That orange cones were even there at all should have caused me to stop and reconsider but with the cones being knocked over and displaced, I didn’t understand what they were telling me to do.

Sometimes it’s hard to read the signs. They are not always so clear. And that’s the way it is in life; that we have to slow down, concentrate, pay attention, reflect, struggle and reflect some more to understand what the signs are saying.

Jesus saw his kingdom breaking in all around him. The signs were there, he claimed. But it took faith to make sense of them. As our Gospel reading said last week, “Eyes to see and Ears to hear.”

The Beatitudes are a series of “Blessed are thou…” statements credited to Jesus. At first reading they seem ridiculous. Common sense tells us it’s not a good thing to be hungry, and if poverty is God’s blessing, then Lord helps us all!

1) Matthew’s Gospel offers one possible interpretation. Jesus’ statements in Luke are spiritual realities. So for example, “Blessed are the poor” becomes “blessed are the poor in spirit” and “Blessed are those who hunger” becomes “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

Jesus does say that the poor will inherit the Kingdom of God. Most of us at one time in our lives have been spiritually poor, and know what its like, in the words of an old African American spiritual to have the Lord “fill our cup.”

But that simply avoids Luke’s direct claim that the impoverished, the hungry, and brokenhearted are somehow blessed of God.

2) A 2nd option is to interpret Jesus’ words, “Blessed are you who mourn” as his attempt to comfort those who have been abandoned by society by suggesting that in fact God is with them. God’s Kingdom is a place where the poor, hungry, and brokenhearted are not only favored by God, but exalted to a place of honor!

There is no question that the bulk of Jesus’ ministry recorded in the Gospels was focused on the poor and lower class of society.

One of the books I’m reading for my doctorate suggests that only those Christians living in the Global south ( places like Africa and Latin America), can truly read the Bible with authenticity and immediacy because the Bible’s core social and political themes “like martyrdom, oppression and exile,” are closer to their life experience.

Are the poor, the hungry, and brokenhearted blessed because:
-Only they can fully receive God’s kingdom, which requires a rejection of this earthly kingdom?
-Only they can be truly filled with bread that satisfies (as Jesus says in John 6:35, “I am the bread of life…whoever comes to me will never go hungry.”)?
-Only they can truly know “the peace that so passes all understanding?” Philippians 4:7
-Only they can truly experience a God who can transform mourning truly into celebration? “You have turned my mourning into dancing.” Psalm 30:11

I am inclined to believe that the poor, hungry and brokenhearted of the world have much to teach us if we will just look and listen. We just have to learn to read the signs……
Eyes to see and Ears to Hear.

3) A 3rd Option is to interpret the Beatitudes as a condemnation of those who ignore the suffering of the poor, hungry and brokenhearted, and who may contribute to that suffering by inaction or silence.

The members of the Sinners and Saints SS class are studying a book about the 10 commandments. The authors make a provocative statement about the 5th commandment (thou shall not kill):

 “That our society is so terribly violent is in great part the result of the church’s failure to be a community of nonviolence as a by-product of our worship of the God of peace.” P.88-89 The Truth About God, Stanley Hauerwas and William Willimon

Turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew 5:21-22;

21 ‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” 22But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire.

Is it possible to kill without pulling the trigger? We contribute to poverty, oppression, and violence:
-If as landlords we rent substandard housing;
-As employers we pay non-liveable wages;
-If as a nation we adopt a foreign policy that we’d never want imposed on us by others.
In so doing, we may force otherwise good people like ourselves into not so good, even desperate circumstances that may well lead to violence.

Even our silence can kill…

Someday historians will document the relative silence of the Global Christian Church in the face of mass genocide in the Sudan and the AIDS epidemic in Sub-Saharan Africa. In Africa, 150,000 lives are lost every month and it's a completely avoidable catastrophe. And if God is pulling on your heart to do something about it, talk to me.

Eyes to see, and ears to hear.

I don’t want to contribute to the suffering of others. None of us do! Rather we are the ones called to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captive and recovery of sight to the blind. We are the ones called to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. We just have to learn to read the signs!

Our SPPR committee has just completed reviewing me as your Senior pastor. SPPR’s role is work with, support and review our staff. It’s a performance evaluation but with a God twist. In my case it involved fielding some input from congregational members. Let’s just say they were firm but loving. I found the whole experience both challenging and supportive!

It reminded me that at Annual Conference last year, the late Bishop Moncure announced he had formed a clergy effectiveness committee whose function will be to evaluate our clergy and assist with improving skills and providing additional training. Our former District Superintendent, Rev. Jim Dorff, will chair the committee.

Bishop Moncure then stated that the next step will be to form a committee to evaluate the effectiveness of our congregations, explaining that there were some unhealthy churches out there, and that it didn’t do the Conference any good to train up and send out healthy and effective pastors to ineffective and unhealthy congregations.

Hmmm. What kind of impact do you think it would have on the church if every member knew they were going to be reviewed annually by their pastors and a committee of their peers in a firm but loving manner?
-Are you faithfully living your vows  of prayer, presence in worship, giving and serving?
-Are you consistently following the teachings of Jesus?
Would that cause members to take their vows more seriously or incite a mass exodus?! What do you think?

As Jesus said to his disciples, “To you have been given eyes to see and ears to hear.” We just have to learn to read the signs!

One of the things this church has taught me is that a bridge is never built from one side only.

We talk about ministry to our community but I wonder if we truly realize that it’s not enough to open our doors and be friendly. Only by building from both sides are we going to truly bridge this church with our community. We need to enter into relationships with our neighbors. Our schools are way ahead of the ballgame, on this. They teach our children, “It doesn’t matter what color your skin is or where you are from, this is a level playing field.  Everyone deserves the same opportunities. We all belong together, and that’s that way it should be! Teachers, isn’t that right?!
That’s why Sunday morning segregation seems so bizarre!

If your kids are like mine, they get it. They’ve got a diverse group of friends. So we can learn from our children about inclusivity; about how to look beyond our differences, focus on commonalities, and celebrate our diversity. That’s the stuff of God’s Kingdom come!

There’s a reason most of friends look like us, it seems!  Eyes to see, Ears to hear!

The church is suppose to be a safe place for dialogue about the important issues of our day. That means being sensitive to each other. That doesn’t mean we don’t talk, it means we find appropriate and healthy ways to do it.

I believe this church should contribute its voice to the discussion on everything from the quality of public education to healthcare for the young and aged. Is this sometimes going to be controversial? You betcha. Are we all going to agree, of course not! But that doesn’t mean its not worth doing. I think sometimes we just plain forget that we are THE BODY OF CHRIST. You may be the hands and others, the feet, but the heart of the body is in the family gathered for worship!  To us have been given Eyes to see and Ears to hear… We just have to learn to read the signs!

Let us pray: Renew your church, Lord, your people in this land. Save us from cheap words and self-deception in your service. In the power of your Spirit, transform us and shape us by your cross. Amen.