We live in a nice house; it is not too big, but it is big enough. It keeps us out of the weather; cool in the summer, warm in the winter, dry during the rain. We have nice clothes to wear, perhaps some may think my wardrobe is not in fashion, but I do have enough clothes to wear to keep me warm in the winter and cool in the summer. We have enough food to eat and really, more than enough to eat. We have a car to drive; it might not be the latest or fanciest model, but it gets us where we are going. We have a computer, a telephone, a television set with a DVD player. We have all that we need and really, we have much more than we need. We even have a lot of things we simply want. All in all, I would say we are blessed. Perhaps I might even go so far as to suggest that one of God’s wonders to which I am able to witness is the fact that He has been so good to me and my family. But what if I did not have all these nice things in life? What if I had in mind that what I have is not enough? What if my mind was of such that I thought I needed to “keep up with the Joneses?” Would I still feel as blessed? In our text for today we are introduced to what it means to be blessed, not necessarily blessed as I have just described, but to be truly blessed, something that, too often, I believe we miss.
Before we talk about what it means to be truly blessed, we should spend some time talking about what we deserve. Now, most of us probably think pretty highly of ourselves. We think we deserve the job we have or maybe we think we deserve the next position up the old corporate ladder. Perhaps we think we deserve a raise. Maybe we think we deserve a larger house, a fancier car, nicer clothes and the like. We are good people we rationalize. We are law abiding citizens. We attend church and sometimes give of our time as well as our talents and some of our treasures. We are Christians after all. Perhaps in our own minds we think we deserve to be blessed, in other words, that we deserve to be blessed with all the things we have mentioned earlier.
In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus, preaching to the crowd, says that those who deserve to be blessed are those who are “poor in spirit,” “those who mourn,” those who “are the meek,” “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” “the merciful,” “the pure in heart,” “the peacemakers,” “those who are persecuted,” and those who “when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me,” stand firm in their faith. As we hear these words, perhaps we are thinking, “Yes, that often describes me.” So, yes, we believe we deserve to be blessed.
Maybe we need to have another look at those to whom Jesus says are blessed. Are we really “poor in spirit,” and do we “mourn?” Are we among the “meek,” and “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness?” Are we “merciful,” “pure in heart,” “peacemakers,” “persecuted,” “insulted,” and so forth? We just said that we are pretty well off and pretty blessed. And we also just acknowledged that sometimes we believe we are deserving of more. Oh, but “Pastor,” you say, “that is not what we mean. We are talking about two different things.” Are we?
Do we acknowledge our constant need to, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Word of the Lord? Or do we just hear it on Sunday mornings or every other Sunday morning when we do not have something more important to do than be in divine service? Do we mourn at our spiritual weaknesses, our constant breaking of the commandments and sinning? Do we humbly acknowledge our doubts, our moments of unbelief and our moments of despair during times of trials? And do we hunger and thirst after wanting to be “right” with God? Maybe you have heard the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words.” Our actions betray us. Our poor devotional life, our poor attendance at divine service, our poor attendance at Bible Class. Our lording it over others, often times thinking more highly of ourselves because we are members of this church. Perhaps we are not as deserving as we would like to think.
Are we merciful? Do we give others the benefit of the doubt? Do we always put the best construction on everything and explain everything in the kindest way? Do we always, first, think the best in any given situation, or do we like to hear the “dirt?” Do we seek forgiveness and peace or are we among those who are persecuting and ridiculing others for their faith, or their lack of faith? Do we rationalize that it does not matter what you believe as long as you are sincere in your belief and so we stay away from confronting our neighbor, our friend, and even our family member concerning their lack of faith or their being involved in some non-Christian organization, cult or sect? Again, what do our actions say? Perhaps we are like the young man who spent his summer between college years at the roughest, toughest, meanest lumberjack camp in all of North America. His friends from church all wondered how he would make it, being a Christian and all. Would they mock him and belittle him? Would they beat him up? Would he make it till the end of the summer? When, at the end of the summer, he came home, and before he headed back to college, he was asked how he had faired, if he was teased because he was a Christian. His answer was, “No, they never found out.” Again, perhaps we are not as deserving as we would like to think. Maybe you have heard the question, “If we were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Again, perhaps we are not as deserving as we would like to think.
So, of what are we deserving? In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). What Paul means is that the cost or the price for our sins, what our sins have earned, is death. And not just any old death, but eternal spiritual death, hell in other words. When we take these words of Jesus and match them up against the Ten Commandments and then look in the mirror, what we see is that what we are deserving is not to be blessed, but to be cursed, even to be damned.
The words of our text are words which Jesus is speaking. He is the one who makes them Law words, which they are when we do not do them, and He is the one who makes them Gospel words, which they are when He works these things in us. Jesus is the one who came to do for us what we are unable to do. He came as an example for us, but more than an example. To say that Jesus is just an example would lead us to despair, because, in and of ourselves, we would never be able to follow His example. We can never be perfect. Jesus came as an example, but even more, He came to fulfill His example. Yes, Jesus showed us how to live. He lived the way we are supposed to live. He lived perfectly, but He did not live that way just for Himself. He lived perfectly for us, for you and for me. Even more, now He sends the Holy Spirit to work in us so that we might live in the way that He would have us to live.
Jesus is God in human flesh for all people. The very word “epiphany” means appearance. That we celebrate the epiphany of Jesus means that we celebrate His appearing to humankind, the Magi in particular. It also means that we celebrate the appearing of God in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus is God who came to do for us what we are unable to do. He came to live perfectly for us in our place. Remember, perfection is what is expected of us and that is what is ultimately demanded of us, that is that we are perfect. Jesus came as one of us, so that He could live for us. He was the one who was “poor in spirit,” “who mourn[ed],” who was “meek,” “who hunger[ed] and thirst[ed] for righteousness,” who was “merciful”, “pure in heart,” a “peacemaker,” “who [was] persecuted,” and who stood firm to the end.
Jesus is the one who paid our tab. He paid the price, that is the cost, the wage, that our sins earned. He paid the eternal spiritual death penalty. He paid the eternal spiritual death penalty by His suffering and death on the cross, suffering and death which should have been ours, but that, because of His great love for us, He willingly suffered for us. Not only did He pay the price, the penalty for our sins, but now, when He stands before the Father in heaven He acknowledges His love for us, He says, “She, He, is one of mine.”
When our last hour on this earth comes, whether that is at our own death or at the Lord’s return, we will stand before the Lord’s throne to be judge. We will not be judged according to our earthly accumulations. The bumper sticker is not true, “The one with the most toys wins.” When we stand before the Lord’s throne the devil will be there accusing us and claiming us as one of his. He will outline how we have not been any of what we think we have, we have not been “poor in spirit,” “mourn[ing],” “meek,” “hunger[ing] and thirst[ing] for righteousness,” “merciful”, “pure in heart,” “peacemakers,” “persecuted,” and “insult[ed],” “falsely [had] all kinds of evil [said] against [us] you because of me,” nor have we stood firm in our faith. And the judgement against us will be guilty. The sentence will be eternal spiritual death. But wait. Our defense approaches the bench. After a few minutes the judge hands down His decision. Life, eternal life in heaven. You see, our defense is Jesus and what He tells the judge is that He loves us and that He has given His life for ours. He has paid our way into His eternal home.
No, we are not deserving of any of the blessings of which we receive. They are given to us as gifts from God. Yes, even when we fail to acknowledge them as such, the Lord continues to pour out His blessings on us. As we look at these “beatitudes” as we call them, one commentator put it this way, “The divine passives indicate that we do nothing to gain these rewards, they are all pure gift.” In other words, the way Jesus tells it, we do nothing to gain these blessings, He simple gives them to us because of His great love for us. Which reminds me, I neglected to tell you, the “Beatitudes” are framed in verse 3 and 10 with the words, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What we are given, these gifts of God, are indeed the wonders of God’s blessings. They are the greatest gifts of all. These are not gifts and blessings which fade and rot with time. No, these are eternal blessings, blessings of a life in heaven with Jesus.
Yes, we are blessed. We are blessed beyond what we might think or imagine. We are blessed with all that we need and more; we have even more than we might want. And more, we are blessed again and again, each and every day with the blessing of all of God’s grace, forgiveness, life and salvation. We are blessed beyond what we deserve. It is all gift. And we are left simply to stand in awe of what a great and wonderful God we have. We are left to stand in awe of His wonders. We are left to cry out with thanks and praise to our great and awesome God. To Him be the glory. Amen.
Before we talk about what it means to be truly blessed, we should spend some time talking about what we deserve. Now, most of us probably think pretty highly of ourselves. We think we deserve the job we have or maybe we think we deserve the next position up the old corporate ladder. Perhaps we think we deserve a raise. Maybe we think we deserve a larger house, a fancier car, nicer clothes and the like. We are good people we rationalize. We are law abiding citizens. We attend church and sometimes give of our time as well as our talents and some of our treasures. We are Christians after all. Perhaps in our own minds we think we deserve to be blessed, in other words, that we deserve to be blessed with all the things we have mentioned earlier.
In our Gospel reading for today, Jesus, preaching to the crowd, says that those who deserve to be blessed are those who are “poor in spirit,” “those who mourn,” those who “are the meek,” “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” “the merciful,” “the pure in heart,” “the peacemakers,” “those who are persecuted,” and those who “when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me,” stand firm in their faith. As we hear these words, perhaps we are thinking, “Yes, that often describes me.” So, yes, we believe we deserve to be blessed.
Maybe we need to have another look at those to whom Jesus says are blessed. Are we really “poor in spirit,” and do we “mourn?” Are we among the “meek,” and “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness?” Are we “merciful,” “pure in heart,” “peacemakers,” “persecuted,” “insulted,” and so forth? We just said that we are pretty well off and pretty blessed. And we also just acknowledged that sometimes we believe we are deserving of more. Oh, but “Pastor,” you say, “that is not what we mean. We are talking about two different things.” Are we?
Do we acknowledge our constant need to, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest the Word of the Lord? Or do we just hear it on Sunday mornings or every other Sunday morning when we do not have something more important to do than be in divine service? Do we mourn at our spiritual weaknesses, our constant breaking of the commandments and sinning? Do we humbly acknowledge our doubts, our moments of unbelief and our moments of despair during times of trials? And do we hunger and thirst after wanting to be “right” with God? Maybe you have heard the old adage, “Actions speak louder than words.” Our actions betray us. Our poor devotional life, our poor attendance at divine service, our poor attendance at Bible Class. Our lording it over others, often times thinking more highly of ourselves because we are members of this church. Perhaps we are not as deserving as we would like to think.
Are we merciful? Do we give others the benefit of the doubt? Do we always put the best construction on everything and explain everything in the kindest way? Do we always, first, think the best in any given situation, or do we like to hear the “dirt?” Do we seek forgiveness and peace or are we among those who are persecuting and ridiculing others for their faith, or their lack of faith? Do we rationalize that it does not matter what you believe as long as you are sincere in your belief and so we stay away from confronting our neighbor, our friend, and even our family member concerning their lack of faith or their being involved in some non-Christian organization, cult or sect? Again, what do our actions say? Perhaps we are like the young man who spent his summer between college years at the roughest, toughest, meanest lumberjack camp in all of North America. His friends from church all wondered how he would make it, being a Christian and all. Would they mock him and belittle him? Would they beat him up? Would he make it till the end of the summer? When, at the end of the summer, he came home, and before he headed back to college, he was asked how he had faired, if he was teased because he was a Christian. His answer was, “No, they never found out.” Again, perhaps we are not as deserving as we would like to think. Maybe you have heard the question, “If we were put on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?” Again, perhaps we are not as deserving as we would like to think.
So, of what are we deserving? In his letter to the Romans, Paul tells us that “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). What Paul means is that the cost or the price for our sins, what our sins have earned, is death. And not just any old death, but eternal spiritual death, hell in other words. When we take these words of Jesus and match them up against the Ten Commandments and then look in the mirror, what we see is that what we are deserving is not to be blessed, but to be cursed, even to be damned.
The words of our text are words which Jesus is speaking. He is the one who makes them Law words, which they are when we do not do them, and He is the one who makes them Gospel words, which they are when He works these things in us. Jesus is the one who came to do for us what we are unable to do. He came as an example for us, but more than an example. To say that Jesus is just an example would lead us to despair, because, in and of ourselves, we would never be able to follow His example. We can never be perfect. Jesus came as an example, but even more, He came to fulfill His example. Yes, Jesus showed us how to live. He lived the way we are supposed to live. He lived perfectly, but He did not live that way just for Himself. He lived perfectly for us, for you and for me. Even more, now He sends the Holy Spirit to work in us so that we might live in the way that He would have us to live.
Jesus is God in human flesh for all people. The very word “epiphany” means appearance. That we celebrate the epiphany of Jesus means that we celebrate His appearing to humankind, the Magi in particular. It also means that we celebrate the appearing of God in human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, His Son. Jesus is God who came to do for us what we are unable to do. He came to live perfectly for us in our place. Remember, perfection is what is expected of us and that is what is ultimately demanded of us, that is that we are perfect. Jesus came as one of us, so that He could live for us. He was the one who was “poor in spirit,” “who mourn[ed],” who was “meek,” “who hunger[ed] and thirst[ed] for righteousness,” who was “merciful”, “pure in heart,” a “peacemaker,” “who [was] persecuted,” and who stood firm to the end.
Jesus is the one who paid our tab. He paid the price, that is the cost, the wage, that our sins earned. He paid the eternal spiritual death penalty. He paid the eternal spiritual death penalty by His suffering and death on the cross, suffering and death which should have been ours, but that, because of His great love for us, He willingly suffered for us. Not only did He pay the price, the penalty for our sins, but now, when He stands before the Father in heaven He acknowledges His love for us, He says, “She, He, is one of mine.”
When our last hour on this earth comes, whether that is at our own death or at the Lord’s return, we will stand before the Lord’s throne to be judge. We will not be judged according to our earthly accumulations. The bumper sticker is not true, “The one with the most toys wins.” When we stand before the Lord’s throne the devil will be there accusing us and claiming us as one of his. He will outline how we have not been any of what we think we have, we have not been “poor in spirit,” “mourn[ing],” “meek,” “hunger[ing] and thirst[ing] for righteousness,” “merciful”, “pure in heart,” “peacemakers,” “persecuted,” and “insult[ed],” “falsely [had] all kinds of evil [said] against [us] you because of me,” nor have we stood firm in our faith. And the judgement against us will be guilty. The sentence will be eternal spiritual death. But wait. Our defense approaches the bench. After a few minutes the judge hands down His decision. Life, eternal life in heaven. You see, our defense is Jesus and what He tells the judge is that He loves us and that He has given His life for ours. He has paid our way into His eternal home.
No, we are not deserving of any of the blessings of which we receive. They are given to us as gifts from God. Yes, even when we fail to acknowledge them as such, the Lord continues to pour out His blessings on us. As we look at these “beatitudes” as we call them, one commentator put it this way, “The divine passives indicate that we do nothing to gain these rewards, they are all pure gift.” In other words, the way Jesus tells it, we do nothing to gain these blessings, He simple gives them to us because of His great love for us. Which reminds me, I neglected to tell you, the “Beatitudes” are framed in verse 3 and 10 with the words, “for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What we are given, these gifts of God, are indeed the wonders of God’s blessings. They are the greatest gifts of all. These are not gifts and blessings which fade and rot with time. No, these are eternal blessings, blessings of a life in heaven with Jesus.
Yes, we are blessed. We are blessed beyond what we might think or imagine. We are blessed with all that we need and more; we have even more than we might want. And more, we are blessed again and again, each and every day with the blessing of all of God’s grace, forgiveness, life and salvation. We are blessed beyond what we deserve. It is all gift. And we are left simply to stand in awe of what a great and wonderful God we have. We are left to stand in awe of His wonders. We are left to cry out with thanks and praise to our great and awesome God. To Him be the glory. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.