Your Faith Journey - Finding God Through Words, Song and Praise

The transfiguration is frustrating for disciples—past and present—who long for an unmediated experience of God. Jesus’ glory is revealed, and then, just as suddenly, a cloud descends and the vision fades. And even though Paul contrasts the Christian’s experience of God with Moses’s veiled experience of God, he notes that we see the glory of the Lord “as though reflected in a mirror” (2 Cor. 3:18). Even with unveiled faces, we don’t see directly, or even clearly. Even when God is revealed in shining glory, much remains veiled and hidden.

As he witnesses Jesus’ transfiguration, Peter’s understanding remains veiled; ours does too. The glimpses we get of God’s glory—through the veil or reflected in the mirror—are expectation-shattering, alarming, overwhelming, and awesome. The love of God shines too brightly to view directly, and yet we do have the privilege of directly experiencing that love in baptism, in communion, in service to God, and in relationship with God’s creation and our neighbors in need. The veils we contend with daily are the barriers that prevent us from truly loving those neighbors, caring for creation, and seeing the shining face of Jesus in the faces of people who are different, hungry, difficult, enemy, invisible, or poor. God is always revealed in ways that surprise and confuse us, whether shining on the mountaintop or dying on the cross.

This is a special musical performance of Days of Elijah by the Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos Michigan's Chance Choir.

This is a special musical performance of Days of Elijah by the Faith Lutheran Church in Okemos Michigan's Chance Choir.

This is the sermon based on Luke 6: 27-38 from February 24, 2019.

This is the sermon based on Luke 6: 27-38 from February 24, 2019.

Last week, our gospel focused on call.  It specifically focused on Jesus’ call to Peter and the disciples.  Today, Jesus addresses the disciples, those who have chosen to follow him, those who have made a real commitment to follow him.  Today, as Jesus comes down from the mountain to the plain to speak, it is clear the writer of Luke’s gospel wants us to know that Jesus’ words today are spoken to the disciples, to the church, to those who follow him.  As Jesus looks out on the followers who stand before him, he sees the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the women, and the slaves, and he begins preaching a radical sermon proclaiming the promise of a new society.  This Great Sermon on the Plain is a call to a radical way of discipleship, a way of living in the world that turns the way of the world upside down, because what he is essentially saying is, “Blessed are all of you who are disregarded by the powerful, for you are God’s beloved community.”  In this sermon, as Jesus lays out his vision of a new community, he blesses history’s losers!   The blessings he proclaims were truly a protest against injustice!  No wonder it was radical.  And, no wonder it is still radical today!

Before we begin to look at what Jesus is saying, it is important that we understand what the word “blessing” means as used here in scripture.  The Greek word for “blessing” ascribed to Jesus in these Beatitudes is makarios.  This word means both “happy” and “favor.”  In the Christian scriptures, the word specifically means God’s favor, often called “grace” or “abundance.”  So, what Jesus is saying is “Favored are the poor.”  He is not saying “Be happy for poverty.”  Essentially, he is saying to the people, “God privileges the poor.  If you are poor, you are favored by God.  God’s gifts are with you.”  In the culture of that time, this was shocking, and I must say it is still shocking in our time because our social structure is not all that different from quid pro quo Roman culture and society.  In this Sermon on the Plain, Jesus turns things upside down and drives home the topsy-turvy news regarding the order of things in God’s kingdom. 

Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples and each one of us as he invites us into his holy venture to live out our faith. Jesus is not describing an ideological agenda or a political platform.  He does not provide us with an abstract or empty definition of discipleship or sainthood.  He is not listing for us qualifications describing some “how to” method to get into heaven.   Jesus is describing a vision of God’s reign which he totally and completely embodies.  What he is doing is calling all of us to become faithful and effective agents of God’s reign right here and right now.  And, quite frankly, for those of us who live in middle class to upper class America, his words to us are so very, very challenging.  The “rules of engagement” of Jesus’ reign stand in sharp contrast to the presumed rights of the prosperous as he talks about wealth, abundant food, the good stuff of life and all that we consider blessings.  Jesus’ words and vision are simply at odds with the way things are in our lives and in the world.  Jesus knows that we are possessed by our possessions and the so called “blessings” we feel we have and enjoy.  Quite frankly, most contemporary people have a very different idea of what makes a blessed life.  Theologian, Diana Butler Bass, when talking about this passage, says that most people think of blessings in this way:

Blessed are the rich, for they own the best stuff.  Blessed are the sexy and glamorous, for everyone desires them.  Blessed are the powerful, for they control the kingdoms of the earth.  Blessed are those who get everything they ever wanted; they alone will be satisfied.  Blessed are the famous, for their reward is eternal life.  Money, beauty, power, achievement, and fame – we hold these things in esteem.  If only we had them, or just one of them, we would be blessed.  (Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, pl 140.)

Yes, these aspects of life are what we tend to name as “blessings.”   But, Jesus sees these as characteristics of the lost and proclaims woe to any of us who find ourselves looking at life in this way.  By proclaiming woe to this way of life, Jesus announces the evil and injustice in our way of living and thinking.  Jesus says the poor and the hungry are the ones who are blessed, for their fortunes are going to be reversed.  He says, “Are you weeping?  You are blessed because you will laugh.  Do people hate, exclude, and revile you on account of the Son of Man?  Jump for joy, for your reward is great in heaven; their grandparents hated and excluded the prophets too.”  Jesus is saying God is not impressed with what we consider blessings.  In fact, all that we consider “blessings” misrepresents his message.  Oh, yes, Jesus is again turning this world, our thinking and even our conventional assumptions about religion upside down.  Jesus blesses those who suffer, and he curses those whose wealth, comfort, and prestige are built upon this same suffering. 

Now, quite honestly, as we live in the cushioned environment of our so called “blessings,” many of us would probably say, “I am not poor, but I identify with the poor,” or “I work with the poor,” or maybe even “I send money to the poor, I care about the poor.”  We might even want to quibble about the definition of “poor,” or “hungry” or “weeping.”  Surely, we the faithful, are among the blessed.   So, if we are honest with ourselves, we need to ask, “If we are not the poor, the hungry, the weeping, or the excluded, what are we to hear from this so-called “good news?”  Pastor Laura Sugg, when asking this question, suggests:

Luke’s Jesus is fulfilling God’s compassion for the oppressed.  Jesus’ first words to people in Luke’s Gospel repeat the words from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (4:18a) Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus lives this out by talking with those on the margins, challenging the status quo, and convicting those who feel certain they are righteous.  (Feasting on the Word, p. 240.)

The kingdom of God that Jesus embodies is not some abstract theological term about a time and place the world has never known.  Jesus is calling us to be faithful agents of God’s reign right here and right now.  God’s kingdom, God’s reign, breaks through when we love our enemies.  It takes hold when we do good to those who hate us.  It comes alive when we bless those who curse us.  It shines brightly when we pray for those who abuse or mistreat us.  It shows up when we honor the request of the beggars.  When we live our lives by the principle of “do unto others as you would have them do to you,” and when we love all others as God calls us to love, we truly live out our citizenship in God’s kingdom and bear witness to God’s reign. 

I must say, living this kind of life is not easy.  In fact, it is very difficult.  It means we must become vulnerable and that is a condition most of us would rather avoid.  But, Jesus is always unsettling us and, as he tells us that the order of things in God’s rule is reversed, we discover that life with God means knowing what poverty and hunger and sorrow and being cursed look like.  It means knowing how it feels to be overlooked and discounted.  It means knowing what it is like to be hated.  And, it means allowing ourselves to become vulnerable, living in solidarity all others, and admitting our total dependence upon God.

Listen again to Diana Butler Bass’ words about this passage.  She writes:

When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor,” he overturned the politics of blessing.  He preached that blessings were more than happiness.  They were a social vision.  God gives gifts to everyone, but especially to the vulnerable and those at the bottom of society.  Gifts are not only for the few, but wildly distributed for all.  And the people at the bottom?  The losers?  God’s favor resides with them.  God has uniquely blessed them. 

What is the proper response to gifts?   Blessing is an invitation to give thanks…..a blessed community is a grateful community.  [When Jesus spoke to the people on that day, that gathering] started as a crowd, and the way opened for them to become a society formed by gratitude. (Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, pl 142.)

Jesus calls us to live into this social vision of a blessed community as he speaks to us today.  The world desperately needs such grateful, inclusive, open, blessed communities.   I pray God continually forms us and shapes us into this kind of community of grace and gratitude.

Last week, our gospel focused on call.  It specifically focused on Jesus’ call to Peter and the disciples.  Today, Jesus addresses the disciples, those who have chosen to follow him, those who have made a real commitment to follow him.  Today, as Jesus comes down from the mountain to the plain to speak, it is clear the writer of Luke’s gospel wants us to know that Jesus’ words today are spoken to the disciples, to the church, to those who follow him.  As Jesus looks out on the followers who stand before him, he sees the poor, the weak, the oppressed, the women, and the slaves, and he begins preaching a radical sermon proclaiming the promise of a new society.  This Great Sermon on the Plain is a call to a radical way of discipleship, a way of living in the world that turns the way of the world upside down, because what he is essentially saying is, “Blessed are all of you who are disregarded by the powerful, for you are God’s beloved community.”  In this sermon, as Jesus lays out his vision of a new community, he blesses history’s losers!   The blessings he proclaims were truly a protest against injustice!  No wonder it was radical.  And, no wonder it is still radical today!

Before we begin to look at what Jesus is saying, it is important that we understand what the word “blessing” means as used here in scripture.  The Greek word for “blessing” ascribed to Jesus in these Beatitudes is makarios.  This word means both “happy” and “favor.”  In the Christian scriptures, the word specifically means God’s favor, often called “grace” or “abundance.”  So, what Jesus is saying is “Favored are the poor.”  He is not saying “Be happy for poverty.”  Essentially, he is saying to the people, “God privileges the poor.  If you are poor, you are favored by God.  God’s gifts are with you.”  In the culture of that time, this was shocking, and I must say it is still shocking in our time because our social structure is not all that different from quid pro quo Roman culture and society.  In this Sermon on the Plain, Jesus turns things upside down and drives home the topsy-turvy news regarding the order of things in God’s kingdom. 

Jesus is speaking directly to the disciples and each one of us as he invites us into his holy venture to live out our faith. Jesus is not describing an ideological agenda or a political platform.  He does not provide us with an abstract or empty definition of discipleship or sainthood.  He is not listing for us qualifications describing some “how to” method to get into heaven.   Jesus is describing a vision of God’s reign which he totally and completely embodies.  What he is doing is calling all of us to become faithful and effective agents of God’s reign right here and right now.  And, quite frankly, for those of us who live in middle class to upper class America, his words to us are so very, very challenging.  The “rules of engagement” of Jesus’ reign stand in sharp contrast to the presumed rights of the prosperous as he talks about wealth, abundant food, the good stuff of life and all that we consider blessings.  Jesus’ words and vision are simply at odds with the way things are in our lives and in the world.  Jesus knows that we are possessed by our possessions and the so called “blessings” we feel we have and enjoy.  Quite frankly, most contemporary people have a very different idea of what makes a blessed life.  Theologian, Diana Butler Bass, when talking about this passage, says that most people think of blessings in this way:

Blessed are the rich, for they own the best stuff.  Blessed are the sexy and glamorous, for everyone desires them.  Blessed are the powerful, for they control the kingdoms of the earth.  Blessed are those who get everything they ever wanted; they alone will be satisfied.  Blessed are the famous, for their reward is eternal life.  Money, beauty, power, achievement, and fame – we hold these things in esteem.  If only we had them, or just one of them, we would be blessed.  (Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, pl 140.)

Yes, these aspects of life are what we tend to name as “blessings.”   But, Jesus sees these as characteristics of the lost and proclaims woe to any of us who find ourselves looking at life in this way.  By proclaiming woe to this way of life, Jesus announces the evil and injustice in our way of living and thinking.  Jesus says the poor and the hungry are the ones who are blessed, for their fortunes are going to be reversed.  He says, “Are you weeping?  You are blessed because you will laugh.  Do people hate, exclude, and revile you on account of the Son of Man?  Jump for joy, for your reward is great in heaven; their grandparents hated and excluded the prophets too.”  Jesus is saying God is not impressed with what we consider blessings.  In fact, all that we consider “blessings” misrepresents his message.  Oh, yes, Jesus is again turning this world, our thinking and even our conventional assumptions about religion upside down.  Jesus blesses those who suffer, and he curses those whose wealth, comfort, and prestige are built upon this same suffering. 

Now, quite honestly, as we live in the cushioned environment of our so called “blessings,” many of us would probably say, “I am not poor, but I identify with the poor,” or “I work with the poor,” or maybe even “I send money to the poor, I care about the poor.”  We might even want to quibble about the definition of “poor,” or “hungry” or “weeping.”  Surely, we the faithful, are among the blessed.   So, if we are honest with ourselves, we need to ask, “If we are not the poor, the hungry, the weeping, or the excluded, what are we to hear from this so-called “good news?”  Pastor Laura Sugg, when asking this question, suggests:

Luke’s Jesus is fulfilling God’s compassion for the oppressed.  Jesus’ first words to people in Luke’s Gospel repeat the words from Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.” (4:18a) Throughout Luke’s Gospel, Jesus lives this out by talking with those on the margins, challenging the status quo, and convicting those who feel certain they are righteous.  (Feasting on the Word, p. 240.)

The kingdom of God that Jesus embodies is not some abstract theological term about a time and place the world has never known.  Jesus is calling us to be faithful agents of God’s reign right here and right now.  God’s kingdom, God’s reign, breaks through when we love our enemies.  It takes hold when we do good to those who hate us.  It comes alive when we bless those who curse us.  It shines brightly when we pray for those who abuse or mistreat us.  It shows up when we honor the request of the beggars.  When we live our lives by the principle of “do unto others as you would have them do to you,” and when we love all others as God calls us to love, we truly live out our citizenship in God’s kingdom and bear witness to God’s reign. 

I must say, living this kind of life is not easy.  In fact, it is very difficult.  It means we must become vulnerable and that is a condition most of us would rather avoid.  But, Jesus is always unsettling us and, as he tells us that the order of things in God’s rule is reversed, we discover that life with God means knowing what poverty and hunger and sorrow and being cursed look like.  It means knowing how it feels to be overlooked and discounted.  It means knowing what it is like to be hated.  And, it means allowing ourselves to become vulnerable, living in solidarity all others, and admitting our total dependence upon God.

Listen again to Diana Butler Bass’ words about this passage.  She writes:

When Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor,” he overturned the politics of blessing.  He preached that blessings were more than happiness.  They were a social vision.  God gives gifts to everyone, but especially to the vulnerable and those at the bottom of society.  Gifts are not only for the few, but wildly distributed for all.  And the people at the bottom?  The losers?  God’s favor resides with them.  God has uniquely blessed them. 

What is the proper response to gifts?   Blessing is an invitation to give thanks…..a blessed community is a grateful community.  [When Jesus spoke to the people on that day, that gathering] started as a crowd, and the way opened for them to become a society formed by gratitude. (Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks, pl 142.)

Jesus calls us to live into this social vision of a blessed community as he speaks to us today.  The world desperately needs such grateful, inclusive, open, blessed communities.   I pray God continually forms us and shapes us into this kind of community of grace and gratitude.

This is a special music presentation of Deep Water by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir with a solo by Tammy Heilman. 

This is a special music presentation of Deep Water by the Faith Lutheran Church Chancel Choir with a solo by Tammy Heilman. 

We are living in a time when being the church is not easy.  Quite frankly, being the church is increasingly difficult and, across the board, we find more and more people leaving the church.  As faith communities, we are having to learn some new ways of being together.  We truly need to seek out and re-ground as people of faith because our lives are filled with countless distractions.  The church, along with multiple public institutions, is experiencing a massive shift within culture.  That shift affects participation on many levels and there are likely multiple reasons for this shift.  It is as though we are living at a pivot point in time.  We know some of the ways we have done things aren’t working as they used to, but we are not yet sure what the next thing will look like.  Certain events in our lives also create these shifts or pivot points in time.  These are moments that divide time, a point from which things will never be the same again.  And, quite frankly, such moments often create a sense of fear and moving forward often seems risky.  However, such times of change can beckon us to a deeper place in life, a place where we are called to live more faithfully, a place where we truly begin to get beyond ourselves, let go of our self-centeredness and live for others.

In our first reading today, we find the prophet Isaiah had one of these pivotal moments, a moment that defined the rest of his life.  He was in the temple and he experienced something so life changing it was as though he was born anew.  For Isaiah, that pivotal moment came when he had a vision in which he saw God in such grandeur and glory, that the hem of God’s garment filled the entire temple.  Just think about it.  Isaiah saw God as so transcendent, glorious and enormous that only the hem of God’s garment could be seen.  Imagine how much more could not be seen.  For Isaiah, that moment of experiencing God’s presence and grandeur, God’s regal brilliance and transcendence, was a moment of call, a decisive moment that defined the rest of his life. 

In that moment, Isaiah began to see that God is inexpressibly bigger than our human minds can even begin to imagine.  Witnessing the glory of God and feeling engulfed in the song of holiness praising God, Isaiah found himself feeling lost, unclean and unworthy.  As he confessed his inadequacy, his lips were touched with a burning coal.  And, in that moment God spoke, touched Isaiah’s lips with purifying fire, and the grace of God’s holiness and the healing power of God’s presence removed Isaiah’s guilt.  Isaiah was forever changed.  Having been healed, Isaiah hears God’s need for some help.  How startling!  God, the ominous, robe-clad, glorious one needs something!  Isaiah raises his hand and humbly utters the words, “Here am I, send me.”

This was a pivot point in Isaiah’s life, an experience after which nothing would ever again be the same.  This life changing, call experience is not only found in our first reading.  It is also seen in today’s gospel passage from Luke.  Peter and his colleagues are at the water’s edge, feeling discouraged as they clean their fishing nets.  Having worked all night long and having caught nothing, they are experiencing much fatigue.  In the depth of that dismal experience, Jesus enters the scene and Peter has an encounter that is pivotal and life-changing. 

Jesus has been teaching and healing across Judea and he now comes face to face with Peter and the other fishermen in their discouragement.  To better address the pressing throng of people that have gathered around him, Jesus improvises and commandeers Peter’s boat.  He tells Peter to row out into deep waters.  Jesus is no fisherman, but most people who have spent any time near fishing towns along the Sea of Galilee would know that you don’t catch anything worth catching when you play it safe in shallow waters.  So, Peter does as Jesus instructs and, to his great surprise, finds unexpected abundance.  Peter then feels his unworthiness, he falls to his knees at Jesus’ feet and says, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!”  Jesus proclaims a word of grace as he tells Peter, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 

And, in that grace-filled moment, suddenly and without warning, Peter found himself at the most critical crossroad of his life.  He could continue with what was comfortable and remain a fisherman, or he could risk it all on the promises of this compelling prophet.  He could remain in his own village and keep his same friends, or he could walk away from it all, leaving the comfortable bubble in which he had been living, and step into a new future.  He could stick with the predictable or he could move into the deep waters of the unknown.  Is it any wonder Luke tells us that Peter was afraid?  He was afraid of making the wrong decision. He could continue his routine and eek out a living or he could shoot the moon.  As we know, he chose to follow Jesus, and his life was never again the same.

I grew up imagining that when Jesus issued an invitation to the twelve disciples he intended to have as his inner circle, each one enthusiastically replied, “Yes, of course I will follow you!”  However, today I doubt it.  If Jesus led by persuasion and not force, if he challenged but did not coerce, I wonder how many other people were extended invitations but replied, “No thanks.  My life may not be perfect, but I’m not desperate for a change.  The promise of a richer life is enticing, but where’s the guarantee?  I’m afraid to let loose of the security and the predictability of my routine for something unfamiliar.  Granted, Jesus, you make it sound rewarding, but how can I be sure?”   I wonder how many people said, “Thanks, but no thanks.”   In fact, three of the gospels tell the story of a wealthy young ruler who was invited to become a follower of Jesus but turned around and walked away.  I wonder how many others declined the invitation.

Over the past twenty centuries, how many people have stood at that crossroad?   How many have taken the life-changing risk of turning to God, letting go of playing it safe in the shallow waters and instead follow Jesus to the places where he leads?   And, how many have instead chosen to just play it safe?   How many of us have really committed to following Christ, but at important junctures we have veered off course?  Following Jesus entails adopting his agenda, which to some people sounds threatening or even scary.  However, when we adopt Jesus’ agenda, it does not mean giving up fun for something boring; giving up excitement for dreariness or spontaneity for rigidity.  It means looking outward rather than inward; it means following his way rather than responding to selfish impulses.  It means going to the places where Jesus goes, living for others and not safely staying within the confines of a church building or the safety bubble in which you live!

I once saw a cartoon in the New Yorker that showed two attractive people sitting at a table in a coffee shop.   The man is saying to the woman, “I’ve tried a lot of strategies, and I’ve discovered that being completely self-serving is the strategy that works best for me.”  There is an “It’s all about me” way of thinking that permeates our society today.  Regrettably, it fails to see that self-centeredness cuts you off from others, limits your vision and restricts your possibilities.  Self-centeredness is blind to the rewards that ensue from making a sacrifice for another and really loving all others.  It does not understand the genuine well-being that emerges from being grateful to God for the blessings of life.   It never experiences the power of forgiveness and transformation.  It cannot fathom the satisfaction that is derived from making a commitment to something greater than yourself. 

We live in an age where most people shy away from commitments.  Yet, people long for a better marriage, hunger for stronger friendships, ache for a purpose in their lives and pray for a sense of harmony with God – all of which only derive from making commitments. Like Peter, are you afraid of the changes that might ensue if you fully commit to following Christ wherever he leads?  I challenge you to risk and move out more deeply into the grace-filled waters of a life of faith.  You will experience a life of deep meaning, life that really, truly matters, and life will never again be the same.