Fourth  Sunday after the Epiphany

February 3, 2002

The Rev. Dr. David M. Wendel

Saint Luke’s, Colo. Spgs.

Lessons:  Micah 6:1-8;  I Corinthians 1:18-31;  Matthew 5:1-12

     In college, I once took a class titled, “Ancient History of Israel”, taught by a devout rabbi.  The first day of class, he said, the history of ancient Israel can be summed up in one phrase:  “How odd of God to choose the Jews!”  In light of our lessons for today, I think we Christians might appropriate that motto, saying, “How odd of God to choose—YOU—and me!”

     The fact is, that pretty much sums up the theme of our lessons.  Oh, each one says something a little different, but when you put them together, what you come up with is, “how odd, really, that God would choose, us”!  Our chief lesson for this morning is, of course, the beginning of the sermon on the mount, where Jesus teaches us the beatitudes.  And what do they suggest, but how odd are God’s choices?  You might expect that the beatitudes would begin, “Blessed are those who are strong in spirit;  blessed are those who never shed a tear;  blessed are those who are powerful, blessed are those who are full and satisfied;  blessed are those who never let anyone walk all over them;  blessed are those who don’t put up with anyone’s bull”.  Living in the world, as we do, those are the characteristics, or traits that are usually associated with “blessings”, or “success”, or “doing well in life”.   We grow up, learning that you will do well, if you pull yourself up by your own bootstraps, don’t let anyone take advantage of you, be assertive, aggressive, and strong.  How odd, then, that Jesus says, the opposite!  How odd, then, that Jesus says, blessings will come to those who are:  poor in spirit, those who mourn and grieve, those who are meek, those who hunger and thirst, for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righeousness’ sake!  Isn’t it odd, that Jesus suggests, that in the kingdom of God, those who are chosen, blessed, happy, are the very opposite, of those the kingdom of this world, points to as happy and blessed?  There’s a certain, oddity, about Jesus’ teachings…and what’s odd about it, is that it is the reverse, of what we learn in the world—in what we call the school of hard knocks.  It’s no wonder so many in our world, want nothing to do with Jesus.  Why, how can you make a bundle of money working as an executive at Enron, if you believe the words of Jesus?  And some might say it’s hard to make a bundle of money working anywhere—if you believe, and try to follow the teachings of Jesus.  Why?  Because everything Jesus teaches, is against the world’s ways of being successful.  Contrary to the notion of doing whatever you have to-to get ahead, Jesus teaches us to be servants of others, and to be kind and considerate, and honest and trustworthy.  Contrary to the notion of stepping on others to get to the top, Jesus teaches that it’s okay to be at the bottom, if at the bottom, you can be pure in heart, righteous, and Christ-like, in all your dealings.  Contrary to the notion of success being measured in terms of dollars, and investments, and property, Jesus teaches that success, is really measured in faithfulness, and obedience, and sacrifice.  How odd, that Jesus would teach such things—and how perfectly natural, that some people reject Jesus’ teachings, and mock Jesus, and persecute His followers, who try to live as Jesus teaches.  And yet, this is what Saint Paul calls, the foolishness of God, and the foolishness of our proclamation.

     Our second lesson does a good job of explaining the topsy-turvyiness of Jesus’ teachings, when Paul reminds us that to those who live in the kingdom of this world, everything that God is about, appears crazy, upside-down, yes, foolish!  Because to those who are not following Jesus, the teachings of Jesus seem to go against everything they’ve learned in life, and everything they’ve believed about how to get along in life.  Which is true.  God’s plan, in Jesus, IS counter-cultural, and dangerous, because it strikes at the root of how human nature suggests we should live—for ourselves, for our own sake, without concern for others.  And it appears as foolishness, because it suggests that there’s another way.  The way that we talked about last Sunday—and the way that we talk about, most every Sunday here at Saint Luke’s—the way of the cross.  Because far from teaching his followers to live according to the ways of the world—Jesus teaches us to take up our cross, and follow Him—here it is again—in sacrifice and service.  Jesus teaches us that true happiness, abundant blessing from God, comes, not from serving ourselves, and not from striving to be successful at the expense of others—but from giving ourselves away—from living as servants and ministers of others.  Not doormats, mind you—but servants and ministers.  That’s what Jesus teaches…and…he doesn’t just teach it—he models it.  He leads us in the way of the cross, by Himself, taking up His cross, and giving His life there, for the sake of the world.  And that, Saint Paul says, is where true wisdom is found.  That is where true strength is found.  That is where you can find true happiness—not in the world’s ways of striving for success and wealth and power, but in God’s ways—in following Jesus in the way of the cross.  Because, it is as Paul says—that Jesus has become the source of our true life, because He gave His life, on the cross, for us.  And in His death, He became life.  In His sacrifice, He gained eternal life.  In His apparent weakness, He became our strength, for all life, and for all living.  In God’s foolishness, Jesus brings about wisdom.  So that, in choosing  us, Jesus can work, even through such apparent, fools as us, to bring about God’s plan and purpose.  So that, it’s not so odd, after all, that God would choose us, because it is God’s way, to turn the weak, the common, the ordinary, the meek, the pure, the merciful, into His instruments, for blessing and happiness, and not success, but salvation, and life.  And the wonderful wisdom of God, is,  that He can use people like us.  Just as He used the death of His only begotten Son, to bring about righteousness and sanctification and redemption.  Which is why Jesus can say, at the end of the beatitudes, “Rejoice—rejoice and be glad—for your reward is great in heaven.”  Rejoice and be glad, because God has chosen you, and me, to follow in the way of the cross.  Rejoice and be glad, indeed, because we are followers of Jesus.  Amen