Rev. George Miller
Jan 27, 2019
Matthew 5:1-20
There are things about homeownership that people do not tell you:
-There’s going to be a lot of cleaning of things you never thought would need cleaning.
-There’s going to eventually be hurt because you cannot truly live in a place without there being some kind of heartbreak.
First, let us address the cleaning. Who knew that places like the bathroom could get so dirty?
For example, the shower. That’s the place you go to get clean. With all that soap, shampoo and hot water, how exactly does a shower get so dirty?
And the mirror? It’s hanging up there on a wall; where does all that smudge come from?
Well, that smudge is most likely water stains, hair spray, finger prints, gel, toothpaste, mouthwash.
So you learn that you got to clean your mirror on a regular basis. You take out the Windex and the paper towels, you spray, you wipe, and then you notice that something…magical happens.
You can see.
Like, you can truly see things as they really are. With all the smudge gone, you notice how the room seems brighter. The mirror is better able to capture and reflect the light, allowing it to shine as brightly as it really is.
With the mirror cleared of all the smudge that’s accumulated you can also see how you really look, and who you truly are; beautiful, blessed, and unblemished…
…That is one way we can view the Beatitudes today- that they can serve as a mirror held up by Jesus to show us who we truly and honestly are...
Here we have Jesus amongst the people.
Just a few months ago we had John the Baptist proclaim that we were about to meet someone who was going to thresh the floor, gather the wheat, and burn the chaff while holding a winnowing fork in his hand.
But we have yet to experience Jesus do this, as he goes about building a ministry team, teaching in the synagogue, proclaiming the good news and curing the sick.
In today’s reading, we witness Jesus doing something new. He goes outside the synagogue and goes beyond the walls of the building.
Jesus journeys up a mountain, sits down, and begins to speak.
The disciples are there, but so are the crowds. A diverse crowd no doubt.
There were sure to be Jews and Gentiles present. There was sure to be a tax collector or two, a prostitute, foreigners and native born, those who made money working the land, those who sold their wares, those who sailed the sea.
But dig deeper and think of who else would’ve been there:
There would have been those who worshipped other idols; those who would’ve taken the Lord’s name in vain.
No doubt there would have been those who worked on the Sabbath, and those who did not honor their Mom and Dad.
Present amongst that crowd there would have been people who committed adultery or stolen a thing or two.
There would have been people who told lies about their neighbors or coveted what others had.
Is that the moment Jesus takes out the winnowing fork and wreaks havoc? Is that the time Jesus swings an ax and cuts down the bad trees?
Is this the moment in which unquenchable fire comes down to consume them all?
No.
It is the moment in which Jesus opens up his mouth, looks out upon this smudged, soiled, imperfect group of people and says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Instead of fire and fury, Jesus speaks words of light and of life.
It is like Jesus himself is taking a newly cleaned mirror, lifting it up, and holding it out to the crowd and saying “Look. Look at who you truly are- blessed. Citizens of God.”
If we take today’s reading further, and apply it to today’s time, we enlarge the crowd with other folk.
Those in the Keys who lost their homes to Irma. Those who lost their entire city in Michael.
The government employees who have lost an entire month of pay and have no idea when life will return to normal.
They are in the crowd too, as Jesus says “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Through the bending of time and space and accepting how Jesus is speaking to all, we place within the crowd those who are currently struggling.
All of us who are dealing with the reality of aging and the knowledge that we each reach a point in which there is no going back to how things were.
Those who are faced with a dear friend who is dying, or a spouse who is sick, or a beloved pet that is no longer well…
A community that has been ravaged by the violent, senseless death of five of our own; women who were brutally robbed of their lives, their breath, and their future.
Husbands, children, best friends, coworkers, nieces, nephews, customers, neighbors, who have had the one they care about shot down in cold blood and hot evil.
Imagine all of them, all of us, all of Highlands County, in that crowd too, upon the mountain, and Jesus, sitting on the green, green grass before us,
looking out upon us, seeing the smudges, the hurt, the pain, the tears, the numbness, the fears, the rage, the spit…
And Jesus saying “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted…”
…Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are the poor in spirit...
You know, there are days and times in which it is really hard to see who you truly are and who you were truly designed to be.
There are times in which our physicality gets the best of us.
There are times in which our finances cause us to fear.
There are moments that muddy us, situations that scare, and events that are just so evil they smudge and stain our spirits,
leave marks and imprints that dim our shine,
that hurt so bad we truly cannot see, hear, or think properly.
So we forget. Our vision is blurred. Our present moment is smeared. Our light is dimmed and the room is dark.
Then Jesus, somehow, someway, looks, looks upon us and calls us “blessed.”
And for a moment we are reminded. For a moment we are cleaned. For a moment we are restored.
For a moment we are reminded, that the God we worship, the God we believe in, is a God who remembers, a God who gives dreams,
a God who gets prophets to speak, and queens to save.
And that is the same God who told Joseph not to fear, told Mary that nothing will be impossible,
and who, in the person of Jesus, chose to walk this earth with us, alongside us, experiencing all our same joys, all our same pains, all of our celebrations and all of our injustices.
In a time like this, in the moment that we live, in the community in which we ALL serve, in which there is hurt, in which there is heartbreak,
Jesus looks out at each and every one of us, and reminds us of who we truly are and what we are truly created to be.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.”
Friends and family, community members, visitors and grieving citizens, we have experienced a historical event that has certainly stained and blemished the mirror in which we see.
Our communal loss is so great; our fear, worries and mourning, are so real.
And we have a long, long way to go before there can be any true healing or recovery from the events that have taken place at SunTrust.
We cannot hide from it, we cannot deny it, but we can begin by being reminded with Jesus upon the mountain, that we are blessed.
Though we may be poor in spirit, we are still blessed children of God.
Though we hunger for justice, we are still blessed.
Though we mourn…we are blessed.
We may not feel it; we many not believe it. But as God’s children, it is true.
And that knowledge, that assurance from Jesus Christ is more powerful, more elevating, and more illuminating than we could ever know.
For that, we can say “Amen.”
A UCC Pastor's walk through the spiritual waters of Scripture, pop culture and life.
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