The Beatitudes - Sermon given January 29th, 2017

Matthew 5:1-12  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Beatitudes
5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
a) Matthew 5:1 Gk he
b) Matthew 5:11 Other ancient authorities lack falsely

Manuscript of Sermon given 1/29/2017, The Beatitudes:

This week the Lectionary points our Gospel reading to Matthew's Gospel, specifically, and as you just heard me read out-loud, that part of the Sermon on the Mount called the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes get their name from the Latin word for Blessings, no terribly big surprise there I am certain.

We normally think of a “blessing” as receiving something favorable, good, enjoyable or enriching, it's not always something comfortable or desired as enrichment or enlightenment can come at a painful cost.  I have even heard individuals with disabilities describe their infirmity as a 'blessing'.  We can't always know in advance what outcome may come from any situation.

The beatitudes are often though of as being statements, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Though in fact they are not statements, they are exclamations. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY WILL RECEIVE MERCY!!

Blessed, the word translated here as “blessed” is the Greek word "MAKARIOS".  In Greek mythology the Makarios referred to the gods, the blessed ones were the gods.  It is generally translated from Greek in the New Testament as fortunate, or happy, it is sometimes also referred to as meaning honored or sacred.  Truly the Greek gods were fortunate, though when reading Greek mythology one can wonder how happy they were at times, they were certainly honored with temples and worshipers and they were of course considered sacred.  When we say something is sacred, we are saying that it is set apart and regarded with reverence, generally it is associated with God.

Let's look again at the Beatitudes with a bit of a twist this time:

3 “Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Fortunate are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Honored are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Sacred are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Happy are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Fortunate are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Honored are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Sacred are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Happy are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Did that start to change things a bit for how you look at these verses?   Did you see anything differently, or perhaps a tiny bit more clearly?

Let's look at Makarios just a little bit more, it comes from the root word Makar which means happy and it is found 50 times in the writing of the New Testament.  It is found 13 times in Matthew, 14 times in Luke, 2 times in the Gospel of John and not at all in Mark's Gospel.  The rest of the usages are scattered sparsely through Acts, Paul's letters, the general epistles and then finally 7 times in the Book of Revelation.

But translating Makarios as happy, or even fortunate, or honored... just does not do it the proper justice.  The idea embodied within this word is satisfaction from experiencing the fullness of something. You are "blessed... the state of one who has become a partaker of God; to experience the fullness of God." 

Let's read through the Beatitudes one more time with even a bit more of a twist...

3 “Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
4 “Fortunate are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
5 “Honored are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
6 “Sacred are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
7 “Happy are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
8 “Fortunate are the pure in heart, for they will see God. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
9 “Honored are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
10 “Sacred are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
11 “Happy are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. For you shall experience the fullness of God. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

To be blessed does not mean that you'll receive riches, or status, or even that you'll never be ill or injured.  To be blessed is to be happy that you are fortunate enough to be honored by God as being sacred... and therefore you have partaken in His glory and experienced the fullness of God.

Each of you are precious to our all loving, all caring and all gracious God.  All of us gathered here today are truly blessed, for we are children of God and recipients of His love, grace and renewal....

And all of God's people said.........

AMEN!!! 

Becoming a Disciple - Part 2: Sermon given Jan 22nd, 2017

 This last Sunday I continued to examine the stories of the calling of the first Disciples.  This time I looked more closely at the whole "fishers of men" idea.  One of the points that I made in the sermon (video embedded below) was that in the Gospel of Luke we read the words "catching people", we tend to conflate the Gospels when we read them and we therefore recall here the "fishers of men" line in Matthew and Mark.  The whole metaphor of fishing for people is honestly a bit curious as the end result for the fish in the sport or enterprise of fishing isn't too profitable for the fish... generally, it does not end well for the fish.

But in Luke the Greek word translated as "catch" is "zogreo" which is used only twice in the New Testament and really means to capture alive.  It is a word used in the discussion of warfare, where it of course has to do with capturing one's foe alive rather than killing them in battle.  The Disciples are called to no longer take lives, but to now deliver life.  They no longer take what is living and kill it, they now take what is dead (spiritually) and bring it to life.  It's another aspect of reversal, a concept that these verses are so richly imbued with.

The other thing about the fishing in the Gospels is that it is of course net fishing and not the line fishing that we Americans are more familiar with on a personal level.  Net fishing is indiscriminate and if a species is in the body of water being fished it is very likely to be caught in the nets.  This I looked to as a message related to our duty to not judge who or whom we are to bring the message of Christ to.  Just like the story of the Sower, we are to spread the love of Christ indiscriminately and without any consideration as to the fertility or the futility of the ground upon which we sow the word.

This may be the most difficult task we are asked to perform as followers of Christ.  Let us constantly cast our nets for God and allow Him to decide which fish to keep and where to harvest.

Be a blessing to someone today.

In His Grace,
Roy

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Luke 5:1-11 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Jesus Calls the First Disciples
1 Once while Jesus[a] was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

Called to be a Disciple, sermon given on January 15th, 2017

The sermon this week focused on the calling of the Disciples and reflected on the three different stories relayed to us by the four Gospels concerning the recruitment of the first Disciples.  Now of course since we have three distinctively different ways of telling this event not all are historically true.  The sermon points out potential reasons why the different Gospel writers may have decided to retell these stories in varying lights.

This sermon will be expanded upon in next weeks sermon where the concept of "fisherman" as a metaphor will be the focus of the sermon.

I pray this quick blog post finds all well and blessed.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Glory,
Roy

Mark 1:16-20 NRSV

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.” 18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him. 19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets. 20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.

Matthew 4:18-22 NRSV

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

Luke 5:1-11 NRSV

Jesus Calls the First Disciples

1 Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. 4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. 8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him.

John 1:35-51 NRSV

The First Disciples of Jesus

35 The next day John again was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and as he watched Jesus walk by, he exclaimed, “Look, here is the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 When Jesus turned and saw them following, he said to them, “What are you looking for?” They said to him, “Rabbi” (which translated means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and see.” They came and saw where he was staying, and they remained with him that day. It was about four o’clock in the afternoon. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed him was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which is translated Anointed). 42 He brought Simon to Jesus, who looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You are to be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter).

43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?” Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.” 49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.”

The Wedding at Cana, Sermon given Jan 8, 2017

This past Sunday I decided to deviate from the Lectionary and preached over the beginning of the second chapter of John, the Wedding at Cana.  This bit of scripture is well known to most of us as the first miracle by Jesus in the Gospel of John.  Much is made about this being Jesus' first miracle and also much is made about the quantity of the wine that was created and it's focus upon the abundance.  I chose to look at the scripture from a somewhat different direction (directions actually).  One of the wonderful things about scripture is that much like a faceted gem one can look at it from so very many different angles and observe so much more beauty... sometimes a new beauty upon each viewing.

The sermon isn't terribly long so please take a listen.

John 2:1-12 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

The Wedding at Cana

1 On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. 2 Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me? My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. 7 Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. 8 He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.” So they took it. 9 When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom 10 and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk. But you have kept the good wine until now.” 11 Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they remained there a few days.

At the beginning of the sermon I do mention my friend Kelly Wills.  Kelly passed away yesterday after a series of progressively more serious health incidents.  A few months ago Kelly had a serious stroke which left him unable to swallow and unable to walk.  After fighting back and getting well enough to come home for Christmas he came down with pneumonia after the first and was hospitalized.  Finally, while at the hospital he went into cardiac arrest and was only resuscitated with great difficulty, this left him in a coma and on a ventilator.  Yesterday he passed from this world and into our Lord's Kingdom.  I ask for prayers for Kelly's wife Patti and all of Kelly's family and friends.

I confess that Kelly's death has hit me particularly hard.  Kelly was a friend of mine from my Jaycee days, he was the local president of the Millard Jaycees when I was a District Director and his chapter was a part of my District.  Kelly was a very important part of our District becoming the number one District in Nebraska and the number two District in the USA.  He went on to be the US Jaycee President a few years later and was always an inspiration to everyone he met.

Beyond our Jaycee involvement though Kelly was a great friend and a great confidant to me during a very difficult time in my life.  His generosity, kindness, and concern will always mean the world to me.  The knowledge that he was almost to the day one year younger than I am... is also a very sobering fact.  He has passed far too early and far too young... God bless you, Kelly!

It's been a difficult year thus far with the loss of Kelly, the suicide of the son of an old friend, learning of another old friend with a diagnosis of advanced cancer, a relative of mine losing his business, and several other incidents that I'm not at liberty to discuss.  At barely a week and a half in, 2017 has already become packed with heartache and tragedy.

Hug your loved ones, call your friends and family... not one of us is promised tomorrow.

Thank you for taking a swing through this small and quiet corner of the internet.

Be a blessing to someone today!

In His Grace & Love,

Roy

A New Year, A New You - Sermon from Jan 1st, 2017

Here is a link to the sermon given this past Sunday.  The sermon compared making and sticking to a New Year's Resolution with deciding to and sticking to following Christ.

May this new year be a tremendous blessing to you all!

Be a blessing to someone today!

In Christ,
Roy