The Gospel according to John, the 6th Chapter from The Message Bible:. Coming down off the mountain with them, Jesus stood on a plain surrounded by disciples, and was soon joined by a huge congregation from all over Judea and Jerusalem, even from the seaside towns of Tyre and Sidon. They had come both to hear him and to be cured of their ailments. Those disturbed by evil spirits were healed. Everyone was trying to touch him—so much energy surging from him, so many people healed! Then Jesus spoke:
You’re blessed when you’ve lost it all.
God’s kingdom is there for the finding.
You’re blessed when you’re ravenously hungry.
Then you’re ready for the Messianic meal.
You’re blessed when the tears flow freely.
Joy comes with the morning.
“Count yourself blessed every time someone cuts you down or throws you out, every time someone smears or blackens your name to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and that that person is uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—skip like a lamb, if you like!—for even though they don’t like it, I do . . . and all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company; my preachers and witnesses have always been treated like this.
But it’s trouble ahead if you think you have it made.
What you have is all you’ll ever get.
And it’s trouble ahead if you’re satisfied with yourself.
Your self will not satisfy you for long.
And it’s trouble ahead if you think life’s all fun and games.
There’s suffering to be met, and you’re going to meet it.
“There’s trouble ahead when you live only for the approval of others, saying what flatters them, doing what indulges them. Popularity contests are not truth contests—look how many scoundrel preachers were approved by your ancestors! Your task is to be true, not popular.
“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer for that person. If someone slaps you in the face, stand there and take it. If someone grabs your shirt, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. If someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously. “Here is a simple rule of thumb for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you; then grab the initiative and do it for them!”
Blessings
Blessings. I often think of blessings as good things. But in today’s Gospel, Jesus has a rather different idea about how we are blessed and how we should respond. Jesus says we should count ourselves blessed if someone smears our name because we are Christian – and our response should not be indignation or outrage but we should “Skip like a lamb?” And heaven applauds? This is a blessing?
I should note that there are two Biblical accounts of what are sometimes called the “Beatitudes” or blessings. The most familiar is the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus is on the mountaintop and proclaims spiritual blessings to those who are hurting, hungry, poor and in mourning.
Luke tells the story differently. Jesus comes down off the mountain and stands on a level place, in the midst of people. These people, ordinary people, came to be healed, to hear a new word, to be made whole. To them and to us, Jesus says:
“You are blessed when you’ve lost it all…. when you are hungry… when you are in mourning and can’t stop the tears.” This is blessing?
Jesus says this is blessing because these are the times in which you are most likely to be vulnerable and most willing to open yourself up to the way of Christ, and to the kingdom of heaven. It’s when we are vulnerable, that is - when we are not thinking that we’ve got it all made, or that we can do this on our own and we don’t need anyone else -- it’s when we are vulnerable, in those times that we have been stopped in our tracks, when we realize that we can’t do it on our own… it is at these times that our hearts are broken open to hear God’s voice and not our own.
And on the flip side, Jesus warns: there will be “trouble ahead” for those who are so well off that they think they’ve got it made and they don’t need Jesus – or anyone else. At these times – it’s easy to not listen to God’s voice, trusting instead in our own council. It’s not that God sends trouble… Jesus is simply describing the way of the world.
The “blessings” that Jesus cites don’t affect people equally - those who are paycheck to paycheck are more likely to face hunger than others and yet…no one is immune. If the stock market crashes or a business fails or illness strikes … people who thought themselves “safe” are suddenly faced with challenges that they never imagined could happen to them.
But grief - mourning the death of those we love – is something we all experience or will experience regardless of our economic status, our heritage, or our world view. We all mourn. Grief comes to everyone who has loved someone who has died and to all who have lost dreams, hopes and opportunities.
Today, All Saints, we pause to remember those who have gone before – those people who are now saints in heaven. We call them “Saints” but not because they were perfect. They weren’t. They were imperfect people while they lived among us. In some traditions, there are rules of who can become a Saint. But in our Lutheran understanding, all the baptized people are both saints – claimed by Christ – and sinners, people who fall short of being the people God made us to be. Some of those who are now Saints were teachers and mentors who inspire us. Others, unfortunately, left some scars and unfinished business. Yet, we call them all saints because they have been made Saints by Jesus and, at their dying, Jesus has taken them, in their frailty, in all their brokenness, and made them whole.
A month or so a woman I’ll call Sarah called and asked if she could come by to talk about the death of her husband. At first, I assumed that she wanted to plan a funeral. But no, she wanted release from the pain of unfinished business. Her husband had been abused as a child and that hurt was coming out sideways and he wouldn’t seek help. Instead, he retreated to their cabin and wouldn’t come home when she called. Frustrated, her last words to him before hanging up on him were, “I hate you. I never want to see you again.” And now… she wishes her words would have been, “I love you.”
Sarah mourned not only her last words and the death of her husband but also the loss of her dreams of their life together. Her tears wouldn’t stop until I wrapped her in a prayer shawl and, in Jesus’ name, proclaimed forgiveness, release and wholeness for both her and her husband. Jesus proclaimed to her that day: “Joy comes in the morning.” It wasn’t necessarily going to be the next day… but the promise of Jesus was there for Sarah – and is there for you. Christ’s light shines and breaks open the deepest darkness. As followers of Christ, we can proclaim hope in the midst of despair. Hear Jesus’ promise: Joy comes in the morning.
Joy comes in the morning. Grief comes in different ways, often surprising ways. But so do blessings. As many of you know, my mother Marilyn died this past year. I lit a candle for her today. Her death wasn’t a surprise. She had had cancer for over five years. And while you are never ready to lose a loved one, my mother taught me a lot about how to live and how to die.
Marilyn’s goal was to use herself up. And at the end, she had done that – her body was nothing more than a wisp. When the time for hospice came, we prayed. We sang. We read a line from her favorite devotion: “Every morning lean thy arm awhile upon the windowsill of heaven, and gaze upon thy God.” This became our inspiration for each day. When we released her to God’s love and care, we gave thanks to God for her, and all that was left, was joy. “Joy comes in the morning.”
The way of Jesus is not easy and it’s not the way of the world. The way of Jesus is counter-cultural. Jesus calls us to love our enemies, pray for those we do not like, and open ourselves up so that we can become our best selves. Jesus calls us to be generous – both in spirit and in the way we live our lives. It is not easy. But I do think we can start living generously, in Jesus’ way, in small everyday ways. And then… we have the rest of our lives to practice.
And the good news is that we aren’t on our own. Regardless of what comes our way….Jesus is with us. This is why we can dare to open ourselves up and embrace the life we live in Christ. Because whether we face sickness or heartbreak, if relationships or jobs fail or disappoint us, and even if we feel that we are at the end of our rope, God is with us. And so are our brothers and sisters in Christ. For the way of Jesus means opening ourselves up and both receiving the love of Christ from our neighbor and receiving the love of Christ from our neighbor. We are called to use ourselves up until nothing is left but the love of Jesus and we discover that – despite all the odds - Joy comes in the morning. That’s a blessing. That’s the kingdom of God. Thanks be to God. Amen.
Pastor Pam Stalheim Lane
Faith-Lilac Way Lutheran Church
All Saints Sunday, November 3, 2019