2017-01-29 Matthew 5:1-12 Not a Better You (with no apology to J. Osteen)
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
--
Not A Better You.
I wrote a sermon about the Sermon on the Mount. And it was awful. My sermon. Not Jesus's. Jesus's sermon is pretty good on its own. It's short. It's from JESUS. And you can always take what Jesus says as gospel. I woke up today and read over that sermon and thought, "I like these people. I'm can't do this to them." So I deleted that dog faster than a Clinton email. Or a Park Ranger's tweet. And then I just went, "bleah" as fast as I could get it onto the page. Because "bleah" is better than "blech." So, in a way, this is a sermon about my sermon on Jesus's sermon. You get credit for 3 today. (Bless your hearts.) See you in March.
I think that sermon stunk because I was trying to sound smart. Smarter than I am. Maybe even smarter than the Lord. And - suddenly - it hit me. The Beatitudes from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount are about NOT being better than you are. The Beatitudes from Jesus's Sermon on the Mount are not about being smarter than you are, or more spiritual than you are, or stronger, better, faster than you are. They're not about the new, improved you. They're about Jesus saying, "Blessed are you," when you aren't smart, when you aren't spiritual, when you aren't stronger, or better, or faster than anybody.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek, the hungry and thirsty for justice. Blessed are the people who don't have much. Blessed are the people who aren't worth much. And blessed are you when you realize none of us have much more than the blessing of Jesus Christ.
--
Being better than we are.
Did you make a New Year's resolution? You know, health clubs love that. January is busy season in the sign-the-contract room. It's busier in the workout room, too – for about a month. You know what other room gets busier? The Emergency Room. One report says,
"50,000 people are treated in the ER each year after falling off exercise balls, getting snapped in the face by resistance bands, dropping heavy weights on their toes, tripping over jump ropes or flying off treadmills. Especially flying off treadmills."
If you're going to improve on yourself, you have to know yourself, and not imagine yourself stronger, better, faster than you really are.
That's why I loved going to Court South with Charlie Arnhart. We'd pump iron and then go directly next door to Hardees. Cool down with a heaping plate of biscuits and gravy. We didn't try to be more than we were. We celebrated our limitations.
Nobody resolves to be LESS than they already are. Sometimes people do resolve to STAY exactly as they are. They don't go changin' to try and please anybody – they love themselves just the way they are. "That's just how I am." "I'm just like that." "Sorry if I hurt your feelings, that's just my way." There's only been one person who could legitimately resolve to stay exactly the same, and his name was Jesus. There's a difference between resolving to become better and thinking you're better than you really are. And both are very, very different from thinking you're better than those poor souls without your blessings. Those without your blessings of health, or wealth, or intellect, or looks. What is it we say about them? "Bless their hearts." It's such a lie.
--
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
How do you make yourself better?
You can buy a book. You can go to school. These days, you can learn just about anything from YouTube videos. How to fix your car, how to wrap an odd-shaped present. Search on YouTube, and chances are good there's somebody sharing expert knowledge for free. Just last week, I fixed our washer by watching YouTube videos. I'm so proud of myself. A good-ol' boy who goes by Weezie63 taught me. He has his own theme song. "His neck might be red, but listen to what he said, Weeeeeezie63." I saw where there was a woman who built her own house, learned to do the whole thing just by watching YouTube videos.
I clench my jaw – just a little - when I hear people say, "I want to go to church to learn how to be a better person." I know what they mean. And we all could stand to be better people – stronger, faster – thinner, smarter, kinder. But if that's your goal you might be better off with Weezie63 and a health club membership.
When we read the Bible as a self-help book, I think we're getting it backward. It's like we're looking at the lessons of Jesus and thinking, "I'd like to inherit the earth. Guess I better start being meek." "I want comforting. I should mourn more."
How do you make yourself better? Jesus's question is, How do you make yourself blessed? And the answer is: You don't.
Jesus is not a self-help guru and the Bible is not an instruction manual. The Bible is a book of blessings. Blessings from God. Blessings for people who don't deserve to be blessed. In large part it's the Beatitudes in expanded form. The Bible doesn't teach us how to be better; the Bible teaches us that we are blessed. Not blessed because we're better than anybody. Blessed because we're not. We're not one bit better than atheists or Muslims or those lazy, commitment-phobic backsliders who can't bother to get out of bed on a Sunday morning. Blessed are we when we get it, when we get it, that the poor, the hungry, the people hungering and thirsting for justice and righteousness, that they are every bit as blessed as we are. The mourning, the poor in spirit, the people who want to make peace in this angry, hateful world – they're every bit as blessed as we are. Because God says so. And the minute we start thinking we're better than they are, or pretend to be better than we sinners really are, we lose sight of that precious, precious blessing from God, preached by the words of Jesus, and learned from "the least of these."
It's not about learning how to be better. It's about learning that you're blessed. It's about sharing this very good news with people who can't believe there's any blessing said over their lives or upon their hearts. God bless their hearts. Truly. Bless your own heart, honestly, by accepting the blessing of Jesus Christ. It needs no improvement. The words stand. Jesus's sermon stands quite well on its own.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
God doesn't care if you're better. God calls you to receive his blessing. God calls us all to go out and to be God's blessing to the world that so badly needs the good news from the sermon of Jesus Christ. His words stand on their own. And we can stand because of them.
