The promise of God
Image: JESUS MAFA. The Sermon on the Mount, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=48284 [retrieved February 2, 2023].
Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A (January 29, 2023).
View the scripture readings and the Collect of the Day: Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany
Preached at St. James’ Episcopal Church in Hyde Park, NY. A video of our whole 9 am service for the Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany (Jan 29th) is available here.
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“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. (Matthew 5:1-11)
Edited Transcript
May only truth be spoken here and only truth be heard. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Please be seated.
Good morning. It's good to see all of you. Before I speak a little bit about the beatitudes, I just want to say that it is good to see all of you.
Yesterday I was explaining to Max that today was our annual meeting and he said, why? And I said, because we need to get together once a year to make important decisions. And he said, why? And I said, because that's part of how our church is governed. Everybody has a voice in the decisions we make together. And he said, why? And I said, because in our church we believe that everybody matters and everybody's voice matters. And he said, why? And I said, because we believe that we're all made in the image of God. And so that God's presence may be known and God's word may be spoken through any of us. And that is why we gather at least once a year for a meeting of the parish. And that is why we make our decisions together. So I want to thank you for being part of that today.
Now the beatitudes. This is one of those texts for us that is so familiar, that we start to think we know what it means. And so it's helpful to pause and dig a little deeper. One translator of the beatitudes, instead of saying, "blessed are you..." says, "Wonderful news for!" "Wonderful news for the hungry. Wonderful news for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for you will be filled... Wonderful news for the peacemakers... Wonderful news for those of you who mourn because you will be comforted... This translation allows us to hear, I think the beatitudes in a slightly different way, where we realize that each of these blessings has a part for us and a promise from God.
Our part, it would seem, as Jesus lays this out, is to acknowledge what we need or acknowledge what we long for and do not have. And it's in that acknowledgement of what we're longing for and do not have, that we become aware of the promise, which is really the essential part of the beatitudes. You will be comforted. You wll inherit the earth. Your thirst for righteousness and justice will be filled by the activity of God.
And even though at the end of Matthew's rendition of what Jesus said, he says, You will receive your fulfillment in the kingdom of heaven... Lest we think that that only means "far off" or after we die, remember that constantly in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus is reminding us that the kingdom of God is coming near to you. Is already near. So that fulfillment of our longing for righteousness, that comfort for those who grieve, is not just for after life, but is also coming near to us in this life.
And that's good news. If we're mourning now, if we're hungering for justice now, if we're longing for the consolation of experiencing God's presence now... If you long for God... if you listen to the news and you thirst for justice, or you hunger for God's mercy when people seem to be so unmerciful to one another... You will have your thirst slaked and your hunger filled. That's the promise that Jesus is laying out for us. And if we allow ourself to experience the longing, we make way for the promise of God.
Now because it's Annual Meeting day, I also want to talk about the fact that the Church—we the Church—are an agent of the fulfillment of God's promise. When we the Church are hungry and thirsty for righteousness, when we the Church mourn, when we the Church long for the reality of God, it galvanizes us to be the hands and feet of God, to be the presence of God. And to be part of bringing the fulfillment of God's promises here: to our communities, to one another, to our neighbors. That tender longing that we have can also inspire us to be part of fulfilling God's promise.
Over the last week, I've talked a little bit about one idea of the Church, of what the purpose of a Church is, is that Church is a place where God reliably transforms lives. Where God reliably changes people's lives. Where God reliably fulfills promises: first and foremost through prayer and worship. And all around our prayer and worship, and rooted in our prayer and worship, God fulfills promises as we study and learn together, as we share in life in community together, as we break bread together and share meals together, as we listen to one another, and as we take action: as we do something to feed the hungry, as we speak up in our workplace about our hope.
So our prayer and worship, our study and our learning, our life together in community, in our relationships with one another and our action that we take—All of these are the ways that God reliably brings about the fulfillment of God's promises.
And as we move into our Annual Meeting, we're gonna have a coffee break right after church. And I'm going to invite you just if you get a chance, look around the parish hall and see how people have responded to where St. James is active in prayer and worship, in learning, in life in community, and in action.
I want to invite you to notice: where are we hungry or thirsty? Where are some places where the information you see in people's responses might indicate a little bit of a longing? That God might be ready to move into that space and do something new. And also notice where are we overflowing? What are we offering that we have so much to offer that we want to keep doing that and share it more widely? So notice those posters in the Parish Hall and see: where's the hunger and the thirst? And also, where is the overflowing, and where is God's promise being already fulfilled?
Again, if you are longing for something: know that in Jesus, we learn that our God is faithful. That our God will use every tool at God's disposal, including and especially this church, to fill those who hunger, to console those who mourn, and to transform nightmares into dreams. Amen.