Picture This. Jesus pulls up a metal folding chair in the parish hall
or takes a seat on the couch in the living room and begins to teach:
“If you’re struggling to pay the bills, but insist on making time to
be with your children whenever they need you, blessed are you – you
may never own the big vacation home and the Lexus, but heaven will be
yours.
“If you are overwhelmed by the care of a dying spouse, a sick child
or an elderly parent but you are determined to make a loving home for
them, blessed are you – one day your sorrow will be transformed into
joy.
“If you willingly give your time to cook at a soup kitchen, vacuum
the church, help in a classroom; if you befriend the uncool, the
unpopular, the perpetually lost, blessed are you – count God among your
friends and biggest boosters.
“If you refuse to take shortcuts when it comes to doing what is
right, if you refuse to compromise your integrity and ethics, if you refuse
to take refuge in the rationalization that ‘everybody does it,’ blessed are
you – you will triumph.
“If you try to understand things from the perspective of the other
person and always manage to find a way to make things work for the
good; if you’re feeling discouraged and frustrated because you are
always worrying, always waiting, always bending over backwards,
always paying the price for loving the unlovable and forgiving the
undeserving, blessed are you – God will welcome, forgive and love you.
“If you struggle to discover what God asks of you in all things; if
you seek God’s presence in every facet of your life and every decision
you make; if your constant prayer is not ‘give me’ but ‘help me,’ blessed
are you – God will always be there for you.
“If you readily spend time listening and consoling anyone who
looks to you for support, for guidance, for compassion; if you manage to
heal wounds and build bridges; if others see in you graciousness, joy and
serenity; if you can see the good in everyone and seek the good for
everyone, blessed are you – you are nothing less than God’s own.
“If you are rejected or demeaned because of the color of your skin
or the sound of your name; if your faith automatically puts you at odds
with some people; if you refuse to compromise to ‘get along’ or ‘not
make waves,’ blessed are you – one day you will live with God.
“Rejoice and be glad,” Jesus tells those who have gathered, “you
are the blessed of God. In the end, heaven is yours.” Remember this.
Archive for January, 2023
Blessed Are You 1-29-2023
Sunday, January 22nd, 2023The First Disciples of Jesus 1-22-2023
Thursday, January 19th, 2023The time was now. Jesus decided he was ready to choose his
twelve apostles. Just advertising in the newspapers didn’t seem
thorough enough. So Jesus decided to hold an Olympics from which the
twelve would be chosen. The people came from all over. The
competition was fierce. Jesus had to judge all the events.
First came the prayer event. People had practiced and it showed in
the speed with which they could recite the words. Some articulated the
words with utmost precision. Some used big impressive words. Still
others expressed lofty ideas. But when it came time for a winner to be
selected, Jesus chose none. There didn’t seem to be any heart in their
prayers. They were just words.
Second came the worship event. These contestants, too, had done
their homework. Some wore beautiful garments. Some used lots of
incense. Some emphasized music. Others incorporated gestures. But
again, when it was selection time, there was no winner. There didn’t
seem to be any heart in worship. It was too showy.
Third came the teaching event. This was a prepared group. Some
came with elaborate posters. Some came with long, well ordered talks.
Some came with DVD players. Others came with their small groups to
demonstrate process. Again, no winners. There was no heart in
teaching. The methods seemed more important.
So, the Olympics ended. No winners, no apostles. Exhausted after
his long exasperating ordeal, Jesus went down to the lake to cool off and
relax. Then the miracle happened. He saw people fishing. Now there
were some people who put their hearts into what they were about. So he
chose them!
Remember… the first disciples of Jesus were ordinary people.
They weren’t great public speakers, scholars, kings or saints. They
weren’t presidents, theologians or ordained ministers. They were
fishermen. A tax collector. Common field workers. Who, by God’s
power, and their openness, made great things happen! What about us –
Could great things happen through us? Yes — By God’s Power and Our
Openness!
Behold God is in Our Midst 1-15-2023
Thursday, January 12th, 2023The character of John the Baptist is someone we usually meet
around Christmas but over the last two weeks he has played a major role
in launching Jesus on his three-year mission. Some scholars say John
the Baptist’s role was to point people to Jesus… “Look! There’s the
Lamb of God…Look! God is in our midst.” Pointing people to Jesus
and then getting out of the way and letting Jesus work in people’s lives.
I believe that this Sunday reminds us that as baptized Christians it
is our role to point people to Jesus and to get out of the way like John the
Baptist. We may do this in very different ways than John the Baptist,
but we need to do it each in our own way.
An eight-year old boy is facing surgery. He asks his doctor,
“What’s it like to die?” Neither the doctor nor anyone else on the
medical staff can answer this question directly – but one hospital
employee can. She isn’t a doctor or nurse or child psychologist. She
cleans the floors. One night the boy asks her, “Are you afraid of
dying?” She puts down her mop, looks up from the floor and replies,
“Yes, I am, but I do something about it.” She talks to the boy as an
equal, not as a superior. She tells him that she believes in God and finds
comfort in the words of Jesus. The two talk for a long time. She has put
the boy at peace simply by listening to him. Behold, the Lamb of God…
A high school student is struggling with his algebra homework.
The frustration builds and the teenager slams the book shut. His father
comes into the kitchen and asks if he can help, but the teenager says,
“They didn’t even have algebra in your day.” Defeated and angry, the
boy goes off to bed. At 4:00 A.M., his dad shakes his son awake and
sits him back down at the kitchen table. The father, who works two jobs
as a janitor and a chauffeur, sat up all night to read the algebra book
from cover to cover. He worked the problems through until he
understood them enough to be able to explain them to his son. With his
dad tutoring him, the student finally grasps the equations and completes
his homework. That night, a father taught his son much more than
algebra. Behold, the Lamb of God…
Within a month, she had lost both her father and her mother. It
was something neither she nor her husband knew how to deal with. She
was devastated; getting through the days was often more than she could
handle. He thought he might be able to lessen the blow by being a more
attentive spouse or more romantic husband. He felt more and more
inadequate at not being able to do something to alleviate her grief. Then
the night came for them to see the musical Wicked. The tickets had been
bought months before. The two lead sang a song that always reminded
her of her mother. That’s when he realized his role: to be there to hold
her hand, to have Kleenex at the ready, to let her know he would be
there when the music ended and the lights came back on. Behold, the
Lamb of God…
I close…
In every act of selfless generosity and humble compassion, the
Lamb of God walks in our midst. Everyone of us – of every profession
and age group, possessing every talent, skill and ability – has been
called, as the Baptizer was called, to point to the Christ, the Lamb of
God, dwelling among us and walking with us in our doubts, our hurts,
our fears. John declared his witness in preaching and baptizing at the
Jordan; our witness can be declared in less vocal but no less effective
vehicles: in our compassion for others, in our uncompromising moral
and ethical convictions, in our everyday sense of joy and peace.
Behold, God is in our midst! Amen.