The new normal
That many of us face each morning,
Is a distressing reality.
And yet,
The Good News is
Within community,
Of sisters, brothers, siblings
There is sacredness
Where we can begin to craft and mold
A sense of peace.
(pause)
Words that pour from deep within,
Are examples of the hope
That we know
Can break every chain.
Social media
Is slowly evolving
Into such a place
Where many are seeing
And sowing
That spark!
(pause)
One of my colleagues,
Serving in an ELCA congregation
In Arkansas
Shared his interpretation
Of the Beatitudes,
In this way:
Blessed are the atheists, for they’re more courageous than the Christians
Blessed are the undocumented, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the refugees, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those court-martialed because they refuse to torture, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, those who do not repay their enemies or reward their friends, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, who refuse to fly drones, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for resistance to unjust rule, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”for they will inherit the earth.
(pause)
Perhaps,
From where you sit,
You are immersed
In these words
The hope that it translates for those
Who are routinely disregarded
Shamed
Outcast
For who they are
And how they cling to life,
It indeed speaks volumes
That God’s mercy
Is for ALL
(pause)
Or,
Your own nature just might be shook
Reaction to these words
Much like one dissenter among the comments
On Clint’s post,
Who seemed outraged
That atheists
Were deemed to be,
Blessed,
Raised up higher
Than those of us
Who have rightful claim
To our spiritual birthright
Or perhaps,
You are questioning,
Of why I am even sharing this,
And where is my own
Moral outrage?
(pause)
“Blessed are the poor in spirit”
Perhaps these are the moments,
When we as people of faith,
Need to turn inward
And examine the ways
We refute Christ’s teachings,
Refuse to follow His commandments
Of welcoming,
Clothing
Feeding
Caring
Loving
The stranger
Refuse to emulate
The Christ
We confess to follow
Why are we surprised
That there are indeed
Those who are
Poor
In
Spirit
And why do we become so divisive
When they,
Who are
Poor in spirit
Atheists
Meek
Undocumented
Refugees
Are the ONES
WHO EXUDE MORE FREELY GOD’S GRACE!
(pause)
And yet,
Jesus’s own Words here,
In the Beatitudes
As He was teaching His disciples
Were seen as radical,
And
Prophetic.
By teaching His disciples,
Jesus Christ,
Was gathering up the resistance!
By daring to preach against the status quo
Jesus was indeed,
Starting a revolution!
Why is it so offensive,
To even ponder who Jesus was and is,
In this fashion?
(pause)
Prophetic words,
Almost always
Disturb the status quo,
Disrupt the order of things
Challenge the comfortable
(pause)
Their actions,
Their ministry,
These lessons are not to be so lightly treated
As a metaphor
Or something in the abstract
Or worth only for historical note,
And cannot be translated into the present day-
Because the refugees are crowding us out,
Even though
We proudly proclaim
To welcome the poor,
Tired
Huddled
Masses
Or that the undocumented
Are a threat to our livelihood
Our freedoms
While voluntarily accepting employment that,
Let’s be real,
None of us would accept the conditions
Or the wages
Of just $5/hr
With no benefits in sight.
(pause)
Jesus,
Here in our Gospel this morning,
With His Prophetic Teaching
Of the Word
Spoke to those who were present,
Who needed to hear
That the Creator indeed
Walked alongside
Encouraging God’s People
To break every chain
Speaks to us now,
Who need to be reminded
That God does stand with the oppressed
EMPOWERING US
To break those chains
(pause)
That We-
Who are poor in spirit
We
Who are sometimes labeled as weak,
Because we do follow Christ’s commandment
To love one another
Because we are working,
Towards the beloved community
Because we are not afraid,
To stand up
For refugees,
For outsiders
REGARDLESS
Of where they come from,
Or how they worship God
Because we are persecuted
For standing with,
The mentally ill
The formerly incarcerated
We
Are
Blessed!
(paused)
THAT
That is the Good News this morning.
Jesus’s words,
To those who are gathered,
And to us
Was an affirmation
Of both their humanity,
And
God’s unfailing Love!
Conditions in Jesus’s time,
For those who were regulated to
Second,
Third
Last citizenship class
Were one under an oppressive
Authoritarian
And hopeless
Many were indeed,
Poor in spirit
Angry with God for abandonment
Declaring they had no allegiance
To God,
Giving up
Resigning themselves
To a broken life
Jesus’s words,
Were
EMPOWERMENT
For
The
Powerless!
(pause)
Jesus’s Words,
Are
POWER
For us NOW!
And if we cling to this truth,
And proclaim we are Christ’s followers,
Then
Let’s
Just
Do
It!
(pause)
“and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God?”
Do justice.
This is not just words on paper,
For us to THINK about theologically
THIS IS OUR MARCHING ORDERS.
Do we believe we are blessed?
YES
So then what is our responsibility?
(pause)
One of my pastoral besties is here this morning,
Tuhnia
She too,
As a Woman of Color
From her heart,
Shares how she sees the Beatitudes
In this way,
Blessed are the Muslims
Blessed are the Sanctuary churches
Blessed are the resistance
Blessed are the marginalized
Blessed are those who are putting their bodies,
And lives for justice and liberation
Blessed are our children
That they may one day know
A world without hate and violence
Thanks Be to God.
Transforming Change; The Beginning or The End? 