Blessed?

I wonder, what does it mean to be blessed?

 

Happy, fortunate, satisfied, …..

Holy, welcome, fortunate, sanctified, approved, supported, unburdened

Dictionary – holy; beatified [declaring people holy]; bestowing joy.

It is also used to indicate special favour, unique standing, permission, empowerment, endowment, and more. It is difficult to find another word in English that fits.

So maybe the question isn’t what it means, but rather what it feels like. What does it feel like when you’re blessed?^[i]

Being blessed feels like you are not alone.

Being blessed feels like being accepted for who you are.

Being blessed feels like you have worth.

Being blessed feels like you can get through the difficult times.

Blessing is something that can’t be pursued, but can only be received as a gift.^[ii]

 

Another question – who does Jesus say is blessed?

The rich?

The mighty?

The well fed?

Jesus says it is the weak, powerless and vulnerable.

“The poor in spirit : referring either to humble people or to those who are broken and have lost hope.

Those who mourn : those who suffer loss and the feeling of emptiness that follows.

The meek : those who are gentle and unobtrusive, who refuse to use power over others as a tool to make things happen.

The merciful : people who willingly surrender their privileges or otherwise go out of their way to improve others’ well-being.

Those who are persecuted : people whose refusal to give up their quest for truth or virtuousness results in the taking away of their rights, wholeness, or dignity.” ^[iii]

 

not really a group of people we would choose to be in.

who wants to be feel the emptiness of grief?

 who wants to go out of their way to help others? 

These are people who tend to stay, or be kept, out of public view.^[iv]

 

Yet, Jesus names them all as Blessed. It is another way in the which the gospel turns our world view upside down.[v]

These people, considered by our society as people who need to get their act together, Jesus calls Blessed.

Maybe - Blessed because it is in our brokenness and weakness that we are open to Jesus in our life.

We are open to being  comforted,

we are open to others needs,

we are open to the Spirit moving in our lives,

changing, shaping and renewing us. 

It is when we accept our brokenness, and the brokenness of others, that we can see the promises of God?: comfort, mercy, intimacy with God, and so on.^[vi]

 

This morning we recognised the beginning of the school year, for some it will be a new experience, for others another year in a  familiar place with the same group of friends. We prayed for each group, that God would bless them.

Shortly we will celebrate communion together, offer thanks, hear again the story of the last supper, and we will share bread and grape juice. This is another way God comes and offers us peace, hope and life.

At the end of worship each week, you are offered a blessing, a reminder that God is and will be with you. also in Baptism, we sing, or speak, a blessing from the Old testament:

 

The Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make his face to shine upon you,

and be gracious unto you;

the Lord lift up his countenance upon you,

and give you peace.

…….

To be blessed is to know our need, to acknowledge our brokenness, to respond to the needs of others; because in doing these things, we recognise our humanity and the humanity of other people. And we recognise the dignity of each person.

And in the midst of life,

in the midst of despair,

in the midst of pain,

in the midst of fear

God shows up, offering comfort, hope and peace.

Thinking about those who are peacemakers, and those who thirst and hunger for righteousness, we may think that these groups are different to the other people represented here,

but Matthew records that those who work for peace, and try to live that out, are children of God

Matthew records that those who speak up on behalf of the poor, the oppressed and the abused, will see the kingdom of heaven.

This passage isn’t about giving people hope of a better life after death, it is about the way that “God regularly and relentlessly shows up just where we least expect God to be in order to give to us freely what we can neither earn nor achieve: blessedness.” ^[vii]

 

I wonder in what ways are you blessed?

---

[i] David Lose,  Working Preacher , 26 January 2014.

[ii] David Lose,  Working Preacher , 26 January 2014.

[iii] Matthew L. Skinner, On Scripture: Enjoy the Super Bowl; Be Suspicious of Its Values

[iv] Matthew L. Skinner, On Scripture: Enjoy the Super Bowl; Be Suspicious of Its Values

[v]  Anne Howard, Beatitudes society, January 28th, 2014

[vi] Matthew L. Skinner, On Scripture: Enjoy the Super Bowl; Be Suspicious of Its Values

[vii] David Lose,  Working Preacher , 26 January 2014.

whom shall I fear?

The psalm we read today, begins with :

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

 

‘The Lord is my light’, for the people who first heard this, light was the sun, or moon and stars. Other than natural light it was a small lamp that burnt oil.

 

One article I read this week commented that : God gives us just a pottery lamp’s worth of light, just enough to take a few more steps.[i]

 

Just enough light to see to take the next step, and sometimes not quite enough to see where our foot will land.

 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

For many, the fear is the unknown, the not knowing two, or twenty, steps ahead. 

 

We have this idea in our western culture that we can plan for the future, that we can decide what we will and won’t do; to a certain extent that is true. I decided what I ate for breakfast this morning, cereal and toast, but I didn’t get to decide what the weather would be like. And no-one knows when our lives will take a dramatic turn.

 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

Some of us fear looking foolish, making mistakes; so we resist trying anything a little different.

Some of us fear death, some of us fear life.

 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?

 

But then I noticed it is whom, not what, shall I fear? So a person or group?

Reading the paper, watching the news, and checking out some social media websites, I think we fear people we don’t know. In this country we fear refugees, we fear indigenous people, we fear Muslims, we fear young people. Except for the ones we know.

 

 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

 

This isn’t to suggest that there aren’t risky places in our community, though Engadine and Heathcote are quite safe places to live; and it isn’t to suggest that there are not risky places and situations in our country and the world. But if we find our place in this life, and in whatever comes after this life, in God; what do we really have to fear?

 

….

 

Looking at the reading from Matthew’s gospel for a moment.  we hear about ordinary people amidst their ordinary everyday world, when Jesus calls them to do something extraordinary. He calls the four fishermen to follow him. In the midst of our everyday activities, Jesus calls us to follow him.

Sometimes I think it would be easier to leave everything behind and follow Jesus, a travelling Rabbi, then try and work out what it means to follow Jesus while living in a community, paying a mortgage, raising children, going to work and school, going about the ordinary everyday tasks that come with life.

Often with this passage we talk about call, and particular calls, but to me this passage is about the call to discipleship.

Jesus called the four fishermen to follow him, no altar call for eternal life, no dangling carrot of the reward of heaven or the terror of an eternity in hell. Jesus said : follow me.

And they followed, and saw Jesus teaching,  proclaiming and healing.  We too can follow Jesus, we can listen to his teaching, we can proclaim the good news of God’s love and we can witness to the healing power of love and hope.

I wonder what it means to you, and what it has meant to you, to follow Jesus, to be a disciple, a learner , an apprentice in the kingdom of God?

 

Young men would go to a Rabbi, in hope of being his student, a bit like applying to university. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus doesn’t wait for people to come to him, he invites people, even people who caught fish for a living, to come and learn and live in a  new way.

 

We too are invited to live this new way, we are invited to follow Jesus, to be disciples, to learn, to welcome, to offer healing. And to be changed, because we can’t be in a relationship with Jesus and not be changed.

 

“The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?”

I wonder if we fear Jesus, if we fear his call to follow, the call to follow one whose life was offered for the transforming of the world.

…

Earlier I showed you the picture of all the finalists in the Australian of the year awards; The Chair of the National Australia Day Council, Adam Gilchrist said:

"In Adam, Fred, Jacqueline and Tim we have fellow Australians who live their values every day, who have achieved great success and also use their success to help others and make a difference.

"They inspire us to be better Australians and their contributions make Australia a better place to live." [http://www.australianoftheyear.org.au/]

 

What were the values that Jesus lived every day?

In what ways do we live these values every day?

---

[i] James Howell; Working Preacher

why worship today?

It's Christmas morning and many of you will be going to family lunches or travelling, some of you will still have presents to open, and for some of you there is a meal to cook this morning.

What is it about worship this day that you make it a priority amongst the busyness.

Maybe it is because there is something special about this child whose birth we celebrate today.

Each time a child is born we invest something into the future, we imagine what their life maybe like, we keep looking for signs of the academic or sport or musical ability, and as they grow we look for their particular personalities.

The child whose birth we celebrate today was born to a young woman and we don't know what dreams she had for her son's future, from what Luke tells us the concern was where to stay where was there going to be a bed. The Angel had told her that this child would be special. This is one baby, small and vulnerable, born to a first-time mother changes not only his parents’ lives, but the lives of many.

In this short time we have together this morning I hope you have time to reflect on the place of this baby in your life. For we can sing carols, listen to the story, and go to our meals and our celebrations unchanged.

What part of this story connects with you? Maybe it is the ordinariness of a man and a woman and a child, maybe it is because the message was given to shepherds some of the lowliest in the land which today would mean those who work in aged care and child care and disability care amongst others.

Maybe the part of the story that connects with you is the travelling to fulfil government requirements and how the good news of God's love came in the midst of political and military Dominion. Maybe what connects with you in this story is not anyone be you can put your finger on.

For me it's an amazing sense that God is willing to do whatever it takes to let us know we are loved. Not in a flashy showy way; not like New Year's Eve fireworks or a big marching band; not by throwing lots of money on advertising or bribes; not by having the biggest artillery and bravest soldiers. God came to be involved in our lives. God came to live amongst us, to walk with us, to teach and to heal and offer new life and transformation.

Jesus came as an underdog, in Australian terms, the Roman Empire was large and powerful. In the coming of Jesus,  a new kingdom was dawning,  the kingdom of God. This kingdom is different to the kingdoms of the Empire. In his lifetime Jesus and the kingdom of God were up against the Roman empire; we don't have empires in quite the same way these days, but they are still the kingdoms of greed and self-interest and oppression.

We might think of Christmas as a time of peace. There is a story that during World War I in places where the German and British forces were fighting in trenches nearby, that on Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, troops offered greetings to each other, sang carols and in places got out and played football. Is that peace? that short period of time when the war stopped?  

It's like the peace that happens at a wedding or funeral when members of family get together, grit their teeth and smile through clenched teeth and pretend everything is okay when underneath is turmoil and anger and pain.

I have a part of a reflection to read:

 The Season for Miracles

(Reflection and Prayer Litany)

If we were to list the miracles of Christmas

we’d probably talk about virgin births
angels, perhaps
and stars that light the sky
but perhaps there’s another miracle:
one of Mary saying ‘yes’ when God asked her to believe
and Joseph saying ‘yes’ when God asked him to trust.
They had to change everything about their lives
and the birth of the Christ-child wasn’t possible until they did.
What does it mean for you to say ‘yes’ to this story?
to believe that it might be possible
for the darkness to be transformed to light
and for peace to come in the world?
Those who know the darkest of the world
know the fragility of light;
we hold our breath as the candles flicker
we know they don’t always last.
the birth of Jesus doesn’t make everything right
but it shows us that the only way the darkness can be beaten
is to say ‘yes’ to the birth of light.
....

— written by Cheryl Lawrie, on her blog [hold this space] http://holdthisspace.org.au/

 

The peace that Jesus brings is deeper and more resilient than a temporary cessation of fighting. The peace we seek, we yearn for, is peace that is indwelling, that allows us to live, without fear, without hatred.

Jesus came to usher in the kingdom of God, the kingdom that is founded on love, the kingdom of peace and hope and joy. And the peace that Jesus bring is not peace as the world brings it, fleeting, here one day and gone the next. The peace that Jesus brings is like deep pool that never dries up.

Will say yes to the kingdom of peace this day?

 

Duet: Let there be Peace on earth

another way?

The gospel of Matthew begins with a long list of names. It may seem a strange way for Matthew to begin his story about the life and death of Jesus. For the people that Matthew was writing to, it would have been really important that Jesus was from the line of David.

Verse 16 says “and Jacob the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah.”

Matthew lists Joseph as being in the line of David, which seems strange to us when part of the story is explaining how Jesus was not Joseph's natural son. The people of Israel had been waiting for the Messiah, the one who would save them, for a long time. The gospel of Matthew often links events in the birth, the life, and the death of Jesus to events in the old testament. In the section of the gospel which was read today, there are some verses quoted from Isaiah. In chapter 2 of Matthew there are there are at least four times when Matthew quotes from one of the prophets. Matthew is writing for a community that is in the midst of tensions within the Jewish religion. Is Jesus really the one they were waiting for? It was important for the people Matthew was writing for that Jesus was linked to the Jewish faith, that he was the one who fulfilled the words of the prophets.

There are other links in this reading with the old testament Joseph has a dream in the old testament it is Joseph was the one who is able to read dreams of the pharaoh.

 

A little background on the rituals surrounding marriage at this time. Mary and Joseph's betrothal is much more of a contract and what we consider engagement to be, it was as if they were married just not yet living together. Marriage was a two-stage process, the first stage the promise and pledge, the second stage the celebration and moving in together. [i]

What is a righteous man to do? He finds his wife is pregnant with a child that he knows is not his. Joseph sees only two options, to dissolve the marriage quietly or to publicly accuse Mary. The second option, of publicly accusing her would lead to her death and Joseph would have a hand in the killing. To dissolve the marriage quietly means Joseph has not participated directly in her death, but it leaves her in a very vulnerable position.[ii]

Joseph hadn't considered the third possibility, it was such an absurd thought, that no righteous man would. Joseph didn't consider the possibility of protecting Mary, and her child, and raising the child as his own.

That is, until the dream, when an angel appeared to Joseph and explained to him that Mary was pregnant by the power of the holy spirit and this child would save people from their sins.

The passage we heard this morning is the entire birth narrative in the gospel of Matthew. No shepherds, no journey to Bethlehem, no stable and manger. Matthew does tell of the coming of the wise men, but this passage is all we hear about his birth.

When we read the biblical text is important to note who is the named, who speaks, and who acts in the scene.

Mary is barely mentioned, and the verbs are passive. It seems that the action is happening around her:

– Mary had been engaged to Joseph

– she was found to be with child

Joseph gets a little more airplay, but he doesn't speak.

The speaking is done by the Angel.

I wonder how Joseph felt. Matthew records what was going on in Joseph’s head, but what about his heart and his gut. I imagine a sense of betrayal, disbelief, anger. How could she do this to me? What about our future? But then,   for Joseph, there is still a future. He can either publicly or privately divorce Mary, but without Joseph she has no future.

Sometimes it really is important to sleep on a decision. To listen for a voice that is different to the expected one. To see a third way, a life giving way.

It seems that often in a culture issues are black and white, you are either for the war on drugs or for drugs; if you want refugees treated fairly when they arrive in Australia then you mustn't care about the possibility of death at sea; if you are in favour of abortion rights you don't value human life. Each of these issues and many more are treated as either/or situations.

But what if you are in favour of abortion rights because you value human life, and what you'd really like is appropriate support for all families. And what if you're horrified at the way refugees are treated once they are in Australia, not because they won some lottery of not drowning at sea, but because they are human. Of course it would be better if real alternatives existed. It would be better if people did not have to flee their homes because their lives are in danger. Sometimes we do what we can, rather than not doing anything because the best possible solution is out of our hands.

What might happen when we stop looking at either/or situations, and start seeing people. Real people like Mary.

Jesus was not the Messiah that people were expecting, he didn't overthrow the Roman government, but he did transform people's lives. Many of those people whose lives were transformed by Jesus were people on the margins of society.

In our world what voices do we hear?

What voices do we listen to ?

What would happen if we listen for God's voice, might we find a different way?

---

[i] Arland J. Hultgren, Working Preacher

[ii] Richard Swanson, Provoking the Gospel of Matthew

what do we sing?

Often in the gospels, Jesus answers a question with a question. Here, in response to the question from the disciples of John the Baptist, Jesus gives an answer – tell John what you see and hear. John was in prison, knowing that he is likely to be killed, can you imagine the thoughts going through his head – was I doing the right thing, is it all going to be worth it, is Jesus is the one we've been waiting for?

We are now into the third week of Advent, the time when we wait: we anticipate the coming of  Jesus. We wait with the Jewish people from centuries ago, people who had been longing for a new future, for the promised one, the Messiah, the one who would save God’s people.  We wait with Mary and Joseph as they wait for the birth of their first child.  We wait for the time when God’s Kingdom will be realised in fullness.

For many this season of Advent is a time of preparing, shopping, waiting for Christmas to come - for family or gifts, for holidays and rest. But while we also wait for the celebration of Christmas, we wait to celebrate the birth of Jesus – the one who brings life, hope, joy, peace and love into our lives. We wait and celebrate that God chose to became human, to come as a baby, tiny and vulnerable; to be born to a unmarried teenager.

The disciples of John asked Jesus : are you the one we've been waiting for? Jesus said have a look around, what do you see, what stories to you hear about me, people are being healed, people are receiving new life, the poor are hearing good news. Jesus didn't answer yes or no, he told the disciples of John the Baptist to look around, and go and tell John what is happening.

Then Jesus says to the crowd: what did you go out into the desert to see, [here he is referring to John the Baptist]. Did you go out to see someone in fancy clothes, someone who would be blown around by each new idea. Jesus tells the crowd that John the Baptist was more than a Prophet, he was the one who was sent to proclaim, to announce, that the one they had been waiting for is coming and is here.

While Jesus was the one that the people of Israel had been waiting for, the promised one of God; Jesus didn't fit the mould of what people were expecting. Coming as a baby, healing, including, welcoming the outcasts, bringing good news to the poor. This isn't what people were expecting. They were waiting for the one who would free them from foreign rule. The people of Israel had been under foreign occupation many times, and at the time of the birth and life of Jesus they were under Roman rule. Jesus wasn't a warrior, he wasn't there to overthrow the Roman Imperial power by force. God in Jesus came to change people's lives, not only from the outside, but from the inside.

Advent is a time when we look toward the first and the final coming of Jesus into the world, and that can lead to some complicated theology, and long words. Some of that would make a great study and discussion session, this morning I want us to think about what the coming of Jesus means for each one of us. The coming of God in Jesus, his life and death and resurrection, the means of our salvation, a way in which we have been offered and accept new life.

Advent is an invitation for us to think about where God is born in our life each day. A few years ago one of the children at Engadine asked me if Jesus really was going to be born this Christmas Day, it was difficult to explain to a young child – but yes I am hopeful that once again this Christmas, we will stop long enough to be able to embrace the new things God is doing in our lives. We may not have time on Christmas Day with all the celebrations, but I invite you to find time either in the next week or in the time after Christmas day, to stop a while and to see where in your life Jesus is being born anew.

John the Baptist, and many of the Jewish people of the day were looking for a different Messiah to the one that God had sent. What are we expecting the coming Kingdom of God will be like? We get a glimpse in the Isaiah readings of the last two weeks as well as today – a place where all of creation will live in harmony, there will be no predators, and no victims; a place without drought, a place where there are streams in the desert, a place of healing, a place where none loses their way, and all who follow God sing, all who follow God live in joy.

The Psalm that we read for this week is not a Psalm, but is the song of Mary that she sings while she is visiting her cousin Elizabeth. This song is known as the Magnificat. I cannot imagine an unmarried teenage girl singing such brave words, particularly in a culture that would easily put her and her child to death. But sing she does; and she sings of a world that is not yet; a world that sounds very much like the vision of Isaiah, a world where the poor will have enough to eat, a world where the arrogant are humbled. Mary sings of the great things God has done in her life, and the great things God is doing.

Jesus told the disciples of John the Baptist to look around and see what was happening: what are the signs we see around us that Jesus is present in our lives and in the world. Where do we see signs of hope and healing; where do we see signs of new life, of transformation; where do we see signs of the poor receiving good news.

 

The next few months will be a time of transition for this congregation and for ...., a time when we will all need to trust God for a future that we cannot see at this point in time. Isaiah and Mary paint a picture of what the kingdom of God will be like, and we live in a time when that kingdom is coming into being, but is not fully here.

This will be a time when we will all need to look at where God is calling us to be. Just as Advent is a time of waiting, a season of anticipating a new future, we will need the signs of advent: hope, peace, joy and love; to be signs on our journey.

Are we able to sing with Mary of the great and wonderful things that God is doing?

 

Hymn/song 109 Tell out my soul

2014 advent 2

Peace

The theme of the second Sunday on Advent is Peace. What are some things that describe peace for you?

Quiet

No violence

…

…

[PPT Slide]

Peace - it does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. it means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart. (unknown)

 

Other ideas on peace - peace within our own lives, in our community, in creation.

[stable and unstable equilibrium]

This week I have a dove to give each of you to take home.

 

In our candle lighting song :Peace is a prayer that starts with me.

Think of a time when you were aware of God’s peace in your life.

 When you look at the dove, I want to think about God’s peace in your life.

 In what ways might we offer peace to those who do not have peace?

Hand out doves.

 

...

 

Proclamation of the Word

**Idea of writing a Chirtmas list, imaging Christmas Day and relooking at the list is taken from David Lose at working preacher.

 

 Each of you will have a piece of paper, please write down at least 5 things you have/need/want to do before Christmas. Shopping, house cleaning, cards, …..

 [space]

 

Put it aside for a few moments, and we will come back to it.

 

The passage we heard read from Isaiah this morning is similar to last week’s passage. Isaiah was a prophet, this doesn’t mean he was foretelling the future. He was challenging people to return to the essence of their faith. To live as the people of the covenant, to trust in God, to live in ways that were just.

In chapter 10, the people of Israel are told not to fear the Assyrians when they beat and you end up being enslaved to them, for God will deal with them, just as God dealt with the Egyptians. Part of that is that trees will be cut down, and the lofty brought low. He will hack the forest with an axe, and Lebanon with its majestic trees will fall.

And a shoot come from the stump of Jesse…..

When the people of Isaiah’s time could see the rise of the Assyrians, when they were concerned about the impending danger, Isaiah, the prophet, wrote of the judgement of God leading to destruction, and the mercy of God leading to renewal.

Sounds similar to John and his message of repentance.

Repentance isn’t confessing sins and receiving forgiveness. Repentance is “about a re-orientation, a change of perspective and direction, a commitment to turn and live differently.” [ii]

Isaiah gives an image of what a renewed creation might be like. Again in this passage, as with last week’s passage, the idea of complete harmony within nature seems impossible.

 

The wolf shall live with the lamb,
the leopard shall lie down with the kid,
the calf and the lion and the fatling together,
and a little child shall lead them.
The cow and the bear shall graze,
their young shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder's den..[from Isaiah 11]

 

Sounds bizarre!

As part of the workshop on Matthew I was at yesterday, we looked at this passage from Matthew, as if we were travel reporters on the ABC or SBS.  

We imagined we were reporters with a film crew, reporting on the crowd of people in the desert, flocking to hear this man, John was his name, who was telling people to repent, to return to living in the ways of the faith of the ancestors. He was standing in the middle of a river, and people would walk out to him, and he would put them under the water. In asking the locals about this, we were told this was part of the process for new converts to Judaism. But here was John baptism Jews as if they were gentiles. He railed against the religious leaders, and spoke of one who would come after him, who is more powerful, and will baptise with the Holy Spirit.

Sounds bizarre, unless you have heard the story so many times you start to switch off and think of what else to add to your Christmas list. J

Isaiah gives us an image of a peaceable kingdom.

I invite you now to think about what you would like Christmas day to be like – it doesn’t have to resemble reality. In your dreams, what would Christmas Day be like, see it in your mind, smell it, taste it.

 [space]

 

Now look at the list you wrote earlier, do any of the things on the list prepare the way for the kind of Christmas you would like to celebrate?

[space]

This Season of Advent are we in need of repentance, to see things from a different point of view? Are we in need of conversion, as if we were gentiles?

 

John tells the people : “ the axe is lying at the root of the trees: every tree that does not bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

Sounds like the prophet Isaiah, the trees will be cut down, but…

Like a green shoot sprouting from a tree stump,
........the family of David will again produce a king.

The Spirit of the LORD will be with him,
........giving him wisdom and insight,
........making him strong and perceptive,
........filling him with knowledge and respect for God.

Treating the LORD with due respect
........will be the new king’s greatest delight.

©2001 Nathan Nettleton LaughingBird.net

Where are the green shoots in your life?

---

 

[ii] David Lose working preacher