Matthew 5:1-8; Micah 6:1-8; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
This morning we heard two readings that could have easily thrown out of balance the belief of those who heard them. The first one is Micah. Micah was a prophet who prophesized to Judea and Samaria; he was a contemporary with Isaiah, Amos, and Hosea. His message was against dishonesty and idolatry. Like most of the prophets, Micah spoke out about the injustice he saw around him. He saw those in power covet fields and take them; he saw them defraud people of their homes. Micah saw judges accept bribes and the powerful dictate what they desire. Let us hear a couple verses from his book.
Chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 say, “Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes; they rob them of their inheritance. Chapter 7:2 and 3 say, “the faithful have been swept from the land; not one upright person remains. Everyone lies in wait to shed blood; they hunt each other with nets. Both hands are skilled in doing evil; the ruler demands gifts, the judge accepts bribes, the powerful dictate what they desire they all conspire together.” (End of verse three)
They did all this against their own brothers and sister was, because they had turned away from God and all the covenants, he had set aside for them to follow. And to all this we must add their worship of Baal and other pagan gods.
Amid all this dishonesty and idolatry, Micah came to Israel with two questions from God, “My people, what have I done to you? And how have I burdened you? The prophet answers on behalf of the people with a some of questions, “With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? 7 Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my firstborn for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? And then in verse 8 he gives the answer. 8 He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (End of verse 8) Those the prophet was talking to thought it was enough the blood of animals; they thought it was enough to bring oil to keep the light in the altar going. The prophet threw them out of balance when he told them “He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” In other words, the prophet told them “It is not what you have, what the Lord wants, but who you are; it’s your heart and your obedience not your oil and your rams, what he expects.
God still requires the same from us, because when we surrender who we are, we also surrender what we have; when we surrender who we are, we surrender our hearts and when we do that, everything we do; we do it out of love for God. Once again the words of the prophet are valid for our times; our singing and praises, our prayers and offerings without our commitment are meaningless rituals. The lesson from Micah for us today is simple: we cannot please God with what I bring if we have not given who we are.
The second reading was and still is, I believe, controversial. This is the sermon on the mountain or the beatitudes, or the “blessed are those…” sermon. According to Matthew Jesus saw the crowds, went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.” His lesson was about who were the blessed ones in their society and what a surprise they got. Let us remember that most of those who followed Jesus were Jews and when Jesus said, “blessed are those”, they knew how a blessed person looks like because psalm 1, which it is possibly many knew by heart, gives a good description of such a person. Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked, or stand in the way that sinners take, or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither and whatever they do prospers. Now if we would have the opportunity to ask one of those Pharisees, or a Sadducees, or Scribes, present that day, who fits the description of a person who is blessed? Every one of them would tell us: Me. However, Jesus was a Game Changer, for him the widow begging for justice to the unjust judge was blessed; the bleeding humble-suffering woman was blessed; the Nain’s widow, mourning her son’s death was blessed. I can imagine the face of the religious leaders after they hear Jesus’ preaching.
The sermon on the mountain is considered the manifesto of God’s kingdom; the set of principles Jesus will follow during His ministry here on earth. The sermon on the mountain is controversial because if we listen carefully Jesus took away from Israel and the religious leaders everything, they claimed belonged to them. Jesus put upside down their world and belief.
They claimed God’s kingdom was theirs. However, according to Jesus’ new message God’s Kingdom, now belongs to those who are poor in spirit and to those who are persecuted because of righteousness. The title of “God’s children” which they claim for those who were Abraham’s lineage, now, according to Jesus belongs to those who are peacemakers and those who will be close to God; close enough to see Him are not Abraham’s children but the merciful. Even the title of gate keepers they thought they had; it’s taken away. Now, Jesus is the gate and the path; He is the One who decides who enters and who stays out because He is the King of this kingdom, and He is in control.
The Sermon on the Mountain confirms Jesus represents the God described by Mary in her Song in Luke 1 verses 51-55, She said, “He has performed mighty deeds with his arm; he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts. He has brought down rulers from their thrones but has lifted the humble. He has filled the hungry with good things but has sent the rich away empty.”
What else can we learn from the Sermon on the Mountain? I was thinking, what about if the Beatitudes are a snapshot of what Jesus expects from his community to become? What if Jesus meant also to say, Blessed is the community who makes room and receive with open minds and hearts and open doors those who are peacemakers and join them in their efforts for peace by becoming a peacemaker community? Blessed is the community who makes room for the meek, and follow their lifestyle? Blessed is the community who join the hungry and thirst in their search for righteousness. Blessed is the community who are poor in spirit and makes room for those who mourn at the brokenness of the world. Blessed is a community who is spotless and pure. Blessed is the community who knows persecution is inevitable and still commit and decides to walk with the needy and make room and receive those the world thinks are unimportant.
If Jesus comes today to this community and once again preach the Sermon on the Mountain to us, who would he call blessed? To those who are inside or to those who are outside.? I leave that question with you to meditate this week.