Upside-Down Kingdom
Read Matthew 5:1-12.
They say, in speech and sermon classes, that you have to start out with something that gets people's attention. (Then, of course, it's up to you to keep their attention, but that's another story.) I was taught to start with a story, anecdote, joke or something that will grab people and make them want to listen to whatever you say. Sometimes I succeed, other times, I'm sure, I don't. But the principle is valid nonetheless.
Jesus, as far as I know, never had a speech or a sermon class, but he knew how to tell stories and preach sermons and get people's attention. He spoke in such a way that, years later, folks were still able to write down what he had said as much as thirty years before (Matthew was probably written in the 60's AD, 30 years or so after Jesus was crucified and resurrected.) This "sermon on the mount" is one example.
Jesus starts very simply. One word, really, is all he needs to grab the people's attention. "Blessed." He begins this teaching by sharing a series of pronouncements about what it means to be blessed, and who there on the hillside didn't want to be blessed? Who among us today doesn't want to be blessed? To be blessed is, we think, to find the good life, to have enough to live on, to be comfortable and secure. To be blessed is to live in the center of life's goodness.
Or so we think.
So when Jesus launches into a description of the blessed life, we expect him (as, I would imagine, did the folks on that hillside) to give us "three easy steps to the blessed life." Or maybe four easy steps. Three or four, not more (so say the preaching professors). What he gives us (and them) instead are nine statements that describe anything but what we think of as being blessed. In fact, in many ways, Jesus seems to be describing the opposite of blessed.
Blessed are the poor in spirit (Luke's account of this list just says "poor").
Blessed are the mourners and the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers. (Okay, those we can sort of get behind.)
Blessed are the persecuted. (This one we can definitely NOT get behind!)
Blessed are you—when you are insulted, persecuted and lied about.
Are you feeling blessed yet? More likely, we would whine and wail if we were in such a state because we believe we are cursed. The TV preachers today tell us blessing leads to health and wealth. Jesus says otherwise. To be truly blessed, to be someone who is in the center of God's will and work in the world is to be found on the underside of life. This kingdom he is bringing (and that he will describe in more fullness throughout the rest of this sermon) is an upside-down kingdom. Nothing is the way it seems. Nothing works in this kingdom the way the world thinks it ought to work—including what it means to be blessed.
You see, true blessing comes when we don't have what the world thinks is blessing because then and only then are we able to really grab onto God. Only when we can rejoice in every circumstance, trust him through every storm, and know that he has not abandoned us no matter how alone we feel—only then, Jesus seems to say, can we really know what this upside-down kingdom is all about.
Jesus will later tell his followers that we must come to this kingdom like a child (cf. Matthew 18:3). This morning, I had the privilege of covering the preschool class while the teachers had a meeting. The premise was simple: they were going to watch Cars and I was going to supervise. If you're still thinking that was simple, you've not spent much time around children! Sitting still is not in their toolbox because children are endlessly curious, sometimes cranky, and eager to share what is going on in their lives. One girl is "getting do big," she told me. I learned how two of the kids were related. One boy shared how his curiosity about a candle had gotten him a bandage on his finger. And one kid threw a huge fit when I asked him to sit down in his chair.
But what strikes me about approaching the kingdom like is a child is seeing things from the bottom side. Children are curious. They look at things simply, and they're pretty "up front" with their emotions and thoughts. They see things differently than we do, because they are not in charge. They're on the "underside" of life, even though they don't realize it (and some think they are in charge!). They're eager to share what they are experiencing. So should we be. And only then can we really enter and grasp this upside-down kingdom.
They say, in speech and sermon classes, that you have to start out with something that gets people's attention. (Then, of course, it's up to you to keep their attention, but that's another story.) I was taught to start with a story, anecdote, joke or something that will grab people and make them want to listen to whatever you say. Sometimes I succeed, other times, I'm sure, I don't. But the principle is valid nonetheless.
Jesus, as far as I know, never had a speech or a sermon class, but he knew how to tell stories and preach sermons and get people's attention. He spoke in such a way that, years later, folks were still able to write down what he had said as much as thirty years before (Matthew was probably written in the 60's AD, 30 years or so after Jesus was crucified and resurrected.) This "sermon on the mount" is one example.
Jesus starts very simply. One word, really, is all he needs to grab the people's attention. "Blessed." He begins this teaching by sharing a series of pronouncements about what it means to be blessed, and who there on the hillside didn't want to be blessed? Who among us today doesn't want to be blessed? To be blessed is, we think, to find the good life, to have enough to live on, to be comfortable and secure. To be blessed is to live in the center of life's goodness.
Or so we think.
So when Jesus launches into a description of the blessed life, we expect him (as, I would imagine, did the folks on that hillside) to give us "three easy steps to the blessed life." Or maybe four easy steps. Three or four, not more (so say the preaching professors). What he gives us (and them) instead are nine statements that describe anything but what we think of as being blessed. In fact, in many ways, Jesus seems to be describing the opposite of blessed.
Blessed are the poor in spirit (Luke's account of this list just says "poor").
Blessed are the mourners and the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart and the peacemakers. (Okay, those we can sort of get behind.)
Blessed are the persecuted. (This one we can definitely NOT get behind!)
Blessed are you—when you are insulted, persecuted and lied about.
Are you feeling blessed yet? More likely, we would whine and wail if we were in such a state because we believe we are cursed. The TV preachers today tell us blessing leads to health and wealth. Jesus says otherwise. To be truly blessed, to be someone who is in the center of God's will and work in the world is to be found on the underside of life. This kingdom he is bringing (and that he will describe in more fullness throughout the rest of this sermon) is an upside-down kingdom. Nothing is the way it seems. Nothing works in this kingdom the way the world thinks it ought to work—including what it means to be blessed.
You see, true blessing comes when we don't have what the world thinks is blessing because then and only then are we able to really grab onto God. Only when we can rejoice in every circumstance, trust him through every storm, and know that he has not abandoned us no matter how alone we feel—only then, Jesus seems to say, can we really know what this upside-down kingdom is all about.
Jesus will later tell his followers that we must come to this kingdom like a child (cf. Matthew 18:3). This morning, I had the privilege of covering the preschool class while the teachers had a meeting. The premise was simple: they were going to watch Cars and I was going to supervise. If you're still thinking that was simple, you've not spent much time around children! Sitting still is not in their toolbox because children are endlessly curious, sometimes cranky, and eager to share what is going on in their lives. One girl is "getting do big," she told me. I learned how two of the kids were related. One boy shared how his curiosity about a candle had gotten him a bandage on his finger. And one kid threw a huge fit when I asked him to sit down in his chair.
But what strikes me about approaching the kingdom like is a child is seeing things from the bottom side. Children are curious. They look at things simply, and they're pretty "up front" with their emotions and thoughts. They see things differently than we do, because they are not in charge. They're on the "underside" of life, even though they don't realize it (and some think they are in charge!). They're eager to share what they are experiencing. So should we be. And only then can we really enter and grasp this upside-down kingdom.
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