“In Good Company”
March 16th, 2008Matthew 5:10-12 - Christianity is not a religion of comfort and ease. In fact, Jesus went through great pains to let people know that following him would not be easy. In the beatitudes, he actually tells people, “Blessed are you when people persecute you…” You probably won’t see that on any church brochure. But, the truth is, suffering is part of living in the kingdom of God. Christianity started on a cross, so should suffering be a surprise to anyone?
“In Good Company”
Matthew 5:10-12
1. There are three movies where it is socially acceptable for a man to cry.
A. Brian’s Song, Field of Dreams, and Rudy.
B. Whenever we celebrate Palm Sunday, I always think of the final scene in the movie “Rudy.”
C. Daniel “Rudy” Reutigger grew up dreaming of playing football at the University of Notre Dame.
D. Ruettiger lacked the grades and money to attend Notre Dame, and talent and physical size (Ruettiger was only 5′7″ and 165 pounds) to play football for the Fighting Irish.
E. Jr. College, transfer is finally accepted to Notre Dame in fall of 1974, and walks on to make the “scout team.”
F. Movie ends with Notre Dame’s final home game. Last play, Rudy sacks the QB and is carried off the field (that honor has not happened at Notre Dame since).
G. Rudy leaves the field in triumph.
2. O.k., I am a sports nut, but that is kind of how I envision Palm Sunday. Jesus enters Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover festival, and he is treated like a conquering hero…literally.
A. The greeting Jesus received as he entered Jerusalem was the same greeting Romans generals received when they returned victorious in battle.
B. They would ride upon their steed with their cohort in tow behind them.
C. Palm fronds were meant as a tribute to the conquering hero.
D. Expectation of Jesus followers = he would use this Passover week as an opportunity to begin a revolt with Rome.
E. “Hosanna” – literally translated “Save now”
3. As Jesus anticipated how the events of this week would unfold, and how the crowds cheering him today would be calling for his head by Friday, I wonder if his words from today’s scripture lesson from the beatitudes were going through his head.
A. Matthew 5:10-12.
B. You know, I have to stop here for a minute. Just completed Institute for Church Revitalization.
C. We have talked to consultants, pundits, poets, and anyone else with an idea about the church.
D. Their response to Jesus words. “Whoa, hold off. Let’s talk this with our marketing people first.” Easy on the persecution (that word has bad connotations for our niche demographic).
E. And it’s true. Jesus, for all of his gifts, was a terrible marketer. Thankfully, that was not his job.
F. In fact, let’s look at the beatitudes themselves for a moment. Is there any among us who would actually choose to be a part of any of these groups of people.
G. Examples.
H. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you…”
I. I am not feeling this. Are you?
4. That is why it is so important that we hear Jesus’ words. He was addressing a myth about religion in his day that he wanted people too truly understand.
A. The myth was that religion, if I obeyed certain rules, would not only give me comfort; it would also support my own preconceived notions about the world.
B. Consider again the crowd on Palm Sunday. Talk about your adventures in missing the point. Jesus was riding a donkey (hardly a steed) to his crucifixion, and the people were greeting him as if they were already free from Rome.
C. Jesus Christ Superstar. “Neither you Simon, not the 50,000, nor the Romans, nor the Jews…understand what glory is, understand what power is, understand at all.”
D. Their faith had become accommodated to the expectations culture, rather than a source of transformation of that culture.
5. When this happens, when our faith becomes something that we accommodate to the culture in which we live, we risk the serious danger “shaping God in our own image.”
A. We come to see God as a republican, or as a democrat.
B. We see God as the source of all of our material blessings, and consider those blessings proof of his favor, rather than something that we are stewards of for God’s purpose.
C. We come to view our experience as a church in terms of “what have you done for me lately” rather than how can I be a part of the adventure known as the kingdom of God.
D. Story about staying at the London Conrad. I could really see myself getting used to that kind of comfort.
E. The problem arises when the focus of our lives becomes living our lives so as to preserve that comfort, as opposed to being faithful to the call to live according to the principles of the kingdom of God.
F. But, Jesus words in today’s gospel are the cure all of that self-centered faith.
G. He did not say, “Blessed are they who choose the path of least resistance, who find their way to East Street.”
H. Matthew 5:10-12.
6. We struggle with passages like this one. Mainly, because we struggle with suffering. We are not sure what to make of it. There are two major misconceptions that we have about suffering that do the most damage to our walk in faith.
A. One – “My me?” The idea that somehow, if we behave ourselves, we will be beyond suffering.
B. “Bucket List” – Jack Nicholson plays a billionaire businessman who has terminal cancer. He meets Morgan Freeman in the hospital, and they decide to go on one last big adventure before they die.
C. However, the drama of suffering with cancer and family wounds that have not healed leads to complications.
D. In a poignant scene, in front of his estranged daughter’s house, one friend says to the other, “I built a billion dollar business up from NOTHING! Presidents have asked my advice, I have dined with royalty, and I’m supposed to make out like what? This trip was supposed to MEAN something to me? Like it was gonna change ME? How did you see it playing out Carter, I knock on the door, she answers, she’s surprised and angry, but I tell her how much I love her and miss her, and OH, by the way, I’m gonna be dead soon so I’m reaching out to you because I don’t wanna die alone? His friend replies, “Everyone’s afraid to die alone.”
E. His response, “I’m not everyone!” I’m not everyone. Misconception #1 – we should be somehow exempt from suffering.
F. Our religion started on a cross, so how did we ever get that idea.
7. The second misconception about suffering is the idea that somehow, “this is God’s will.”
A. God does not desire our suffering. God desires our faithfulness. If that faithfulness causes suffering, than that is not God’s will, that is the result of human sin.
B. If our faithfulness results in suffering, that is because human sin causes us to resist and even struggle against God’s kingdom.
C. It was human sin that pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Abraham Lincoln. And it was human sin that pulled the trigger on the gun that killed Martin Luther King, Jr.
D. As Jesus made his walk to the crucifixion, it was human sin that motivated the Roman soldiers to beat and scourge him.
E. And ultimately, it was human sin – and not God’s will – that hung Jesus on the cross.
F. The cross was God’s loving and gracious response to human sin; it was not what God wanted to do.
8. I have shared with you from time to time of my adventures riding my bicycle across the country back in 1986.
A. One day, we were riding in upstate New York, just a couple days away from the end of the ride.
B. My riding partner had a leg injury, and so he rode in the van.
C. It was cold, it was raining, and I wanted to go home.
D. Anger rose as cars passed. I was hurling invectives at the heavens.
E. Still, small voice – “pick up your cross, and follow me.”
F. Pick up your cross.
G. The moment I became at peace with my suffering for righteousness sake, I felt the peace that comes from God…the peace of being a child of God.
9. My friends, if Jesus were a student at one of our prestigious business schools, he would have flunked his marketing class. If Jesus were on Donald Trump’s show “The Apprentice,” he would have been fired the first day.
A. But, Jesus is not inviting people to a life of luxury.
B. He is calling them to the kingdom of God.
C. And the road there may not be paved with cold. There may be bumps along the way.
D. But the promise that we carry is that, if we travel this road faithfully, Jesus Christ is with us…all the way.
E. And the life to which he is leading us is the abundant life of children of God.
F. When we suffer for our faith. Take heart, we are in good company. In fact, we are in the company of the king. Amen.
Sermon delivered 3/16/08 at Light of the Canyon United Methodist Church, Anaheim Hills.
