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1 February 5, 2017 the Rev. Erin Hensley the Fifth Sunday After The February 5, 2017 The Rev. Erin Hensley The Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, Matthew 5:13-20 Take the Initiative Jesus was born in the time of King Herod in the midst of Empire that depended on victory through oppression. Magi from the East stopped in to ask Herod where his rival the King of the Jews had been born and he sent them to find him. Well the Magi, found the Christ child alright and they left changed men or as Matthew chapter 1 verse 12 says “having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.” The Lord appeared to Joseph, Jesus’ stepdaddy in a dream after the wise men left and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” The Holy Family it’s good to remember was a family of refugees. King Herod, hard hearted like Pharaoh was so many years before, ordered infants in and around Bethlehem dead. Time past while the family remained in Egypt and then once Archelus ruled over Judea they headed back to Nazareth in Galilee. In chapter 3 of the Gospel according to Matthew, John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin, appears on the scene. Jesus is 28 or 29 years old and is baptized by John “in order for them to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). After the baptism, Jesus was led up by the Spirit in to the wilderness to be tempted by evil, by ego. Soon after those 40 days, John the Baptist has been arrested and Jesus’ proclaims the same message John did “Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near” (Matthew 3:2, 4: 17). Change your mind, get a new orientation of God’s righteousness and then act accordingly. Jesus then commands fishermen Peter, Andrew, John, and James to follow him. They leave their boats curious about this fishing for people business and find themselves staying with Jesus not just for a day. These disciples followed Jesus as he “went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people” (Matthew 5:23). Jesus had quite a following given his teaching and healing ministry. Thousands followed and when Jesus, saw the crowds, like Moses went up on a mountain, Jesus went up on a mountain, sat down like rabbis did to teach, and his disciples knew he had something important to tell him. So they gathered round and heard about the meaning of discipleship, the following of God’s law incarnate: 3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 1 1 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. In these last beatitudes Jesus has named as preacher Fred Craddock says, “the existence of hostility toward the gospel.” He’s got to say something more, thank goodness he doesn’t just move on from there. Instead, Jesus affirms who and for whom they are. He tells his disciples: “You are the salt of the earth” (Matthew 5:13a) “You are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14a) Jesus didn’t say you might be salt. You might be light. You should be or you could be. No, Jesus says to his disciples “y’all are the salt of the earth. Y’all are the light of the world.” Y'all are the flavor that brings out the best of local ingredients. Y’all are the antiseptic to wounds. Y’all are the preservatives of what’s right. Y’all are the eyes that help the world. Y’all are the warmth and energy that helps the world grow in doing what’s right. Salt is always salt unless it’s diluted with water over time. It’s flavor, preserving, and cleansing capabilities can gradually fall away. Fred Craddock says it this way, “This does not occur suddenly, of course, but so gradually that those to whom it happens do not perceive themselves as changing and cannot identify later a single time or place when their faith ceased. Certainly the loss was not intentional; it was more a matter of drifting away.” Light can be hidden Jesus says. One can easily armor up and focus on self-defense after one suffers pain and persecution. Sure, building cities on a hill makes sense and increased visibility means increased hostility. Of course, placing a lamp under a bushel basket reduces the possibility of the light being blown out, but such protection comes with a heavy price. For thousands of years, there have been competing forces, for thousands of years, love has been met with resistance, for thousands of years, law and order has offered an illusion of peace. Yes, salt stings, and yes, light can be blinding. And this, beloved people of God, is not who we can be or should be or would be if only. This, fellow disciples of Jesus, is who we are salt of the earth, light of the world. We were not made to drift away or to hide. We were meant to be agents of God’s righteousness, God’s love, in the world. In an article on this morning’s Gospel in Christian Century, Fred Craddock says this, “the way of Christ is mission: witnessing and benevolent intrusion into the life of the world. There is no way that Christ’s cause can be converted into an individual or community lifestyle of self-interest, self-protection and defense against vulnerability. To do so is not to interpret Christ differently, but to abandon him. The way of Christ is to take the initiative and rather than hide from the world, let the light shine in the hopeful trust that the praise of God will be increased.” The way of Christ is to take the initiative. The way of Christ is to let the light shine. So talk about things that are hard, if a part of you feels afraid be gentle with that part, protect the child within you and spend some time away in quiet. Make a sign. Find out who your local, state, and national elected leaders are. Pray for them. Write them a letter. Show up. Listen. Listen. Listen. Tell the truth in love. Resist the temptation to hide from difference. Be a window not a wall. The world needs you. The world needs us. The world needs the Church. And truth be told, the Church needs the world. Everything we do here is not primarily for us or even for Christians. All the worship, learning, and serving we do 2 as Christians is ultimately for the world. Because Jesus didn’t live, die, rise and ascend to his Father in heaven only for those who believed in him. Jesus lived, died, and rose for the world. For the earth. For all of creation. Y’all are salt. Y’all are light. Lord, help us be who we are. Amen. 3 .
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