How long do we have to wait for the blessing?

Among the many questions we bring to the Beatitudes in Matthew's gospel (Matthew5.1-11) there is this perennial one:  how long do we have to wait to experience these blessings?  Is all this good news only for when we have died?  Are these enigmatic statements really just promises for the future.......sort of like a 'money back guarantee'?


If the first 4 beatitudes are describing how the kingdom of Jesus will be a blessing to folks who are suffering today, then what about the last 4 beatitudes?  Are they any different?  I think so.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."

God is pure in heart, that is, without evil intent.  Those who are 'pure in heart' (although imperfectly, of course) demonstrate an attribute of God in their day to day life.  To be in the presence of such a one is to have a small taste of the glory of God.  Have coffee with someone who is 'pure in heart' and the kingdom of heaven will break out right at your table.  You will have entered - if only for a moment - God's space where blessing is the rule of the day.

Likewise those who are merciful.  Mercy is an attribute of God, so this verse says, 'blessed are those who are like God' - and you, my friends, will experience a taste of the kingdom of God when you are in the presence of someone with this gift.  Those who make reconciliation with enemies and bring peace to this world are reflecting the deepest desires of God - that all shall be one and the wolf shall lie down with the lamb.

Yes, the kingdom of heaven is not a full reality today.......but we can taste its glory in small spaces where God has broken out.  Furthermore, we can call on the name of God and incarnate just such attributes of God and further yet another glimpse of God's kingdom.  We glimpse the shape of God's kingdom when people of God seek the path of God and do not rest until justice is done.

Just to be sure, let's say it again.  This is the kind of kingdom that Jesus is bringing into reality: a kingdom which honors and blesses the weak and vulnerable and where peace, mercy, and purity of heart are the norm.  That is the kingdom and not some other.

We, who are Salt and Light, are given the task of bringing this kingdom into the reality of this world.  We are called to be workers for this kingdom and no other.

When we pray,  'thy kingdom come' it is good to remember what kind of a kingdom we are praying for.

The Beatitudes: good news or good advice?

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven"  Matthew 5.3  So begins a three chapter teaching block in the gospel of Matthew known as the Sermon on the Mount.  It opens with the Beatitudes, or the 'blessing' statements.

People love to quote the Beatitudes, but frankly, they are anything but easy to understand.  Not the words so much, but the intent.  Are these teachings by Jesus indicatives or imperatives?  (I love when I can use some of the high school English stuff.)

Do these 'blessings' describe what is (indicative) or do they command particular behavior (imperative)?  Is Jesus trying to paint a vision of what the kingdom of heaven is and will be? 
What are we to do with such a statement as 'blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven'?  When we look around ourselves, those who are poor in spirit (no matter how you define that phrase) do not seem to be in possession of the kingdom of heaven (whatever that is supposed to mean.)

Or, is Jesus telling us that in order to claim our place in the kingdom of heaven, we need to be 'poor in spirit'?  I have to ask if 'poor in spirit' is a state of being that one can take upon oneself even if you wanted to.  Then they would simply be good advice for the potential followers of Jesus.  As you can imagine, there are all kinds of opinions out there, so if you disagree with mine, you can always find a recognized scholar who has a different approach.

Here is my approach:  Jesus is painting a picture of the kingdom of heaven (Matthew uses this instead of 'kingdom of God').  This is early in his ministry and he is setting the stage for the kingdom he is bringing to those who follow.  Jesus will usher in this kingdom in his own person, and through his death and resurrection, eternally for all.

When this kingdom is  in force, those who are poor in spirit will experience it as a blessing.  When this kingdom is realized, those who mourn will be blessed with comfort.  For these folk and those who are meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (v 5-6) the kingdom of heaven will be a blessing, unlike what they are experiencing now.

In these first four beatitudes, Jesus assures his listeners that the reality that they experience today will be transformed into a blessing in the new kingdom he brings.  The poor in spirit, the meek, those who mourn can embrace this new kingdom - it is more than safe, it is life itself.

This is Good News, and would naturally grab the attention of the disenfranchised in the crowd.  Sitting on the mountain (v1), teaching like Moses taught the Ten Commandments from Mt. Sinai, Jesus introduces God's grand plan for all of creation - a transformation of what is into what can be through the love of God in Jesus.

But wait, there's more.   See you tomorrow.

Reformation Monday: excommunication

Is that really a Lutheran thing?

Of course.  Any time a person is turned away from the communion table, they have been ex-communicated....put outside the community who gathers at the Lord's Table.  The term is generally used of people who at one time did participate and who are now banned.

Why would such a thing happen?

A perfectly good question.  It would seem that if Jesus was anything he was inclusive; all were invited into the Wedding Banquet  - although note there was a guy without the correct robe who was tossed out (see Matthew 22).  So many Christians believe that we are obligated to allow everyone or anyone to remain a part of the community of faith, just as they believe forgiveness means that perpetrators don't have to face consequences.  We stand heavily on the Grace and don't know exactly how the Law is to be applied.

Let's step back and look at the Lutheran understanding of Law.  Law has two functions.  First, law maintains civil order.  It's that straight forward. Then there is a second or theological function of the Law.  When Law functions theologically (before God) it reflects back to us the reality of who we are and how we are acting in God's world.  In this case, Law works like a mirror.  The picture we see of ourselves is that of a sinner......and we are driven to confession and repentance.  Once we stand before God in repentance, seeking to amend our lives, we stand under Grace....the wondrous love and forgiveness of Jesus and through Jesus.

Now, none of us do this perfectly.  Luther follows St Paul on this when he says  'we do the very thing we do not wish to do, and do not do the very thing we wished we did'.  We are saint and sinner simultaneously.  Yet in the act of confession we recognize how far we have drifted away from God's desired life for us and we turn again (repent, however small the increments) towards God and try living the life of faith once again.  We will never do it all right.  God will never tire of listening for our voice as we cry out.

When Law functions this way (driving us to confession) it deepens both our relationship with God and our spiritual understanding of what it looks like to live a life of faith.  No longer is it a question of whether we have broken the letter of a law, but rather whether our actions/attitudes/thoughts have contributed to the blossoming of God's kingdom.  When the commandment is to love your neighbor, the question the Law raises is How have you loved?  It is always a growth experience.

Unless it isn't.  Unless it is pro forma.  You speak the words but your actions continually belie your sincerity.  You live a life that intentionally and willfully brings death to others (both literally and figuratively).  This isn't about casual moral codes; it is about choosing ways that are contrary to God and then mindlessly expecting to receive an assurance that all is well and you are right with God. There is a failure of both confession and repentance.

When pastors are ordained to the ministry of Word and Sacrament they are entrusted with the office of the keys of St Peter: the keys that open or close the gates of heaven.  (don't take that literally; there are no gates and no keys).  The Office of Pastor is entrusted with the spiritual well being of all the flock for their eternal welfare.  Most of the time this looks like teaching and prayer and occasional soft admonishment.  Until it doesn't.

On occasion, the behavior of a person is so egregious and allergic to change that it becomes clear that they are not seeking the face of God.  Most of these folks simply separate themselves from the faith community, but some feel entitled to God's forgiveness (a gift!) with rights to God's table.  Rarely this will result in a pastor refusing to commune a person: ex-communication.  Sometimes it also means separation from the congregational body as well (a function of the congregational council).  All of this is intended to shock the person into amending their ways as they lose the closeness of the Risen Jesus in Word and Sacrament.  Ex-communication is intended to bring the offender back.

It is rarely done and never done lightly.....but it does happen.  If you are worried about it, it probably doesn't apply.

Sorry this was so long, but it is a long subject.

the wilderness of temptation

So Jesus manages to pass the 'stone to bread' test in that pesky wilderness, but the Great Tempter isn't finished.

[Let's pause just a moment here and look at this character in the story who is called both the devil and the tempter.  The devil is a tester or tempter.  His job is to test one's faithfulness to God, and he will tempt one to turn away from God and take another path.  The temptation is intended to strengthen one's faith.......although, of course, that is not always the result.  This character is present in Genesis 3 (the Garden of Eden) and in the book of Job.  Our concept of the tempter as Evil Incarnate is not an accurate reflection of his role in the biblical story.  Just saying.]

Soooo, the Great Tempter isn't finished with Jesus out there in the wilderness.  Isn't that how it happens?  When you are in the wilderness, the temptations come fast and close.

We watch as the devil tempts Jesus to jump off the temple roof.  Why?  To press God into protecting his life and well-being.  What a show!  Angels swooping down to break his fall; God at his glorious best while Jesus suffers no harm.

But we know that the glory of God.,...the very heart of God.....is not manifest in cheap parlor tricks. Jesus is not here among humankind to protect himself.....and put God to the test at the same time.  Jesus came to protect the vulnerable, lifting them up in status and calling them friends....even taking on suffering for the sake of others.

One more time Satan throws out a possibility:  you can rule the whole world Jesus.  All this power can be yours.  You can be king of the jungle.  Jesus knew that there can only be one King of All: and that was God, the Creator.  Furthermore, Jesus would reign over all the earth, but he would do it from a cross and in obedience to God's call to love.  Get behind me Satan!

We will have or have had or possibly even..are having right at this moment.... similar experiences in our lives: temptations to take care of ourselves to the exclusion of others; temptations to parlay our relationship with God to some kind of special protection for ourselves; and the temptation to take all the power that is offered to us by those who do not have the welfare of our neighbors at heart.  All these will weaken our connection to God and in time, we will forget the love that gave us life in the first place.

Love God.  Love your neighbor.  Using these two commandments as a measuring stick for the actions of our lives will help us when faced by temptation.

Unless the temptation is chocolate.  I am sure God loves chocolate as much as I do, right?

lost in the wilderness

My daughter loves a TV show about folks who are battling the wilderness of Alaska.  These are pioneers who grapple with the weather, lack of conveniences, and risks of living where wild animals are both close and deadly.

Few of us would make this choice.  The risks are very real; one could get snowed in for long periods of time.  One's food supply could run out; your source of heat could fail; your appendix could burst.....and there are very few people nearby who can be of any help at all.

Yet all of us struggle in some kind of wilderness, even if our wilderness looks like office politics or horrendous traffic jams or governmental incompetence or even lack of health insurance.  We all live in a reality show even if there are no cameras to catch our every move.  We call that reality show: life.

And life can be its own wilderness: testing and tempting us at every turn to store up more than enough goods, to protect ourselves always and to amass sufficient power to keep us safe.  Prosperity, protection and power.  It is our 3 point system for surviving even if it means surviving at the expense of others.

If you keep this in mind, you may find more bridges between the scene between Satan and Jesus in the wilderness (Mt. 4) and our day to day existence.  In the first temptation, Jesus is tempted to turn stones into bread.  Not one stone into bread to ease his hunger, but all the stones.  'Take care of yourself, Jesus.  You deserve it.  You are hungry.  No one can blame you. Don't chance that tomorrow there will be nothing.'

Jesus' response is this, 'humans don't live on bread alone, but on the very wisdom that comes only from God.'  For some of us, it is not a very satisfying response.  God is good, but hunger is hunger.

 But what if we paraphrased it this way, 'our primary task is not to take care of ourselves, but to take care of others.' It takes strength and fortitude and discipline to follow this lead.  Later we will watch as Jesus feeds 5000.  That is his calling, to feed others, not to feed himself.

Being a disciple means following this same path: to care for others before caring for ourselves.  Now, I don't mean in a pathological way, but rather, to move off the dead center of our own ego and begin to open our eyes to our neighbors, to see 'us' rather than simply 'me'.  This is a critical move in a life of faith or, if you prefer, a life of spirituality.  We cannot be spiritual people if the only spirit we are filled with is our own.

Wandering around in any kind of wilderness makes us more susceptible to this most basic of temptations.  It is no wonder that the devil started there.  Bread is everyone's entry level drug.  Jesus teaches us:  we feed, and as a result, we are fed.  

What do you think?

Reformation Monday: Diet of Worms

This historic event is every young teens favorite part of the Luther story.  Who doesn't think a diet of worms is a bit funny?

But of course, worms had nothing to do with this important confrontation between Rome represented by the Papal Nuncio and Martin Luther, represented by himself.  They stood before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V; Luther was to answer for his writings and recant as demanded by Pope Leo through his representative.

Called into session in 1521, the Diet was a meeting, similar to the US Congress but of course on a much smaller scale and in Germany.  Worms was the city in which the Diet was held. Luther was summoned to appear before the Diet, having already been denounced by the Pope and excommunicated.

It was dangerous for Luther to travel to Worms under the ban of excommunication so his prince, Frederick required a guarantee of safe passage to and from the meeting.  (This was essential since a hundred years earlier, reformer Jan Huss was summoned under just such a guarantee and when he arrived they burned him at the stake).

There isn't an exact recording of what Luther said when called on.  He did admit that all the writings laid out before him were, in fact, his.  When asked to recant, he asked for a day to think it over.  The next day, he refused.  We have all heard the story of him saying, "Here I stand.  I can do no other."*  No one is really sure he actually said that, but it gets quoted all the time. Certainly he said something quite similar.

After Luther's departure, the Edict of Worms was issued which made Luther an outlaw, subject to arrest by anyone at anytime.  On his way back home from the Diet, Prince Frederick kidnapped Luther and hid him in the Wartburg Castle where he spent his time in isolation translating the Bible into German.....and fighting the devil (although that is another Monday's story).

When I think about this episode I am struck by the sheer courage of the man.  He knew what he was risking; enemies of the Pope died slow and painful deaths....and yet for Luther there was no other path.  It is the courage and witness of men and women like Martin Luther which remind us of the radical nature of professing Jesus as Lord.  They form the 'great cloud of witnesses' who sustain those who desire lives of faith.  Thanks be to God.



**I have a pair of socks I bought in Wittenburg, Germany with those exact words printed on the soles.  I love the word play.