St. Luke Ev. Lutheran Church

Sermon delivered by Pastor Anthony E. Schultz

January 27 + 30, 2005

Epiphany 4 series A. Matthew 5:1-12

Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

People of God—rescued from the flaming lake of fire in hell by the innocent blood of the very Lamb of God:

We were at the hospital—this week—in Madison. Our first stop is usually the lab department—the place where they take a sample of your blood. While I was waiting there—a young couple came in—carrying a small baby. The mother unwrapped the blankets—and inside nice and warm was a little baby. But something was wrong. You know how—when you hold a baby—and talk to them—they watch you? They connect with you? Well—this little baby just stared off into space. The mommy held her so tenderly—softly stroking her hair—kissing her forehead—talking to her. The daddy was reading the sports page—and yet every few moments—he would look over and check the little baby and whisper soft words to her, too. But the little baby seemed completely disconnected. You didn’t have to go to medical school to know something was seriously wrong. Pretty soon they would take this little baby into the room that was partitioned with hanging curtain walls into a whole bunch of little rooms. They would poke that little baby—they have to—to take a blood sample. And I’m sure that little baby would cry—unable to understand—why is this happening? I think it’s hard to imagine circumstances more difficult than a baby that is very sick. And yet—God’s Word comforts and encourages us with the powerful gospel promises of God. Today God’s Word reminds us that even in the midst of the most difficult of times Jesus’ forgiving love never fails. God is our rock, our refuge and our salvation. This 4th Sunday in the season of Epiphany God’s Word says:

Jesus Gives Us Lasting Happiness!

1. Jesus changes our attitude

2. Jesus changes our actions

The part of God’s Word we are concentrating on—is the beginning of Jesus’ most famous sermon on the mount—the sermon Jesus preached on a grassy hillside—to his disciples—his students and followers and imitators. It is important to remember Jesus did not preach this sermon to a pick up group—the people fortunate enough to show up that particular morning. Jesus was preaching to people who believed in him—people who loved Jesus—believed in him. The Sermon on the Mount is not about being nice—because it’s nice to be nice to the nice. Jesus is talking about fruits of faith—the attitudes and actions of kindness that are a result of loving Jesus with your whole heart. Jesus is talking about faith alive and in action. It assumes a basic understanding of law and gospel. The fact is we are all sinners—poor wretched sinners—rescued from our guilt by grace through faith. The beatitudes—the people who are blessed are believers—blessed not because of merit—but because of God’s undeserved love. As we grow in faith—we will grow in understanding—and grow in the blessings that Jesus showers down upon us.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” That would be us—poor in spirit—painfully aware of our spiritual wretchedness! About two years ago—Jamie Lee Curtis—was photographed for a magazine article. They took lots of pictures of her—after someone had spent hours cutting and coloring and styling her hair. After someone had spent literally hours applying makeup—making her eyes and her cheeks and her lips just perfect. After people had spent hours helping her put on outfits that cost thousands of dollars. The lighting and the background and everything made her look absolutely radiant, flawless—beautiful. Then she had them take her picture—just standing there—with all the makeup washed off—her hair just there—with her arms and her legs and her tummy and her toes—just the way they are. They took her picture—exposing all the flaws of her 44 year old body! That took some courage—don’t you think? It takes courage to take a long hard look at yourself! What about your self-esteem? Self-esteem doesn’t come from telling your self—I like myself just the way I am! Self esteem doesn’t come from ducking cold reality. Self esteem doesn’t come from thinking every criticism or complaint or suggestion for improvement is mistaken. Self esteem comes from knowing Jesus loves me. Jesus has washed away my sins and my mistakes. Tax collectors were poor in spirit. The tax collectors prayed, “God be merciful to me a sinner!” Tax collectors knew they had lots of money—wore fancy clothes—could afford expensive wine and rich food. But earthly riches didn’t cut any mustard with their Heavenly Father! Nor does being poor. Physical poverty isn’t next to godliness. You don’t earn points with God by being a homeless person eating rice and beans and sleeping in cardboard. Things and stuff are not the point of life! A person’s life does not consist in the abundance or the lack of possessions. All that matters is our inheritance in heaven—stored up for us because Jesus died and rose again to save us. That’s all that matters!

Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Those who are poor in spirit mourn! They are sad about their sins and the sins of this world! It’s sad to listen to the news—the painful reality of life in this sin infected world. It makes you mourn—to hear about the man who parked his SUV in the railroad track—then slashed his wrists and stabbed himself. And then—when he saw the train coming—at the last moment—changed his mind and crawled out of his SUV—leaving it on the train tracks. The train of course crashed—and now some 11 people are dead? How sad is that? People who got on that train—I’m sure—never thought they would get off that train—not at the next stop—but in Heaven or in Hell! That’s the painful reality—Heaven or Hell! There are no other possible eternal results! It makes you mourn to think that it has been a month since the earthquake under the ocean that caused the wave that washed people out into the middle of the ocean—and they say—pretty soon we who live half a world away—won’t be thinking about that much any more. And the people in the part of Sudan called Darfur continue to die in clumps of 150 but if you asked most people to find Sudan on a map of Africa—they wouldn’t know where to look. It makes you mourn to think that people in Iraq risk being blown up or shot if they vote. And people in this country don’t bother to vote—or vote more than once—or vote where they know they aren’t supposed to vote—then boast and brag about it! Blessed are those who mourn—not because they are so sensitive and sentimental—but mourn because of sin—for they will be comforted by our crucified and risen Savior.

Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Blessed are the meek—not the weak—but the meek. Meekness isn’t weakness—it’s the strength and the self control that is the opposite of aggressive—self assertive—self centered and self serving. We live in a world that encourages being aggressive and competitive. If you are going to be the apprentice of a billionaire—you need to make yourself look good and everybody else look badly. You need to make alliances so you don’t get voted off the island. You need to be quick enough and smart enough and strong enough to be king of the mountain in this dog eat dog world! There are lots of people who believe the former coach of the Chicago Cubs who is credited with saying, “Nice guys finish last!” Ted Turner was quoted again this week—“Christianity is a religion for losers!” This world doesn’t understand the meek are not doormats. The meek are not the patsy—the victim—the forever loser. The meek are made strong by the power of the Gospel to take a hit—to suffer a hurt—and not strike back in frustration or plot revenge. The meek are not the biggest losers but the ultimate winners in every respect for Jesus’ sake. Meekness is a strength that only Jesus can give you! In Jesus’ sight we inherit the earth—not just the new heaven and the new earth—we have it all now. You can only see that—through the eyes of faith!

Jesus said, “Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.” Are we merciful? Or are we quick to find fault? Do you watch TV and correct people’s grammar? That detective should have said, “you and me” not “you and I” or “you and me” when they said “you and I”? Do we mimic when people are being interviewed and they say, “Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah…” Or basketball players are being interviewed and they say, “You know…you know…you know…you know”—you know? Do we sit back and watch football—30 degrees below and somebody drops a pass in the end zone—and we complain—like I would have caught it? Or somebody misses a 15 yard field goal—and we complain my grandma could have kicked that! Really? Are we merciful to little children? Or do we think—somebody should wipe their noses, change their pants—then put them in some room with a TV and close the door so I don’t have to deal with them? Are we merciful when we see people accused of unspeakable crimes on TV—or without hearing more than literally 15 or 20 seconds of accusations we decide—they’re guilty—I’m sure of it! And they should be punished to the full extent of the law! They should get years in prison or the death penalty for what they did! It is only by the power of the Gospel—that we can come anywhere close to praying like Jesus did—“Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!” Only by the power of the Gospel can we be merciful to people who have said or done things that caused us terrible heartache. Only the Gospel can make us strong to forgive people who have done what is worse than hurting us—forgive them for hurting our children or someone else we have loved! Only Jesus can make our hearts overflow with so much love that we forgive and forget! We forget the hurt they caused us—the way God’s Word promises God’s mercy. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” Jeremiah 31:34b

Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” They are observing the 60^th anniversary of the liberating of Auschwitz this past week. How painful is that? It is terribly unpleasant to think about those places—like Auschwitz and Dachau and Buchenwald and Treblinka. It is terribly unpleasant to think about people who were walking skeletons—wearing uniforms with huge strips on them—with yellow flannel stars of David pinned to their chest. It’s painful to think that some of our great grandfathers were the German soldiers who ran these extermination camps—or our great grandfathers were the people imprisoned and abused and executed in these killing places. It’s painful to contemplate the murderous evil that made these places possible. Painful to consider how people could justify being one of the little teeth on one of the little gears that all together made this efficient machine that reduced literally millions of people into dust and ashes! It is painful to think about all the pain and grief and suffering and death in this world. This grief and pain make us long for the day when Jesus will come again—to take us out of this place. We have deep in our hearts a blessedness—literally a happiness that Satan cannot spoil. Because we know—how great is the love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are. We are children of God and heirs of Heaven for Jesus’ sake. Amen!

To God alone all glory!

Rev. Anthony E. Schultz