Sermon: It's All About Attitude

          I'd like to begin this morning with the context of our gospel reading.  Christ has spent the night in prayer on the mountain.  He comes down "to a level place", and there, ensures that every person in the crowd of disciples and followers is healed.  It's both a gift to them, and a mystery, because He's about to confuse the majority of them, and they probably need all their faculties about them to make sense of the fact that He's going to turn their understanding of the world on its ear.

          Among the Jews and early Christians, healing and other signs of power are evidence that God was at work, and that one could trust that the words spoken by the person performing these deeds, were true.  And throughout Christ's ministry, He never performed a "miracle" of judgment.  He didn't cause blindness in a sighted person, or strike someone dumb who spoke the right words but failed to understand in their heart.  He healed with compassion and tenderness.  He provided words of wisdom to those who needed guidance, but did not condemn them.

          So here, in what is often referred to as the "Sermon on the Plains", we encounter the four blessings and the four woes.  And life seemingly turns topsy-turvy.  There's a song by a Christian songwriter, Steve Taylor, that goes like this:

Up’s down, down is out, out is in.

Stairways circle back to where you’ve been.

Time falls, water crawls, are you listenin’?

Did you ever chase your tail

through a maze of exit doors?

I have seen the light by Braille.

I have blazed the road before us.

We’re walking in Escher’s World again.

Rise up you nimble-minded men.

Birds roar, lions soar, sheep are cruel.

Snails pace, papers chase, midgets rule.

Stuffed shirts, status hurts, we ain’t foolin’.

Let the sequels have their day;

The remake’s on its way.

We’re living in Escher’s world it seems;

We’re wide awake within our dreams.

          So, let's circle back around to context.  Most of the people Christ is speaking to are Jews.  They are heavily taxed by the government, mistreated and abused by both Roman rulers and Roman soldiers.  Many are poor, overworked, hungry and sick.  There's never enough to do what needs to be done.  There are always more bills at the end of a paycheck, and always more things on your list that need to be done at the end of the day.  And they're expecting a Messiah who is to free them from this oppression – not someone who tells them they're blessed.  In his first major public sermon, Jesus tells them, how blessed they are to be poor, to be hungry, to mourn, to be hated, for they will be blessed in heaven.  Well, what about now?  Talk about Escher's world!

          And then, to those who may have made something of themselves, gained money, prestige, honor, and happiness – Jesus tells them, woe are they, for they have gained all they desired here, only to experience hardship in heaven.  What?  Why should I follow you then?  I gain nothing!

          But to my way of thinking, Jesus is talking about attitude.  Life is not fair; we will find people and governments who make life hard.  And sometimes we overcome; sometimes we fall.  All of that, however is about this temporary, physical life.  The question is, what do we pursue with our talents?  Who do we bless with our gifts? 

          Here at the very beginning of Christ's ministry, he makes it clear that being His disciple is not choosing an easy path.  What we pursue may bring us hunger or oppression, sorrow or fear.  But if in pursuing the kingdom of heaven, we find ourselves enriched – that in itself is not a cause for woe, but rather what we do with our blessings.  Are we following the great commandment?  Are we loving God with all that we are, and loving our neighbors as ourselves? 

          If, however, we are pursuing the almighty dollar, scratching to get ahead, and spending all we have to keep up with the Jones – then woe are we, for we never learned to share what we have with those less fortunate; we didn't learn that it's not all about "me", but rather all about "us."  We will later hear from Jesus that how we treat the "least of these" is how we treat Jesus Himself. 

          One of the things this sermon is designed to do is to explain what being a disciple is all about.  It's not for the faint of heart; it's not the easy path – but it is the right path.  In our Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah speaks the words God gave him, explaining blessings on those who trust in the Lord, and curses on those who trust in only themselves.  "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit. The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse— who can understand it? I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings."

          We are a people who believe that salvation is through grace, and at the same time, that because we believe, our actions will reflect that faith, and produce the good fruit, even in times of drought.  So it's not that good works will get us to heaven, but rather that our belief must, of necessity, be reflected in our lives.  As Paul says to the Corinthians in our New Testament lesson, if we don't believe that Christ rose from the dead, that Easter didn't happen, then our faith is meaningless, and our actions have no value, except as we live here physically, right now.

          So the whole lesson here boils down to, any circumstance in your life, negative or positive, is a doorway to greater blessing.  It all depends on your attitude, and how you can find that blessing in your present circumstances.

          In the midst of our daily lives, how much do we focus on the coincidences - the opportunities that we allow to pass us by because we don't trust that God might be acting through someone who can provide what we need? And how often do we pay attention to the fact that we, ourselves, may be the instrument through which God is acting?

          I am reminded of the story that goes around about a flood and the man who is convinced God will save him. He is visited by two sets of people in boats and a helicopter, but sends them away, because God will save him. When he dies, of course, he asks God why He didn't save him and God's response was, "I sent you two boats and a helicopter - what did you expect?"  Or the other joke about the atheist college professor who says he'll wait 15 minutes for God to smite him in order to prove He exists - and the Marine that decks him because God's busy right now and sent him.

          Even in the face of the evils done to Joseph, son of Jacob, is it not possible that God, in His infinite wisdom, wanted Joseph in another place, where he might act as His hand, extended in grace at a time of His choosing? Looking at the rather volatile history of the Christian Church, is it not possible that some of these things that occurred were to aid in spreading the news of the Christian Faith - in a way that could be accepted at the time? Would the Church have grown without the choices made, at the Council of Nicaea, for instance? While men have free will in the choices they make, can God not turn acts of ignorance or evil, into acts that will benefit His faith?

          Like Paul, do we trust that God will guide us right?  Are we ready to take the hand God sends us to help, allowing others an opportunity to be a blessing?  And will we see blessings as opportunities to bless others?  It's all about attitude.