You are the light of the world: Matthew
5:14-16
Before what is traditionally
called the Sermon on the Mount Jesus begins his ministry career with an
announcement that is packed full of political, social, and religious
substance…”repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” He then begins to
choose some men who will follow along with him in this journey of kingdom
coming near…4 in fact (Peter, his brother Andrew, James, and John the Zebedee
brothers whom in Mark’s account Jesus gives them the names “sons of thunder”.) These
young men drop whatever it is they were currently doing and begin their journey
of discipleship. The first kingdom of heaven coming near episode that occurs is
Jesus going through Galilee teaching, healing, releasing those who were suffering
from demon possession, severe pain, seizures, and those who were
paralyzed…making people whole again. Physically, mentally, spiritually…the
whole entire person…whole again. Its what the reign of God is all about.
Now on to our topic for this morning…I’ve been reading a little book by Randy Harris titled “Living Jesus” and this book covers the Sermon on the Mount. And he suggests that in order to possibly get the best grasp on what this sermon is all about you must begin at the end and that is where we will begin…7:24-27
And now the beginning…5:3-16
Our main focus is 14-16 but
before we can get there we must give 3-12 some effort b/c Jesus probably said
all this without taking a breath.
So let’s look at 3-12 and see
where it leads us…
The beatitudes…God’s
blessings…the character of the kingdom of heaven coming near/God’s reign coming
near contradicts the values that most people in our world hold dear…(the sermon
is one example of kingdom ethics/standards/realities/etc)…
these blessings are contrary b/c God’s blessings/God’s favor rests on the unlikely ones—the poor in spirit—mourners—the meek—persecuted—merciful—those who hunger for true righteousness/true justice (side note the greek word for righteousness dikaiosunan mean both righteousness and justice)—the pure in heart—peacemakers—these are the ones most often trampled on by the world—and this is an upside down way of understanding what it means to be blessed…and these are not commands…these are not something we must muster up and become or try to become…he begins each one with “blessed are” he identifies with his audience which includes his four and all else from the crowds who join in. When we embody the reign of God/the kingdom of heaven we begin to see how these are indeed blessings.
See if this makes any
sense…being blessed is a state of existence in a committed relationship to God
in which a person is favored from God’s perspective even when he/she does not
feel favored or isn’t presently experiencing good fortune.
First beatitude stomps the
predominant worldview that assumes that material possessions are a sign of
God’s approval in one’s life and that they automatically flow from one’s
spiritual efforts. This way of being humble is true humility in the harsh
realities of life makes a person open to receive the blessings of God’s reign.
Humility at the core of our heart. Recognition that they can produce no
spiritual or religious self help before God. No attitude of being owed
something—physical and spiritual bankruptcy…the anawim of the world…my way of
understanding anawim is through a kickball illustration…the left behinds, the
worthless, the pathetic, Israel knew this all to well…exile…I extend this next
thought from Randy’s book…”I want you to imagine what you would have thought if
you had heard those words. For all your life you’d been told that you’re too
pathetic, you’re too pitiful, you’re too worthless for God’s love and
acceptance, and the first words out of Jesus’ mouth is to affirm God’s love and
blessing for you.” You are favored in God’s kingdom.
Blessed are those who
mourn—Ecclesiastes 7:2…mourning is a reality of life but for those of the reign
of God…mourning does not last there will be a time for comfort…what happens
when we begin to mourn the things for which God mourns…violence, war, death,
poverty, sickness, the injustices of this world…I’m jumping ahead a little but
might this have something to do with being light in a dark dark world?
Blessed are the meek—does not
imply weakness…the domineering, the aggressive, the harsh, are often those who
attempt to dominant the earth and establish their own little kingdoms at the
expense of others. This is an upside down way of looking at the world—it takes
more courage to stand with the downtrodden and outcasts of the world, the poor,
the forgotten, the lonely—these Jesus says will inherit the earth when the one
who sits on the throne comes again with the new heavens and new earth…remember
the announcement…I am making all things new…
Blessed are those who
hunger/thirst for justice and righteousness…a passion and desire for things
that include Godly justice for those who have been wronged. Hunger for God’s
will to be done on earth as it is in heaven…hey that sounds familiar. The
coming of the king and his reign to its completion will satisfy all who hunger
for the things of God to come about, but a present taste will be met when this
person experiences this type of justice himself/herself/ourselves but also when
this righteousness is embraced by someone else…reminded of the Samaritan woman
in John 4:13-15…
Blessed are the
merciful---recall Micah 6:8…also the parable later on in Matthew 18:21-35.
Blessed are the pure in
heart…not so much about moral purity but the heart…the gut—bowels—the center
core of a person—undivided loyalty---allegiance to God/to Jesus and the reign
of heaven. Will see God—lets try this…Jesus is Immanuel…God with us, for those
who set the core of their being on God and not simply religious ritualism will
see God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers—those who are active in bringing peace to a violent and dark world.
Those who refuse to get drawn into the violence and confusion and hostility of
their age...of our age…but simply by their presence create peace—and Jesus says
they are blessed and that this is to be our way of life. What is a
characteristic of what it means and looks like to be a child of God?
Peacemaking.
10-12…Darkness will do its
might to overshadow the reign of God. Blessed are you when darkness does its
best on you. Your reward IS in heaven where God is on his throne and coming one
day to restore to rights his people and creation. God’s got you…
These are not commands…but a
way of being in this dark world that comes out of kingdom allegiance b/c if
you’ve noticed in the biblical narrative what typically happens when light
comes in and invades the darkness…the darkness fights back…and when it does it
gets ugly…you are blessed. Jesus blesses the counter cultural standards of the
world…the broken, the anawim’s of this world. He begins with blessings. God’s
favor on the outcasts and those who stand for light.
13-16…notice the beginning of
each metaphor…YOU ARE…Christianity is a way of life that changes the way you
and I look at everything else. We are salt and light…Harris says in his
book…”The world needs light. The world needs salt. It doesn’t need a bunch of
Christians crawling into their Christian storm shelter and never coming out b/c
its not safe out there, nor do we need a bunch of Christians who look so much
like the world that the world can’t see the light.” Is the problem that we’re so much like
darkness and we’ve so much lost our saltiness that we no longer have an impact
on the world, or is the problem that we’re so withdrawn from the world that the
salt and light is not having the impact that it should have?
Does the world/ do our
neighbors/ do our co-workers/ can people at our schools notice what makes us
different? Jesus says you are…it begins with that declaration…we have already
been crowned as being salt and light…blessed are you…you are the salt of the
earth…you are the light of the world…Can we stand out enough for people to ask,
‘what makes you different'?
