Sermon Series: The Sermon on the Mount
Part Four “Discipleship in the World”
February 19, 2023 (Transfiguration Sunday)
Matthew 5:38-48“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say to you: Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also, and if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, give your coat as well, and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to the one who asks of you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
The Sermon on the Mount
Part Four “Discipleship in the World”
This morning we conclude our sermon series on “The Sermon on the Mount.” And we do so on “Transfiguration Sunday.”Bothof these storiesreminding us that God often speaks to us on mountain tops. Bothstoriesalso reminding us that we are not called to live on the top of mountains, but to come down from mountains, from “mountain top moments,” inspired to live out our faithdown below, in the world, as disciples, as servants serving in the midst of God’s people.
This morning before we get back into “The Sermon on the Mount,” I want to begin briefly with the story of the Transfiguration as found in the seventeenth chapter of Matthew.Jesus took with him Peter and James and his brother John and led them up a high mountain, by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Then Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here; if you wish, I will make three dwellings here, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, suddenly a bright cloud overshadowed them, and from the cloud a voice said, “This is my Son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell to the ground and were overcome by fear. But Jesus came and touched them, saying, “Get up and do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus himself alone. As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus ordered them, “Tell no one about the vision until after the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.” (Matthew 17:1-9)
Transfiguration Sunday marks the end of the liturgical season of Epiphany. This is the last “aha-moment” revealing the nature and mission of Jesus. As he is standing on top of a mountain, Moses and Elijah appear representing the Law and the Prophets confirming Jesus’s continuity with the Israelite tradition. Just as God spoke on a mountaintop to Moses and Elijah in ages past, so now God speaks on the Mount of Transfiguration, “This is my beloved…listen to him.”The lectionary cleverly places today’s appointed Gospel, immediately following the last three readings featuring “The Sermon on the Mount,” wonderfully connecting God’s presence and authority to the teachings of Jesus.
Today we remember and reflect and connect these two “mountain top moments.” The amazing story of Jesus’s “Transfiguration” and the magnificent vision of God’s Kingdom as found in the teaching of Jesus’ so called“Sermon on the Mount.”Once again, we are reminded that God often speaks to us on mountain tops,- Mount Saini, Mount Horeb, The Sermon on the Mount. We are also reminded that we are not called to live on the top of mountains, but to come down from mountains, from “mountain top moments,” inspired to live out our faith below, as the disciples, the followers of Jesus.
With that “connection” being made, let us continue with our sermon series on “The Sermon on the Mount.” Last week the emphasis was in part three of our series was on “right relationships in community,” this week the emphasis shifts to our relationships in the world, our calling as we come down from the mountain. Today our theme is “Discipleship in the World.”
Simply put, today’s challenging verses from the Sermon on the Mount, invite us, as the followers of Jesus, to behave in a “radically different way”than others in this world. In a world where “retaliation” and “revenge” have become “the new normal;” we are called to forgive, to “turn the other cheek.” In a world where we are increasingly invited and encouraged, even duped, to see “others” as “enemies;” we are called to love those who are different than us, those who see things differently than us, even those who are in direct conflict with us. Even to love as God would love, “perfectly.”As the followers of Jesus, we are called to behave in a “radically different way” than others in this world.
I recently came across an article entitled “Let’s Get American Revenge,” by Laura Blumenfeld. I found the article very helpful in understanding what I find to be a very troubling trend in our society, the all-consuming, and often violent, preoccupation withretaliation and revenge.
Retaliation and revenge dominate the daily news, we hear story after story now labeled “revenge.” We have “revenge dressing,” “revenge vacations,” “revenge relationships,” “revenge videos,” and of course “revenge politics.” Revenge drives “athletic contests,” “work behavior,” “neighborhood disputes,” “road rage,” and “mass shootings.” It seems that people everywhere are looking for opportunities to feel “dis-respected” in order that they might seek out some “seemingly now legitimate” revenge. And our notion of revenge is extreme, to get revenge is not just to get even with someone, but to totally destroy someone. Remarkably more excessivethan just “an eye for eye.”
In the article Blumenfeld points out that this has not always been the American way. She writes, “Yes, we dreamed of revenge, cheered it - attheaters and sports arenas, secretly wished it upon bosses and double-crossers. … Yet we respected the line between fantasy and action. Our society demanded it. Vengeance was considered uncivilized, unethical, an act of ugly self-destruction. We denied the need to get even.”
Violent and extreme revenge was something that happened in other places in the world. American revenge at that time was different, it was primarily characterized by looking forward and not back. Americans believed in taking the higher road, retaliating by turning the other cheek, letting go, and overcoming despite being treated unjustly. Our revenge was found in our future success. Americans used to consider revenge - economically, socially, and politically- unproductive, and therefore distinctly un-American.Blumenfeld quotes Douglas Horton, an American protestant theologian from the early 20th century, “While seeking revenge, dig two graves — one for yourself.”
Sadly, over the last few decades we no longer view “punishingrevenge” as un-American. Things that used to be seen as shameful behavior are now celebrated. We parade them without embarrassment all over social media. Rather than forgive and forget, we hold on to our grudges and our pain - and aggressively retaliate. Blumenfeld concludes, “Disputes resolve themselves according to the Darwinian rhythms of jungle justice.”
And all this grieves me, it really grieves me. How I long for the world to set aside, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” How I long for people to stop “hating their enemies,” to stop “demonizing” each other. How I wish we could find a way to see beyond conflict, to find a way to love the other, even the enemy.How I wish we could put an end to the never-ending cycles of retaliation. Blumenfeld,referring to the teaching of Jesus, laments that unfortunately, “Grace is appealing, though unrealistic.”Noting that we would rather trust in a sense of immediate divinevengeance rather than do the hard and slow transformative and lasting work of grace.
Yet the hard work of grace, love, and forgiveness is what we are called to do as the followers of Jesus.
What our society, what our world, desperately needs now is people who will practice grace over revenge, love over hate, people who will be the “salt” that saves us, people who will shine the “light” that reveals a better way to live.
But how are we to begin such a demanding, seemingly impossible, task? As much as I grieve the practice of revenge in our world, I am also very aware of the way“the very thing I hate,” is also present in the brokenness of my own heart, the dark calculating corners of my mind.The desire for revenge is not beneath me. I imagine all of us have entertained notions of revenge. How,for heaven’s sake,might I begin to love “perfectly,” as God loves, as God has loved me?
The challenges found in “The Sermon on the Mount” can only begin to be met if we are able to understand and receive them in the context in which they were presented. The order of the sermon is critical. So it is that we must return to the beginning.
The sermon begins with the Beatitudes, and that’s where we must begin. We are the blessed of God, not in the things we do, the things we have accomplished, the things we have acquired, but only in the mercy of God’s love. As Pastor Jennifer reminded us, we are God’s blessed in our brokenness, our humility, our grief, our pain, and perhaps even more important, - in our embracing of others who find themselves in such spiritual, emotional, and physical poverty. Only in this identity, in this solidarity, as the blessed and beloved of God, gifted with a “peace that passes all understanding” along with a peace that gives our life meaning and direction, - can we begin to follow the way of Jesus. We must begin “immersed” in the Beatitudes.
Once we “know” who we truly are, “the blessed of God,”“the beloved of God,” we will begin to know what we can do. Pastor Jasmine reminded us that we are “salt,” that little bit of flavor that makes a big difference. And that “light”which we are called to be, is not some kind of light that we must ignite and keep burning by ourselves, but rather the light of the divine that is in each of us. This light within us is the light of God that shines brightly when we are in the right place at the right time, engaged with faithful people doing faithful things, living in the midst of the life of the “fleshed out” Beatitudes. We have not been called to a superhuman task, but actually a humble task, to simply be present where God is present in this world. Here in this place;a little bit of salt goes along way; in with and through humble hearts, the light of God shines.
Last week we were reminded that we are not alone in this task. God has called us into relationships, and those relationships lived out and practiced well - give us strength. The challenge of discipleship is not something we take on as individuals, but as members of a “reconciled” community, nothing less than the Body of Christ, active and present in this world.
This is the order of things that we must consider! Now as the “blessed” of God, filled with the “light” of Christ, “united together” in grace and love and peace, we can begin to be “disciples in the world.” People who behave radically different. People who practice the grace they have received. People who love with the love they have received. People who are actively engaged in helping to usher in the reign of God.
And one final tidbit, the Hebrew word for revenge “nekamah,” contains the verb “kum,” which means “rise up.” In the face of revenge, in the temptation to seek revenge, let us not fall into the prevailing malaise, but instead “rise up” above retaliation, “rise up” above demonizing, “rise up” above rage, “rise up” above our own brokenness. In the daunting face of revenge let us “rise up“ together in the unity and power of God’s grace and love. Let us “rise up” to our calling to be Jesus’ disciples in this world. Amen.