Sermon on Matthew 4:1-11

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

The devil is all about easy answers and quick fixes in this story.

He finds a time when Jesus is weakened—he’s been alone in the wilderness for a long time. He’s hungry and probably uncomfortable and tired.

So, Jesus is tempted to provide for his needs—understandable, right?

“Turn these stones into bread! You’re powerful—why wait to be satisfied?”

Then, the devil suggests that Jesus should prove his identity and special relationship with God.

“If you’re really who you say you are, how cool would it be if you jumped from here? Everyone in Jerusalem would see angels catch you!No one would be able to doubt you then.”

Finally, the devil shows Jesus the glories of the whole world.

“Why wait? This could all be yours right now! Just submit to my authority and you can have everything you want.”

It would be so easy to do any of these things. All of his problems would be solved: he would never be hungry, doubted, or powerless again. All he had to do was take matters into his own hands.

Easy answers and quick fixes are so tempting! Even when you know in the back of your mind that there’s probably a catch, that it’s probably not that simple, it would be such a relief if it actually worked!

But at what cost?

For Jesus, it would be his whole identity and all of his values. He would be departing from his focus on his mission and his tender reliance on God.

Fortunately, this story comes right after Jesus’ baptism, when the voice of God and the dove-shaped Holy Spirit came down from the clouds and affirmed Jesus’ identity: “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Even accounting for his time fasting in the wilderness, Jesus had just had this amazing affirmation of his identity. He was so grounded in his identity and relationship with God that he didn’t need to prove himself to anyone. He could withstand the temptations he was faced with, because he kept his focus on his values and on God.

That’s hard to do, though. There are a million things every day vying for our attention, telling us we’re incomplete and unworthy, trying to make us forget who we are and whose we are.

Advertisements try to get us to forget that we are sufficient and whole in our belovedness.

The news can make us forget that our acts of love are powerful even in the face of the terrible hurt in the world.

Busyness can make us forget that it is enough just to be, and that God’s time works differently than our sense of chronological time.

That’s one of the helpful things about Lent. It’s a time when so many of our ancestors in faith have set aside time to simplify and reorient toward God.

Unfortunately, it can be tempting to even use Lenten disciplines, practices, and traditions in ways that don’t do justice to our identities or orient us toward God.

As the Lazy Genius podcast reminded me last week, “external solutions will not fix inner problems.”[1]That episode was specifically talking about “kindly navigating a changing body” and so was talking about how a change on the scale or a new lotion does not help us feel better about ourselves if internally we’re shaming ourselves. No outside change is going to make us stop hating ourselves on the inside.

Quick fixes and easy answers don’t satisfy.

It’s so easy to make our spiritual lives into a checklist. As if giving up something for Lent, attending Bible study, and telling someone you’re praying for them is what proves that we’re Christians.

To a certain extent, outward actions can orient us toward mindsets we want to cultivate. For example, it’s a lot easier to live up to a value of service by making it a habit of regularly volunteering with Caring Hands instead of waiting until 7 a.m. on a Wednesday morning to decide whether to go that day. Habits are easier to keep than to start.

But even doing something as wonderful as helping out at the pantry doesn’t mean anything if we are doing it because we’re afraid of God’s judgment. That requires inner work, not a checklist.

Like Jesus, we need to start with our identity.

We are children of God. We are followers of Jesus. We are marked with the seal of the Holy Spirit.

Martin Luther was plagued by shame and guilt throughout his life, and when it got bad, he would remind himself, “I am baptized.” It was not about “I got baptized – check! Now I’m not going to Hell.” Instead, it was a way to remind himself of what God had done, not what he had done. He was baptized, so he was God’s forever—nothing he could do could take that away.

He rested in his identity in God, just like Jesus did. And we can, too.

Our baptisms remind us that we are part of God’s family and that we are children of God forever—no checklists required.

If you are not baptized, God still loves you, and you are welcome and valued here. If you would like to talk more about baptism, come talk to me after the service.

Whether you’re baptized or not, God loves you, and nothing can change that. We are not saved by anything we do or don’t do. There is one savior, and that’s Jesus. Our salvation was taken care of a long, long time ago.3w

Therefore, we can do spiritual practices, such as a Lenten discipline like 40 Days of Less, not so we can get a gold star on our heavenly report card, but for the ways they help us pay attention to what God is doing and figuring out what really matters to us.

Once Jesus was grounded in his identity in his baptism, he was able to spend time fasting in the wilderness, focusing on what mattered to him and what his mission was. He was able to resist the temptations to get sidetracked and take shortcuts. He knew his values and centered his life on God, so he turned down the offers of easy answers and quick fixes.

When we’re grounded in our identity as children of God, then we can participate in spiritual practices to focus and orient ourselves. Pastor Jaz’s 40 Days of Less devotional helps us discern what objects and mindsets are getting in the way of what truly matters to us.

If you’ve picked a different Lenten discipline, that’s great, too. I hope it’s a fruitful experience for you. I’d love to hear about it.

And if now is not the time to add another practice to your life, thank you for listening to what you need right now. You are still a beloved child of God, and God loves you exactly as you are.

Whatever this Lent brings you, may you find your grounding in your identity as a child of God. That is what will help you withstand the distractions, easy answers, and quick fixes in the world we live in.

Hold fast to your values,

support each other on our journey,

and whenever something is getting you down,

remember that you are a child of God.

[1]https://www.thelazygeniuscollective.com/lazy/bodychange Episode 301 “How to kindly navigate a changing body”

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.

Sermon on Matthew 5:21-37 – Discipleship in Community

Pastor Jennifer Garcia

The Sermon on the Mount is starting to get real.

Jesus started out by calling people blessed, happy, greatly honored, then he drew out the salt and light in his community of followers.

But now, he’s starting to talk about how to actually live it. And it’s tough.

I’ll be honest: when we were planning this sermon series, and I realized I was up for this passage, I was dreading it.

Murder, adultery, divorce, vows—they make for an exciting novel but are not what one hopes for in real life.

And Jesus takes the instructions in the Law regarding murder, adultery, divorce, and making vows and interprets them in a way that intensifies them.

So instead of “stabbing someone to death is bad,” Jesus says, “if you let your anger get the better of you and you insult someone, you’ve essentially murdered them.”

Many people can pat themselves on the back for never having physically murdered anyone, but I would be very surprised if anyone here can, in good faith, say they’ve never been angry with anyone and called them a name.

Sometimes we can get a hippie, “love is all you need” image of Jesus. But here Jesus keeps us accountable. And it’s not comfortable.

It feels like this passage is an impossible checklist of “dos and don’ts.”

Why this sudden shift from “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and “You are the salt of the earth”?

If the Beatitudes are about who the disciples are (the marginalized and those aligned with the marginalized),

and Jesus was drawing out the salt and light that were in his disciples so that the world could see the loving God he was pointing to,

then these teachings are showing Jesus’ disciples how to be his followers in community.

And community is hard, as anyone who’s ever had roommates or planned an event with a committeeor worked on a group project in school knows.

And the Beloved Community that Jesus is calling his followers to is so much harder.

It’s so counter-cultural that it’s counterintuitive. It goes against our egos and sometimes even our survival instincts, teaching us to think of others first. It calls the poor and marginalized “blessed” and the rich and elite “last.”

Jesus is calling for people to be “right-sized”—calling for those who don’t have to consider others to instead love and serve their neighbor, and letting those who are considered nothing by society know that they are valued members of God’s family.

Jesus is calling for people to be “integrated”—to align their actions and their attitudes to the love of God and of neighbor. The word “integrated” is related to the word “integer,” like the whole numbers we learned about in math class. We don’t want decimal points in our identities. We want to be whole numbers. They’re easier to deal with in math, and being wholehelps us live as the salt and light we are.

So, Jesus teaches that our words and attitudes toward our neighbor can be death-dealing or life-giving.

Then, he teaches that objectifying someone dehumanizes them and breaks the relationship.

And he discourages men (the ones with power in the relationship) from divorcing their wives at a time when women were dependent on the men in their lives for survival.

Then, he encourages people to be integrated in their words and actions. Most agreements were verbal in those days, so oaths worked like contracts do today. So, Jesus says, “Don’t use fancy language for emphasis. When you follow through on your words, your yes can mean yes and your no mean no.”

Jesus has two more instructions in this list, but you’ll have to wait until next week to hear about those.

But all of these add up to so much more than a list of “dos and don’ts.” They are the building blocks of Beloved Community.

And they so often get used to bully, exclude, and judge people, which is the opposite of Beloved Community.

When we turn the sermon on the mount into an individualistic, moral yardstick, we are misusing it and hurting ourselves and our neighbors.

How many people have been told they’re a sinner and they’re going to Hell, when Jesus here warns against calling others hurtful names?How many LGBTQ kids have been kicked out of their homes by parents who call themselves Christian, when Jesus himself says to be reconciled?

How many times have women been told to dress modestly so they don’t cause men to sin, when it’s men who are instructed here not to look at women lustfully?

How many people have been encouraged to stay in lifeless or abusive marriages because of these verses? Or have gotten a divorce and then been shunned and shamed at the very time they most needed their community’s love and support?

How many people have been told not to cuss because the Bible says not to instead of having their hurts really listened to? Besides the fact that that’s not the kind of swearing Jesus is talking about here.

How many people have looked at their own lives and feared damnation because they don’t measure up to these impossible standards?

Shame and fear, whether from others or from within oneself, is not what Jesus is trying to create here.

First of all, these standards are impossible. We can’t measure up perfectly to these instructions. That’s why we need God. That’s why Martin Luther said that we are both saint and sinner. We can’t do this on our own.

And that’s why Jesus is forming the Beloved Community. We need each other. Christians aren’t meant to be in a vacuum—we’re made for community.

And that’s why the sermon on the mount isn’t a yardstick for us as individuals to measure up to. That’s not what it’s meant for. The sermon on the mount is a vision of a community of disciples of Jesus.

When we view these teachings as a precise code of behavior—rigidly, where people are either in or out, either measuring up or not—then we’re misusing them and hurting the very Beloved Community Jesus is fostering.

For example, let’s look at the divorce teaching. If we look at it very strictly and at face value, we read, “you shouldn’t ever get divorced unless your spouse cheats on you.”

And this was very much the way the dominant US culture used to view divorce. I remember watching the movie with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers The Gay Divorcee. It’s a fun Fred and Ginger romantic musical from 1934. The basic premise is that Ginger’s character wants a divorce from her husband who’s gone most of the time anyway. Her lawyer sets things up so that she’ll look like she’s having an affair so that her husband will want a divorce. There are mix-ups and shenanigans, of course, and her husband doesn’t believe her, but it turns out he was having an affair the whole time, so Ginger’s character is free to get a divorce and pursue a relationship with Fred’s character.

So, fun, comic, dance-filled movie. And also, it’s based on the premise that people have to lie and manipulate each other to get out of a loveless marriage. That’s not what Jesus is going for here!

Jesus does not want people to stay in abusive marriages or marriages that are causing people harm.

There are times when it is good to work to repair a marriage and times when it is better to end it. And looking to the sermon on the mount as a checklist is not the way to discern which is better for you.

Instead, read deeply into the sermon on the mount. Look at the attitudes it fosters and the actions that come from that. Look at the way the instructions build community and provide protection for the vulnerable.

It says:

Don’t hold onto anger or call people names.

Be bold in your reconciliation efforts.

Don’t objectify other people, especially not those with less power than you.

Don’t give your word lightly—be so whole-hearted that people believe what you say.

It all comes down to the way Jesus summarizes the law: love God with everything you are and love your neighbor as yourself.

When we pick apart these teachings, trying to live to the letter of them, we sometimes miss the intention behind them and the goal of building community and a whole-hearted life together.

I invite you to set down any baggage you’ve been carrying around the teachings of Jesus we read today. There’s potentially a lot of it—I know I have more than a little.

Now, take a deep breath, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Roll your shoulders if that feels good.

These teachings are not meant to instill shame or fear. We won’t fulfill them perfectly—we’re fallible human beings, and God knows that and loves us (yes, you!).

To the best of our ability, we can live whole-heartedly, seeing the image of God in the people around us and treating them as such. And that, along with the power of the Holy Spirit, is how Beloved Community is created. That is discipleship in community.

Beloved children of God, release the weight of fear and shame.

Feel the freedom of the whole-hearted life Jesus invites us to.

Go, beloved, be the community of God.