Epiphany 5A 2020
1 Corinthians 2:1-12, [13-16]
Matthew 5:13-20
The Rev. Dr. Kathy Kelly
Yesterday I went to Bristol to the church I grew up in to the funeral of a significant man in my life - my first voice teacher. He was the music director there and was a great teacher and his daughter was my age and one of my best friends. The preacher there said lots of really amazing things about Bill, some of which none of us knew because he was modest. Among the things he said was that we, in that community, were all blessed to have had him and his wife among us for 50 years and he thanked the family for sharing Bill with us.
This left me thinking about what it means to be blessed and I think I’ve had some light bulbs go on while pondering all of this.
One of my favorite movies is the Alfred Hitchcock 1954 classic “Rear Window.” Now, maybe you don’t like Hitchcock or haven’t seen that one but the scene I want to tell you about today is simple to follow, even if you’re not a Hitchcock fan.
Raymond Burr played the bad guy and Jimmy Stewart played a globe trotting, thrill seeking, photojournalist in convalescence after a badly broken leg. Now, this was 1954. They didn’t have much but old fashioned photography then - the kind you had to print onto photo paper in a dark room.
Now, after an accident while chasing down a story in Africa or some exotic location, he’s wheelchair bound in his city apartment and feeling useless. He’s so down in the dumps to have his wings clipped that he ignores his girlfriend, played by the gorgeous Grace Kelly who dotes on him daily while he stares out his rear window. That anyone, no matter how depressed would ignore a girlfriend as lovely as this Grace Kelly character is a sort of unspoken gag in this film.
In the penultimate scene, the bad guy is coming at Jimmy Stewart in the pitch black of night. Clever character that he plays though, Stewart hides his own eyes and takes pictures of his nemesis with those exploding ball type of flashes they had back then. The point wasn’t to get a picture of his assailant, it was the flashbulbs.
Now, we’ve got some young people here today so they may not remember, but most of you were, many years ago, actually blinded by those kinds of flashbulbs. In that movie, these flashes in the dark temporarily blinded Raymond Burr giving Jimmy Stewart time to get another flashbulb, and repeating this until he runs out of flashbulbs which gives him just enough time to stall before help comes.
Well, if you’ve seen the movie you know that a lot more drama comes before and after this scene and Jimmy Stewart ends up breaking the other leg at the end of the scene. But the happy ending is that he experiences a renewed sense of purpose in having solved the crime and his character starts paying more attention to his friends after that too, including Grace Kelly.
Today’s Gospel lesson comes just after this part of Matthew which is known as the sermon on the mount. We also call this small part of that long sermon of Jesus’ the Beatitudes. Today we hear images of The Salt of the Earth and The Light of the World from this same sermon. But this comes just after the part where Jesus has just explained the Beatitudes in which he listed all the ways we are bless-ed.
“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 receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 1“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matt 5: 3-10)
These blessings are often seen as a to-do list of actions we must take in order to become bless-ed, to become part of the Kingdom of God. But that is a misinterpretation. The Beatitudes are not at to-do list of things to accomplish in life in order to be successful and get an “A” in Christian discipleship. We are not created to strive for blessedness.
Neither are the Beatitudes congratulations for a job well done. You have heard me say that we need to remember that we are already bless-ed. And that’s true. It is not, however an excuse to sedentary discipleship as if, since we are already bless-ed we don’t have to do anything. It is good practice to praise God in gratitude for all the ways we are already blessed but that’s not the end of it.
The Beatitudes are a recognition of who we already are as children of God. We are already blessed because we already are “poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted for righteousness’ sake.” (Matt 5:1-12) We are already bless-ed - if we profess faith in Jesus and work to follow Jesus, to pattern our lives after Jesus, to act as his disciples. Though it is O.K. to name our bless-edness when we say, “I am blessed” or “have a blessed day,” the Beatitudes are not a to-do list. Neither are they a “get out of jail free” card.
We have been hearing lots of images in the lectionary readings lately of the Light of the World. Throughout the Christmas narrative we hear all about how Jesus has come into the world as light enters into darkness. The Wise Men followed the light of a star. John the Baptist showed all who would listen that Jesus is the Light. It is as if these gospel writers each take out a flashlight and take us on a tour through the darkness of life to see the real world to which we have been blind - that stuff of blessedness for which we are, or should be, grateful.
Jesus is the Light of the World. But today he tells us we are the Light of the World. The flashlight gets turned on us and we are commanded to shine.
This image of the Light of the World can sometimes overwhelm us and leave us fearful of God or worse leave us making fools of ourselves trying to figure out the source of that light, trying to pen down God. Like a blinding flash in the dark, the very idea of the resurrected Son of Man, God become flesh, is so unfathomable we can feel left stumbling blind in the dark and either miss the point of His teachings or over think His miracles and we can end up making a big mess of things.
That is what happens when we take the Beatitudes as congratulatory or get caught up in the wonderfulness of being so bless-ed. We seem like braggarts to walk around exclaiming that we are blessed. Or we become show offs in our discipleship.
This is what some call “feel good philanthropy” - we do good works because they make us feel good, not simply because we just are disciples of Jesus and it’s the right thing to do. Because it just is what we do. Because it just is who we are.
Rather, according to today’s gospel lesson, we are called to live into our true being as the salt of the earth, the light of the world, true followers of Jesus.
The antidote to the mistake of a bragging show off form of Christianity is to form relationships: relationship with God, relationship with our neighbor, relationship with the Earth. Relationships with each other in our inner circles. Only, relationships with each other is the easy part.
At our Diocesan Council three years ago or Annual Convention, as we now call it, we focused on our brothers and sisters in Haiti. Our guest speaker was a priest from the part of Haiti where we have some collaborative ministries. These missional ministries are not places where we just send money and food, they are parishes and schools where we have developed friendships. We raise funding to send people to form relationship in order to offer our best love of these neighbors.
What I have learned most about Haiti so far in this venture is the deep spirituality of her people. Our Episcopalian brothers and sisters in Haiti are so grateful and joyful in spite of their poverty that we Americans are humbled and inspired in new ways. They are happy because they have love among them.
Many of those who travel to Haiti or other impoverished countries, must keep in mind the need to care for these brothers and sisters and not just go down there to get our “feel good.”
Americans are apt to think of blessings as a sort of congratulations from God for purchasing a bigger house or a new car or landing a good job. In this way it seems like we believe God is congratulating us for these belongings or successes. The people of Haiti are teaching us that being blessed has nothing to do with possessions and everything to do with relationship, with hope and love and joy.
Several years ago, in a different diocese, I was assigned to a struggling parish as their deacon and spent about a year among them. The assignment was to experience a parish other than my own as part of my formation for the priesthood, so I mostly observed. They didn’t seem to notice I was there. This was awkward. They were very caught up in some conflict that apparently had gone on for many years, so many years that I don’t think they knew anymore why they squabbled like the Hatfields and McCoys, they just operated that way in that church.
It was very painful to observe this, particularly to see them attack their Rector and each other over very trivial matters. There was a small group of instigators at the middle of all this dysfunction and they did not seem to see the problem as theirs, and no one from the margins would challenge them. And so life went on painfully in this way.
One Sunday morning a newcomer came and sat down on the back row next to the widow Sue Hill. (This is her real name.) Now, newcomers came and went. They might stay a few Sundays but usually they did not return once they witnessed the angst in this church. But this older man, this stranger, he stayed. He didn’t say much, he didn’t come to any other activities, he just sat quietly beside Mrs. Hill on Sunday mornings and Mrs. Hill talked with him during the passing of the peace and they made their way to the altar for communion together.
A couple of months went by. The Rector resigned. The fussing settled down some. The parish still met on Sunday mornings with supply priests and the life of the parish went on unmoved. One day, Mrs. Hill called me. She said that she was looking for a priest to perform last rights for the stranger who had been sitting next to her. She explained that she had been visiting him in and out of the hospital since the first Sunday he showed up. She told me what she had learned about him, his name, his story. She said that a few of her brothers and sisters in Christ were helping and that they had taken care of most of this stranger’s needs. He came to church that first Sunday because he had just been given a terminal diagnosis. He had no living family, not much money and very few friends. She did not explain why. She probably didn’t ask him why. She just reached out and helped him in the ways that he needed with the resources that she had. Together, this small band of Christians ministered to this man and brought him love and peace in his final days. In spite of the church, they were “doing church.” Rather, in spite of the actions of her brothers and sisters at church, Sue Hill was being the church.
Jesus is the light of the world, but in today’s reading from the sermon on the mount Jesus defines his followers as the same. We are bless-ed. We are earthy. We are the light of the world. We are the lamp that does no good under a bushel. We are the flash in the darkness that calls out for help, that stands against evil, that creates hope, and love and joy.
We come to church to be transformed. We read and study the Bible, we discuss discipleship, we work hard at liturgy. We seek the Holy Spirit as we break bread together and this is part of “doing church.” But where we are more likely to be transformed is in the action of mission when we become church. When and where we seek out the poor, the sick, the weak and the lonely and not just so that we feel better about ourselves by serving others. The true light shines when we actually enter into relationship, rather than just practicing feel good philanthropy. This is when we are transformed – out there, not just in here.
So, my brothers and sisters, go in peace to love and serve the Lord, enjoy the warmth of Him who loves us, the Light of the world, without letting yourselves feel overwhelmed by that light. Be the salt. Be the light. And Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Let loose all those ways we try to put God in a box, clear your vision enough to see and follow the Light of the world. Stop trying to own the Gospel and allow the Light of the Lord to filter through in order that we might actually be the light of the world. Then, and only then can we graciously do the work that God has given us to do.
Amen.