{"id":991,"date":"2017-11-05T17:23:59","date_gmt":"2017-11-05T17:23:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2017\/11\/05\/the-merciful-based-on-1-john-31-3-and-matthew\/"},"modified":"2020-02-15T18:50:18","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T18:50:18","slug":"the-merciful-based-on-1-john-31-3-and-matthew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/2017\/11\/05\/the-merciful-based-on-1-john-31-3-and-matthew\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cThe Merciful\u201d based on 1 John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

There
\nis a timelessness to All Saints Sunday, similar to the spacelessness
\nto World Communion Sunday. \u00a0On World Communion Sunday, as the Table
\nof Christ feeds people around the whole world, we are able to connect
\nto our siblings in faith without distance separating us. \u00a0On All
\nSaints day we connect to those who went on before us, blessed us, and
\nentered the great cloud of witnesses. \u00a0I often think of the great
\ncloud of witnesses as being not just around us, but under us \u2013 they
\nare the ones on whose shoulders we stand. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Some
\nof the saints we knew well, some of their names will be read today,
\nsome of them predated us by too many years for us to know them by
\nname, and yet they form the great cloud of witnesses. \u00a0This reminds
\nus, as well, that we are here only for a brief period of time in the
\nwork of the church. \u00a0Someday, we too, will be part of the cloud. \u00a0The
\ngenerations march ever onward. \u00a0The cloud will someday include us,
\nand those who aren’t even here yet! \u00a0The generations march ever
\nonward. \u00a0Today is a day of timelessness.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

It
\nis also a day of timelessness in that grief slows down time, and time
\ncan feel relentless. \u00a0On All Saints Day we don’t JUST remember those
\nwho went on before us, and take a moment to acknowledge them, we also
\nnotice the heartbreak of grief and attend to each other in our
\nheartbreak. \u00a0While it is wonderful to have a great cloud of witnesses
\naround us, most of us would rather have those we love right here with
\nus! \u00a0We are thankful to God for their lives, but usually we really
\nwish we were able to share more time with them!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

There
\nis a deep holiness to the All Saints celebration, deep enough that
\nthere is mystery in it as well. \u00a0In seeking to be faithful to the
\nlives of the Saints, the lectionary has given us rather mysterious
\ntext as well. \u00a0It seems simple, until you try to make sense of it!
\nHere are the useful bits I’ve learned about these so called
\nBeatitudes:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The
    \n\tverbs really matter.<\/li>\n
  2. A
    \n\tbunch of the individual \u201cblessings\u201d are quotes from the Hebrew
    \n\tBible.<\/li>\n
  3. A
    \n\tlot of explanations exist to solve seeming contradictions<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I’m
    \ngonna explain each. \u00a0First of all, the verbs. \u00a0Those who speak Greek
    \nsay that a whole lot of effort is made into having the verbs be in
    \nthe form they’re in. \u00a0Namely, that the statements say blessed ARE,
    \nbut then indicate a future reality (mostly). \u00a0Furthermore, they
    \naren’t commandments, they are stated as facts. \u00a0Finally, according to
    \nFeasting on the Word, <\/i>\u201cIn
    \nPsalm 1 the Hebrew word translated in our English text by our word
    \n‘blessing’ is the word ’ashar<\/i>,
    \nwhich means in its literal sense ‘to find the right road’. \u2026 This
    \nis the meaning of ‘ashar in the nine uses of ‘blessed’\u201d in the
    \nBeatitudes.\u201d1<\/sup><\/a>
    \nThat means that these mean something like \u201cYou are on the right
    \nroad when you are poor in spirit.\u201d    2<\/sup><\/a>
    \n Or, perhaps, \u201cYou who are merciful are on the right road, you will
    \nreceive mercy.\u201d \u00a0So each line says \u201cthis group of people is on
    \nthe right road \u2013 and this is where it will lead them in the
    \nfuture.\u201d \u00a0These aren’t particularly normal verb constructions,
    \nwhich is why they’re worth mentioning.<\/p>\n

    Now,
    \nthe Jesus Seminar thinks there is evidence to suggest that Jesus
    \nlikely said 4 of these blessings \u2013 because they show up in Luke and
    \nThomas. \u00a0Those are: the poor in Spirit, those who grieve, those who
    \nhunger and thirst (for righteousness), and those who are persecuted.
    \nThey think Matthew filled in the rest as a way to uphold the early
    \nChristian Community.    3<\/sup><\/a>
    \n In both cases, the blessings have striking Hebrew Bible roots. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    First
    \noff, this text seems to be a reworking of Psalm 1, that being a Psalm
    \nthat talks about blessed people rather extensively (in the \u201cto find
    \nthe right road\u201d meaning). \u00a0Regarding comfort to mourners, which the
    \nJesus Seminar thinks goes back to Jesus, that sounds a whole lot like
    \nIsaiah 61:1-3, \u201cThe
    \nspirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me;
    \nhe has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the
    \nbroken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to
    \nthe prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord\u2019s favour, and the
    \nday of vengeance of our God; to
    \ncomfort all who mourn<\/b>;
    \nto provide for those who mourn in Zion\u2014to give them a garland
    \ninstead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle
    \nof praise instead of a faint spirit.\u201d \u00a0Regarding meek inheriting,
    \nwhich the Jesus Seminar thinks Matthew created, \u00a0we hear it in Psalm
    \n37:11, \u201cBut
    \nthe meek shall inherit the land, and delight in abundant prosperity.\u201d<\/p>\n

    \n<\/p>\n

    \nAs
    \na whole, the lists of qualities of people sound like lists in the
    \nHebrew Bible that relate to who can enter the temple! \u00a0There are
    \nmoral standards being held here, and they reflect the tradition they
    \ngrow from. \u00a0For example,\n<\/p>\n

    \tPsalm
    \n15:1-5<\/b><\/p>\n

    1\u00a0O\u00a0Lord,
    \nwho may abide in your tent?
    \u00a0 \u00a0Who may dwell on
    \nyour holy hill?\u00a0
    2\u00a0Those
    \nwho walk blamelessly, and do what is right,
    \u00a0 \u00a0and
    \nspeak the truth from their heart;\u00a0
    3\u00a0who
    \ndo not slander with their tongue,
    \u00a0 \u00a0and do no evil
    \nto their friends,
    \u00a0 \u00a0nor take up a reproach against
    \ntheir neighbours;\u00a0
    4\u00a0in
    \nwhose eyes the wicked are despised,
    \u00a0 \u00a0but who
    \nhonour those who fear the\u00a0Lord;
    who stand by their oath even
    \nto their hurt;\u00a0
    5\u00a0who do
    \nnot lend money at interest,
    \u00a0 \u00a0and do not take a
    \nbribe against the innocent.\u00a0
    Those
    \nwho do these things shall never be moved.<\/p>\n

    \nPsalm
    \n24:3-6 does the same. \u00a0So, Jesus is REWORKING, or REMOLDING his own
    \ntradition, and then Matthew is doing the same. \u00a0 Given those
    \nrealities, the really interesting pieces may be in what finally gets
    \nincluded and excluded? \u00a0Why were the poor in spirit, those who mourn,
    \nthe meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the
    \nmerciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who are
    \npersecuted for righteousness the groups of people who fit? \u00a0Is it
    \nbecause things were hard for peasants and things were hard for early
    \nChristians? \u00a0Or is there something deeper? \u00a0(I don’t know, I’m just
    \nwondering.)<\/p>\n

    \nFinally,
    \npeople have done a lot of work to try to understand this passage, as
    \nit is one of the best known parts of the Bible while being rather
    \nobscure. \u00a0The New Interpreter’s Bible has points out, \u201cPeacemakers
    \ndoes not connote a passive attitude, but positive actions for
    \nreconciliation.\u201d    4<\/sup><\/a>
    \n(180, NIB) \u00a0Marcus Borg explains some of the others:<\/p>\n

    \n

    \n\u201c’Poor
    \nin spirit’ almost certainly does not refer to well-to-do people who
    \nare nevertheless spiritually poor, but to people whose material
    \npoverty has broken their spirit. \u00a0Moreover, ‘righteousness’ in the
    \nBible and Matthew does not mean personal rectitude, as it most often
    \ndoes in modern English, but justice. \u00a0‘Those who hunger and thirst
    \nfor righteousness’<\/i> \u00a0likely means ‘those who hunger and thirst
    \nfor justice.’ \u00a0<\/i>The meaning of
    \nMathew’s wording is thus similar and perhaps identical to what we
    \nfind in Luke, for it is the poor and hungry who yearn for justice.
    \nIn short, like the Lord’s Prayer, the Beatitudes confirm that the
    \nkingdom of God is both religious and political: it is God’s<\/i>
    \nkingdom, and it is a kingdom on earth<\/i>
    \nthat involves a transformation of life for the poor and hungry.\u201d    5<\/sup><\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

    Perhaps
    \nthat’s why these groups were included! \u00a0Taken
    \ntogether, the work of scholars establishes that these are meaningful
    \nphrases that fit into the rest of Jesus’ teaching, and that they
    \naren’t meant to just be a mystery!<\/p>\n

    So,
    \nthese really are powerful teachings. \u00a0As one scholar puts it, \u201cIn
    \nnone of the beatitudes is advice being offered for getting along in
    \nthis world, where mercy is more likely to be regarded as a sign of
    \nweakness than to be rewarded in kind.\u201d    6<\/sup><\/a>
    \n\u201cChristianity is not a scheme to reduce stress, lose wight, advance
    \none\u2019s career, or preserve one from illness. \u00a0Christian faith,
    \ninstead, is a way of living based on the firm and sure hope that
    \nmeekness is the way of God, that righteousness and peace will finally
    \nprevail, and that God\u2019s future will be a time of mercy and not
    \ncruelty.\u201d    7<\/sup><\/a>
    \n The Beatitudes continue in the tradition of differentiating the ways
    \nof God \u2013 justice, righteousness, peace, well-being for all \u2013 with
    \nthe ways of the world. \u00a0The values the Beatitudes celebrate are not
    \nat all the ones the world seeks, but they are the ones that build the
    \nkin-dom.<\/p>\n

    \nOn
    \nAll Saints we remember those who went on before us, and we remember
    \nthe ways that their lives followed God’s ways. \u00a0On All Saints we
    \nremember that they have shown us the right road, and that in doing so
    \nthey made it easier for us to travel it. \u00a0We also remember that the
    \nroads that we choose matter: they matter for the kin-dom itself, and
    \nthey matter for those who will come after us.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

    \nIt
    \nis a good road, this one that Jesus describes, it is a very different
    \nroad than others we could also choose to walk. \u00a0It is a good thing we
    \nhave models who have walked the road ahead of us \u2013 and continue to
    \nwalk it with us as the great cloud of witnesses. \u00a0Amen \u00a0\n<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    –\u00a0<\/p>\n

    1<\/a>Earl
    \n\tF. Palmer \u201cPastoral Perspective on Matthew 5:1-12\u201d in Feasting
    \n\ton the World Year A Volume 4<\/i>, David L. Bartlett and Barbara
    \n\tBrown Taylor, editors (Westminster John Knox Press: Louisville, KY,
    \n\t2011) 238.<\/p>\n

    2<\/a>Palmer,
    \n\t238.<\/p>\n

    3<\/a>Robert
    \n\tW. Funk, Roy W Hoover, and The Jesus Seminar, The Five Gospels:
    \n\tThe Search for the Autthentic Words of Jesus <\/i>(HarperOneUSA,
    \n\t1993), page 138.<\/p>\n

    4<\/a>M.
    \n\tEugene Boring, New Interpreter’s Bible Volume VII: Matthew<\/i>
    \n\tLeander E. Keck editorial board convener (Nashville: Abingdon Press,
    \n\t1995), page 180.<\/p>\n

    5<\/a>Marcus
    \n\tBorg, Jesus: The Life, Teachings, and Relevance of a Religious
    \n\tRevolutionary <\/i>(HarperOne:
    \n\t2015), 190-191.<\/p>\n

    6<\/a>Boring,
    \n\t179.<\/p>\n

    7<\/a>Boring,
    \n\t181.<\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Rev. Sara E. Baron<\/p>\n

    First United Methodist Church of Schenectady<\/p>\n

    603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305<\/p>\n

    Pronouns: she\/her\/hers<\/p>\n

    http:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/<\/a><\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/FUMCSchenectady<\/a><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    There is a timelessness to All Saints Sunday, similar to the spacelessness to World Communion Sunday. \u00a0On World Communion Sunday, … Continue reading \u201cThe Merciful\u201d based on 1 John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[34,38,39,33,260,108,408,494,56,493],"class_list":["post-991","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-fumc-schenectady","tag-progressive-christianity","tag-thinking-church","tag-umc","tag-all-saints","tag-great-cloud-of-witnesses","tag-marcus-borg","tag-nib","tag-schenectady","tag-the-generations-march-onward"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=991"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1208,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/991\/revisions\/1208"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fumcschenectady.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}