Building from a Foundation of Grace: Family Reflection

Scripture: 1 John 3:1-3, and Matthew 5:3-12, Inclusive Bible; message by Kerry Kirtley.

In the many years Paul and I spent getting children out the door and onto the bus, to go into the world away from me and into the care of God and others, we began a tradition. Paul and I would stand at the door as they walked away and I would Ask, “Who are you?” to which they would reply “A child of God!” followed by “Who else?” and the answer was “A Menger–Kirtley.” This would be followed up with quick reminders of what that meant having made that claim, ”Remember to be kind…respectful to teachers…look for the lonely child…help a friend…take help from a friend. ” With the knowledge of God’s claim and being recipients of God’s grace, they had an opportunity to reflect that claim into the world. Did they know that at the time? Probably not. But they heard it most every day with an occasional, “AND EAT YOUR GREENS!” This said partly in jest to earn the eye roll, and partly because green is life and I want my children to fill themselves with life in the family of faith and the world. Let us pray: Dear God of love and life, Thank you for calling us yours. Thank you for those who go before us whose light is still shining and reflecting your grace and love in our lives and in the world Let us hear what you have to say to us today as we reflect on your grace offered through Jesus who proclaims blessings on us, your children. May the words of my mouth, and meditations of my heart be pleasing to you and reflect what you would have us hear today. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. The focus today will be on the Matthew text from the Sermon on the Mount, but the text from 1 John in the lectionary readings so beautifully lays the groundwork. In 1 John 3:1-3 we receive the assurance of belonging, “We are God’s children,” proclaimed with such an intense and plentiful love from God which carries a promise, “we shall be like Jesus when he appears, so that God can be seen.” Such hope grows from a foundation of grace which is built upon in Matthew’s text, the Beatitudes or Blessings offered to the faithful amidst the worldly conditions in which the children of God must journey. Such a claim calls us to live into a new reality each and every day that we might reflect the light and love of Christ. The Sermon on the Mount found in Matthew, takes place after Jesus chose the first disciples and begun the ministry of healing in such a way that the word is out about this man of God named Jesus. Jesus, looking out at the masses, knowing the diversity of those who followed and gathered with the disciples and knowing the pain and suffering of those caught in the systems of oppression and those who were the power over the oppressed, spoke for all to hear. And Jesus spoken in such a way that all might hear. Some needed hope for a new reality to overcome their own conditions of living and some needed to be transformed into new ways that bring unity and justice to all. In this moment, Jesus proclaimed Blessings on them, “Blessed are THOSE who…” those who live in a messy unjust world of humanity, within systems that created “those” people or “the OTHER,” the marginalized, those outside the systems of power. This was not blessing as in a reward for being the lowly other, but a proclamation, just Blessed! These are words of grace and not words of law. “You are loved…you are blessed.” These are blessings not because of what we do, but because of WHO GOD IS, as Dallas Willard and others have said.1 God is a God of Grace, love, justice and mercy as seen in Christ. A God offered to us as we believe and follow Christ as we journey to seek God, and are transformed in thought and deed. What is it to be blessed in this text? The word comes from Greek Makarios, which also translates into “happy.” Unless you know well the great philosophers of old, you likely miss the deeper and mutli- layered meaning as we are from a consumer-based, material-driven society, and happiness is often associated with privilege and gain. Jesus proclaimed “Blessed,” as in being favored by God, an attribute of “the other.” That was backwords at the time, and I believe still is today. Blessings are for the wealthy and privileged for a job well done, right? No! “Blessed are THOSE…” is formational and transformational in the lives of the faithful. Who are these blessed children of GOD in the family of God? “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit , the Kindom of Heaven is theirs.” There is a sense of spirituality throughout this Gospel. Jesus begins the good news for the masses with, “Blessed are those who are poor in spirit.” Those who have nothing else to fall back on to pull them out of the dark, lonely, empty place in which they find themselves in this world. Poverty of spirit allows us to look for what is really important and reach for God in response to God’s gift of grace. Where are your attentions? Where are your treasures? Where do we seek happiness or blessings? When we fill our lives and time with things and busy-ness of this world, we don’t leave room for God and we grow weary and poor in spirit and are therefore unable to respond in love. Ever wonder how people across the globe, in cultures void of materialism and attachment to things out depravity can be so “happy” and joyful as they suffer through drought, disease and famine? Perhaps when lives are based on love and care of others, joy and blessing are plentiful and able to be received. Are you at the end of your rope? Alone and overwhelmed? A doubter in the faith? Afraid of tomorrow? Depressed, but hoping no one will notice? Now is a time for you to reach for God. The gift, the blessing is yours to take. You are a child of God, my brother, my sister. You are not alone. Seek God in the love of neighbor. You are part of the family reflection of the love of God through Christ, the kindom is yours. Blessed are those who are mourning, they will be comforted. Oh, to know and claim blessing in the midst of grieving loss. Notice it does not say blessed are those who finally made it through, or who got over it, or who hide it well and put on a happy face. How in the world can such a time as grieving be that of the blessed? Today, All Saints’ Sunday, we remember those we have loved and miss, this might be your pain. Richard Rohr said, “Jesus praises the weeping class, those who can enter into solidarity with the pain of the world and not try to extract themselves from it.” Remember, you belong to God’s family, the kindom of heaven, the Kindom of God’s very presence, which is in and yet greater than the world in which we try to avoid at times.2 My mother showed me the blessedness of mourning in solidarity with the pain of the world, not to extract herself from it nor be consumed by it. In 1981, I was 16, standing at the foot of two caskets…two caskets which contained two of my seven siblings. Mom held tight to her blessings from God as she called the six of us remaining from our “other world” experience of deep grief, and when she had gathered us together in a circle, she looked at each one of us squarely in the face and stated clearly and without a doubt, ”WE WILL BE Ok! We have love! I am so thankful for you, and you, and you, and you, we are family and we will survive and we will love.” Love that comforts and consoles. In her mourning she blessed me. God’s love comforted us. Those who go before us, form us in the family of God. We are blessed by their blessing when love is reflected and comforts. Little did I know that some 20 years later, I would find myself at the foot of a very small blue gingham casket, housing one of my own and to be placed with Mom under her headstone. I, too, had to look into the eyes of six of my much smaller children, and share with the confidence of a child of God my blessing and my thankfulness for them even in my greatest pain. That blessing that grew into my awareness would sustain me and carry me and our family through the hard time and work of mourning that was before us. God’s word that carried me through as a child of God was from 1 Thessalonians, “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s blessing for you through Christ Jesus.” Not FOR everything, but in everything look for the blessing and for hope for tomorrow. Blessed are those who mourn today, for you will be comforted. Are you mourning? Grieving the loss of a loved one, a job, health, security, memory? Are you grieving the consequences of your own choices as you’ve stepped away from GOD? Good news is God's grace is for you! God is with you. Look around, you are part of the family reflection that is God’s Grace and love in Jesus Christ, be comforted. Blessed are those who are meek, the gentle, they will inherit the land. The humble, those who go unnoticed, or ignored, blessed are they. They will inherit what God has promised the children of God. The Strong yet gentle. Aware of their privilege and determined to work for what is right for all. Mother Theresa, a humble servant for the love of God and neighbor. Those who give of themselves as she, without fanfare and pats on the back because they know God’s love and want to share it. At Travis Park, I see Lori and others in Corazon Ministries as the gentle and joyful who serve having been blessed. It is in this text, linked with the claim of belonging from 1 John, that we see how God empowers the marginalized, through the gentle love of the blessed meek. Blessing turns to humble boldness by the power of God’s grace. Are you the Sunday school teacher, teacher, a quiet kid helping the lonely in the corner of the classroom? Are you the one afraid to speak for fear of rejection, yet speaks up anyway because you are an ally? Are you the one who refuses to laugh when another is teased or bullied? Are you the man who believes and stands with a woman who is sexually harassed? Are you LGBTQ once afraid to be you who now stands up for what is right? An at home mom or dad? YOU are a sacred child of God my brother, my sister, and you are blessed to be a blessing, just as you are, as part of the family reflection that is God's grace and light in Jesus. The meek, through their blessedness will inherit the promises of God. Blessed Are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Craving righteousness is connected to seeking Justice. Seeking ones’ right place in the kindom of God here and in God’s time to come when wholeness is complete and we all settle into our rightful place in God’s Kindom. Oh, how we yearn for righteousness, as we love God and love neighbor. Those who hunger and thirst to be in the right relationship with God, and others continually are blessed as injustices to resist are everywhere. Don’t you know of those fearing a wall thirst for righteousness? Do you see it and live to make things right for all God’s People? Don’t you know those existing in generational poverty? DO you live to make that right? Do you know of, or are you a woman seeking equality and respect in the workplace and world? Are you in the fight for justice with or as an LGBTQ? Or are you looking into your own privilege so as to see the injustices within others must live? Are you aware of the pain and suffering caused by injustice in the world and hunger and thirst for righteousness? Well guess what? You are a child of God my sibling in Christ in the family of God. Take hold of the blessing and have your fill of God. You are part of the family reflection of God's grace and light in Jesus Christ. Blessed are those who show mercy to others, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are those who remember to love as God loves. Blessed are those who forgive and forgive again. Do you find yourself reaching out farther than you think you are able to help another? Are you forgiving the unforgivable every night and as long as it takes? Are you praying for the enemy who wants to steal your joy? Are you forgiving yourself as you forgive others? Do you choose to live with hope in God’s love now and in the future rather than guilt and despair and resentment of the past actions of yourself and others? Mercy upon mercy, you are a child of God and are blessed and in that blessing and through your generosity of self for others, you will be shown mercy. You are part of the family reflection of God’s grace and love and mercy in Christ Jesus. Blessed are those whose hearts are clean, or pure, for they will see God. That’s sometimes seems like a tall order, to be full of desire and passion for God. Motivated by pure love of God. When I think back on brothers and sisters of the faith who carried God’s blessing and favor, the ones I most saw as reflections of God’s grace were those who worked toward sanctification or perfection as a United Methodist might say. They had a deep sense and the desire to live into God’s grace and toward God’s vision of completeness and wholeness and to bring all of creation together with God. Are we choosing daily, hourly and sometimes minute by minute to seek God’s will in our life as we choose to love God and love neighbor? This love is Agape love that gives for others and the greater good, that God might be seen by those who don’t yet Know God?3 Do you step outside your privilege and places of comfort and even disrupt your personal gain for the sake of others? This church, this family of God sure does. I’ve seen it with RMN (Reconciling Ministries Network) MFSA (Methodist Federation of Social Action), TCADP (Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty), the New Racial Witness Team, Deborah’s House, and Corazon Ministries (CMI). All those loving God and neighbors are on fire for God and the possibility and hope for God’s presence to reign and make right, in spite of personal sacrifice. Unconditional love and justice in action from those whose hearts are clean and pure and on fire for God’s Kindom NOW. As children of God we should never stop praying as the psalmist “Create in me a pure heart oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Ps. 51:10) For I am a child of God and desire to be part of the family reflection of God’s grace in the Kindom. Blessed are those who work for peace, for they will be called children of God. Jesus brought peace into the world being the point of reconciliation and unity between God and Gods children. Peacemakers are the children of God who unite others to God, to peace. God’s peace is all things reunited with God. We are children of God, the whole lot of us. We are those poor in spirt and mourning and meek and those thirsting for righteousness. All are children of God shaping lives on the foundation of God’s grace, which is the foundation of the family of faith. We are peacemakers and called children of God. Are you reflecting God’s image and the love and grace of Christ in such a way as to make God known to others? Can others see the love of God in your smile, presence, gifts, service? Are you reflecting the light of Christ in such a way that others can see THE way? You are a child of God and peacemaker just as those who have gone before us have paved a way, shone the light and brought us into the love of God that we be blessed. So are we called to follow in their footsteps. You are blessed children of God, called to be peacemakers and reflections of God. Blessed for those who are persecuted for their struggle for justice for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Today, the battlefield seems ripe for persecution and the pain is great as it seems to be a battle between the faithful as we fight over who has it right. Who is doing faith right? Who believes the right thing? Who understands the bible in the right way? We seem to forget who we are and what are we called to do, or who are we called to be in the world. Persected are those who confront the powers that be that create walls and barriers to God’s Kindom. Persecuted are those who give of themselves for truth’s sake and seek justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. Those who act not solely in response to a directive but in response to grace because that is who we are created to be. If we are persecuted by those who claim to know God but might have clouded vision, or those who do not see God yet, the Kindom is yours as a blessed child of God. Such a claim in moments of persecution allows for love of the enemy, mercy, and forgiveness to the loveable and unlikeable alike. It provides a path for those who desire to live a life in the spirit toward God and accountable through Christ to God and neighbor, empowered by God to not only turn from a world of hate and war but resist it, standing firmly for peace. The world houses my family in which I choose peace and love and justice and mercy as the Kindom of God here and yet to come. Our loved ones we remember today, and the great saints of history and tradition are all children of God who reflect grace and God’s love in all situations and become a blessing to others. Experience God’s grace and see the blessings big and small. Those blessings that we can carry to the next person we see who needs to know God's grace. It might be the family member in the hospital or the kid alone in the class or the grieving, the lost, the imprisoned, the naked, the hungry, and thirsty. They are blessed, for the wholeness and oneness of God's Kindom, God's very presence, is within their reach. Will you be the reflection of God’s love and justice and mercy and bring God’s peace into their lives? God calls on the blessed to reflect the blessing so let’s pass it on for the Kindom is here and yet to come. Children of God light the way for others to join the family, just as the saints and our loved ones did for us. May all see and know God and be embraced in the family of God’s Kindom. Let us pray. Dear God of all, thank you for calling us yours. Thank you for wanting to be reconciled to us and offering a new life in Christ in which we are called blessed in the messiness of life. May we be your reflection as the family of God. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 1 Alan Cross. "Dallas Willard on the The Blessedness of the Beatitudes – Part 5." Alan L. Cross. 4 Apr. 2008. Web. Nov. 2017.2 Compiled By Richard A. Kauffman. "Blessed Are Those Who Mourn." ChristianityToday.com. n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2017.3 James Mayfield L. Sermon on the Mount: a personal encounter with the wisdom of Jesus. Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2011. 42.