Matthew 5:1-2
We all teach whether we intend to or not. That’s especially true for those of us who follow Jesus. Admittedly, there are times when we are painfully aware of people watching us, listening intently to what we say, scrutinizing our every move. At other times, we are scarcely conscious of how we are being heard or seen. We assume that people’s attentions are elsewhere. But surprisingly, they are watching and listening, even when they seem not to be. If you doubt that claim, ask any parent of a teenager! Not many of us think of ourselves as teachers. Our modern conception of teaching is something that happens in a classroom. For some, it’s easy to disdain the classroom which seems far removed from what we call “the real world.” Perhaps you have heard the saying, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach!” But such an attitude impoverishes our own practice of living and teaching. Jesus models a different vision for teaching. As a Jewish Rabbi, Jesus integrates two vital aspects of teaching – instruction and practice, teaching and example. Nowhere is that more evident than in the Gospel of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Jesus embodies everything He teaches and teaches all that He embodies. As theologian Stanley Hauerwas puts it, “[Jesus’] life is but a commentary on the sermon, and the sermon is the exemplification of His life.” Jesus’ teaching as recorded in Matthew 5, which we know as “Sermon on the Mount” will be the focus of our next sermon series. Please note that I use the word “leader” in the widest possible sense. You may not feel like nor think of yourself as a “leader.” While you don’t have what appears to be “official” leadership roles in your current season of life, you are still very much a “leader” in my sense of that word. As a faithful disciple, we are an informal mentor to our many friends, serve in various areas of church ministries, and invest in a new generation of believers. In other words, we are every bit a leader as those who serve in more acknowledged and public leadership roles. So, please know that these reflections are meant for you too! One initial observation as we begin our journey “up on a mountainside” with Jesus. Teaching is so much more than just words, Matthew strikes a resonant chord with his readers by noting that Jesus “went up on a mountainside and sat down.” For his Jewish hearers, those actions vibrate with meaning. Matthew paints a picture of the Sermon on the Mount that harkens back to Israel’s formational moment as a covenant people: Moses going up Mt. Sinai to receive the gift of the covenant for God’s people. Matthew’s intent for this picture is inescapable. Jesus is the One who is to come who is greater than Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15), who is bringing a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) to the world. But there is a notable and important difference in the setting between Mt. Sinai and the Sermon on the Mount. As the writer of the letter to the Hebrews says so vividly, “You have not come to a mountain … that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm … to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them” (Hebrews 12:18-19). No, Jesus’ setting is remarkable in its understated ordinariness and, perhaps more importantly, in its welcoming hospitality. Jesus sits on a hillside with a group of His disciples talking about a new way of being human. Refreshingly, He uses remarkably direct and down-to-earth language, free of religious jargon. He speaks with little fanfare and with no drama. Except what He says will change the world, turning the world upside down by turning it right-side-up. That’s worth paying attention to. Matthew 3:16-17
The featured speaker at a particular dinner was a Catholic nun, and the only reason that this was unusual was that the dinner was a gathering of triathletes at Ironman Canada in 2006. The nun, Sister Madonna Buder, was not there to give a trite invocation before the meal but was a veteran participant asked to say a few words of encouragement to her fellow competitors. Nicknamed “Iron Nun,” Sister Madonna would become in 2012 the world record holder in her age group and the oldest person, at eighty-two, to complete the 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run that makes up the Ironman Triathlon. A competitor herself with several age-group world records in several running events to her name, she wanted to remind that group of dedicated performers that the most important thing about them was true about them before they had performed at all. That evening her message was simple, “Tomorrow, when things get tough out there, remember, you were loved into existence. If you get discouraged and want to quit, if you get injured and can’t finish, if things don’t go the way you hope even though you have trained for this day for months or even years, even then remember: You were loved into existence.” Which was also true about Jesus. Before there was a single miracle, there was a voice. Before there was a single act of world transformation, there was an affirmation. Before Jesus had done anything for anyone, something was done to and for Him. He was baptized in the Jordan River and this word was spoken over Him: “This is My Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Mat. 3:17). While commentators affirm this passage as a kind of inauguration of the work that Jesus is about to undertake as Messiah, it’s a subtle but crucial point worth pausing on as we consider what it takes to serve well: before He had done anything, Jesus was already known, already loved, and already pleased His Father. This is important, not only because it is true and wondrous, and gives us great comfort, but also because it affirms a critical truth that disciples need to know: Resilient believers are grounded in something other than their success as a Christian. Resilient believers have a grounded identity. Their sense of self is not dependent upon the affirmation of those who celebrate them for their successes or laud them for their accolades. Truly resilient believers are grounded in the reality that they are already known and already loved, and are secure in that reality even when their circumstances are most unpredictable. The good news of God is that we are loved before we have accomplished anything. God is well-pleased in us before we have done anything to please Him. We are loved into existence. Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, and even if we fail in our efforts, as we surely may; God’s love for us never fails. God will complete God’s own work in us, and someday the justice will roll down and the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our God and of His Christ and He shall reign forever. Let this truth transform you. Let this deep truth deepen you. Let the love of God ground you. John 21:1-14
The Gospels tell the story of Jesus’s post-resurrection appearances. We hear about Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, and others at the tomb; we are told of those who met Jesus on the way to Emmaus; we read of the disciples gathering in an upper room, first without Thomas and then with him; and finally, in John 21, we hear this story of how the disciples, having gone back to their old occupation of fishing, encountered the Risen Lord on the beach. The Gospel of John can often sound very mystical and metaphorical. There are long theological passages about Jesus and other long theological passages spoken by Him. There are many acts performed by Jesus as “signs.” There are dramatic prophecies. But when the author of John decides to tell a story, he tells it with many vivid details – from Peter being so excited that he jumps into the water naked, to the precise count of fish in the un-torn net, to the charcoal fire and the fish breakfast Jesus prepared. (Luke 24:42 tells of how, when Jesus appeared in the upper room, He ate broiled fish to prove to them He was not a ghost.) I don’t know about other church experiences during the COVID years, but here at FECC Fullerton, we ceased to meet together for in-person worship in early 2020 and went for about one year, worshipping on YouTube. We first gathered again together in person early 2021. Our service with masks on and chairs distanced from each other, singing along to a keyboard, but we were together and we sang and we read the Bible and I preached and we received the Eucharist. When we gathered together for in person Easter Sunday 2022, indoors, our YouTube Easter Sundays of 2020 and 2021 strongly echoed in our minds. 2022 was the first Easter together. Then we celebrated Holy Communion in person again. I had presided over many Holy Communions as the pastor of the congregation since 2019. There were renewed joy in being together in person. Bible readings struck home. Pieces of the liturgy took on new meaning. The presence of the Risen Christ was palpable. The hymn, “We Know that Christ is Raised” that I’ve sung many times before struck me in a new way, especially this verse: We know that Christ is raised and dies no more. Embraced by death, He broke its fearful hold, and our despair He turned to blazing joy-- Alleluia! I thought, and think now, of those disciples on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius. Confused, caught between the old and the new, puzzled by their post-Resurrection meetings with Jesus, fishing in the dark and catching nothing. And then, all of a sudden—daylight, fish, and the one they loved most welcoming them to breakfast, “Come and have breakfast.” Embraced by death, He broke its fearful hold; and their despair—and ours—he turns to blazing joy. Alleluia. Lord, turn my despair to blazing joy. Amen and be filled with Your fullness—and then to share it. Amen. Today, we gather as a family of faith in joyous celebration and thanksgiving for what God has done in the 35 years of the life of our church, FECC. We have come this far not on our own but by the grace of God. From our mustard seed beginning in 1988, God has done amazing things, above and beyond what anyone could imagine. Through the ministry of this church, souls have been saved, lives transformed by the Gospel, and people publicly declared their faith in Jesus Christ through baptism. Praise be to God, our Father, and Jesus Christ, our Lord. God has chosen to accomplish the work through His faithful servants, our sisters and brothers who, through the years, labored tirelessly and sacrificially in response to God’s call to partner in His work. I want to take this opportunity to thank Pastor Joseph Lao, our founding and Sr. Pastor for 34 years, past and present Directors, Deacons, Pastors, and countless coworkers. You and I stand on the work and foundation that they built for us, and we would be remiss if we did not pause to remember and thank God for them.
If we are honest though, through the years, we have not always gotten it right; no one is perfect. For this reason, we also come before the Lord acknowledging our shortcomings and confessing our need for His forgiveness, grace, and redemption. With His grace, we will move forward. We can take a lesson from driving. The rearview mirror is critical for safe driving. But if we spend all of our time looking in the rearview mirror, our journey will almost always end badly. We need to glance at the past occasionally for perspective and clarity. The rearview mirror is designed for reference, only for glancing from time to time, not for staring. As we celebrate our 35th anniversary, I want to share with you from the book of Nehemiah: “So we rebuilt the wall till all of it reached half its height, for the people worked with all their heart” (4:6) I believe that the work God has for us as a church is not completed. We are only halfway done. There is more yet to be done. Just like work on the wall, our work will not be accomplished by one person or a few people, but by all of us working together, as “we all return to the wall, each to our own work” (4:15). If the work is to be completed, we will need all hands on deck for the “work is extensive and spread out” (4:19). And we have the confidence that the work will be accomplished because “Our God will fight for us” (4:20) Like Nehemiah, as we continue to work on the assignment God has for us, we will encounter challenges and opposition from without. We need the guidance of the Holy Spirit as we faithfully navigate an ever-fluid world and an ever-changing culture. We will also encounter challenges and difficulties from within, that may threaten to divide and conquer us. May God give us wisdom, discernment, faith, and courage in navigating both. May our constant prayer be, “Lord, now strengthen our hands” (6:9). As we work together, humbly submitting to God, our Father, we will be able to say to the Lord, “The wall was completed” (6:15). Sisters and brothers, on this anniversary, let us come together and give thanks to God for all He has done and seek His grace for where we have come up short of His will for us. I also want to invite each and every one of you to work together as partners of the Gospel. May we do so by glancing at our rearview mirror for reference, but placing our gaze and focus on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. For His Glory! Amen. |
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