20 Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21 “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. “Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. 22 “Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. 23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. 25 “Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. 26 “Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. 27 “But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you. Luke 6: 20-31
Preacher Sarah Henrich says that Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is like his inaugural address. He picked his staff, so to speak, his disciples, and this sermon is like his first major speech. And what an appropriate time for Jesus’ inaugural address, with our election just a few days away.
And what an election season it has been. It has been vitriolic and hostel, and it reflects a dark mood in the country. No matter who wins the Presidential Election, or who wins the State or Local Elections, I think a kind of dark shroud will be cast over our country for some time to come. I don’t think the hostility will end. I think there are some ominous forces at work and we are in for some rough times long after the election is over.
But this is why Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is especially vital today. During this election season, we desperately need to hear Jesus’ inaugural address. It is a source of hope for us, and life for the world. For it is by embodying Jesus’ ethic in the Sermon on the Mount that we bear witness to the life and love of God. It offers us a counter-cultural way to live, a way that marks us as a distinct and unique community. For it is through embodying Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount that we reflect the light of Christ in times of such darkness.
And it is by living into Jesus’ prophetic vision that we bear witness to a different kind of politic. For make no mistake, Jesus’ message is political. It’s not political in a narrow sense that Jesus is like a Democrat or Republican. But it’s political in a much broader sense. Jesus’ ministry was a public ministry. And he cast his ministry against the politics of Rome, claiming that God’s kingdom was greater than Rome’s. And Jesus’ political vision continues today through the Sermon on the Mount. In it, Jesus reveals the political values of God’s kingdom to the world. He asserts a vision of the future of our world, and our collective life together under God’s love. And these values are counter-intuitive. In one short sermon, Jesus upends everything we think about the ways of God and the divine economy. We tend to think of God’s blessing in terms of freedom, safety, and prosperity. But Jesus turns conventional wisdom on its head. In God’s kingdom, it’s not the happy, rich and well-fed who are blessed. It is the poor and hungry and those who are reviled who are blessed. It is the marginalized and little ones who are blessed. How’s that for a political platform? No wonder Jesus was crucified.
But what separates the politics of Jesus from ours is that Jesus’ is life-giving, compassionate and inclusive. Jesus’ politics is welcoming of the stranger the vulnerable and poor. We are part of this body politic, this beloved community of God, as we live the way of Jesus. In these dark times, we bear witness to the light of Christ by blessing those who curse us; by loving our enemies, and by doing good to those who hate us. Thus, we bear witness to a different type of community, a different type of society. In this way, Christians can “claim the power of life together precisely at the site of threat and fear.” (Willie James Jennings).
We also bear witness to Christ by actively engaging in the political process ourselves. Many believe that faith is a private matter of the heart, that people of faith shouldn’t get involved in the public square. Others believe that because there is a separation of church and state, we should leave our faith at the door when engaging in politics. But how could we leave our faith at the door? We were baptized in the love of God, and God’s claim on our lives is the deepest part of us. God is closer to us than we are. God’s Spirit is intertwined with our DNA. So our faith informs everything we do, including the way we think about justice, and the best ways to organize our collective lives together.
So we Christians are called to engage in the public square, not so that we may impose our beliefs on others, but so that we may persuade our fellow citizens with love. We shine a spotlight on those who are normally left out of the political discussion.We persuade others creatively, to embrace greater expressions of justice and compassion towards the poor and most vulnerable. We may not agree on the best way to do this, or which candidate or policy to support. But we are called to engage in the political process, because God loves not just about the church, but about the world, and God cares about how we treat and care for the widow and orphan and poor. For we are blessed as a nation only in so far as we live into the prophetic witness of Christ by caring for the least of these.
But make no mistake, no matter who wins on Tuesday, God still governs the world in vulnerable, sacrificial love. God is still the God who comes to us in Christ, who invites us to participate in this love as well, through countless means, including the political process. Our political life as a church is organized around the cross, the sign of God’s forgiving, sacrificial, non-violent love. It is preciously in these dark and turbulent times that our country needs the witness of the church. It is in times like these the world needs the church to embody exactly the kind of love described in the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount, by loving our enemies, by blessing those who curse us, by giving to all in need, by doing unto others as you would have them do to you. By embodying this radical ethic, we bear witness to the light of Christ to a world.
And this witness stretches back across the generations, across the centuries and millennia. This is All Saints’ Day, and it is a time when we remember all the saints of the church, and our own saints who have been claimed by God in the baptismal waters. In the challenges of their own times they were a powerful witness to the light of Christ. Our saints inspired us. They left an indelible imprint on our soul through their love. We are forever changed through their love. They did this so that we too can inspire the next generation, leaving a legacy of love for those who follow us. Our saints live on in our hearts, and our souls are filled with the light of their love.
During the sermon hymn you are invited to come forward with a picture and memento, place it on the table, and light a candle in memory and prayer for your deceased loved ones. Even if you’ve forgotten to bring something, you are still invited to come forward if you wish, and light a candle. But this is a time in the midst of our busyness, in the midst of our death denying culture, to pause, to mourn, and to remember, and give thanks to God for those who went before us. It is a time to thank God for those whom we have loved dearly, and who dearly loved us.
And in doing so, we give thanks to the God who has claimed us in the waters of baptism. We are all saints, not through our own merit, but through God’s mercy and love which has claimed us for resurrection with all the other saints. So let us give thanks today by embracing Jesus’ radical love ethic in the Sermon on the Mount, even as we look towards the day when we will be reunited with our saints in the perfect love of God’s kingdom. For in the midst of a heavy heart, we can remember that those who mourn are among the blessed. Blessed are you mourn, for you will laugh. Let us thank God for that. Amen.
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