Are You The One To Come Or Should We Expect Someone Else? (Matthew 11:1-11)

Presented to the Swift Current Corps on July 11, 2010 and January 25, 2015 and Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on December 16, 2007 by Captain Michael Ramsay

Click here to read the sermon: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/12/are-you-one-to-come-or-should-we-expect.html 

Week 17: Genesis 2:16-17: Responsibility

A devotional thought presented to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 22 January 2015 and River Street Cafe 13 November 2015

Read Genesis 1:26-28, 2:16-18

When God made this wonderful garden out of nothing at all for Adam and Eve to tend. He asked something very simple in return. God made the world for His people and He just told them to take care of it and obey Him in some simple ways.

·         Genesis 1:28a: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it…”

·         Genesis 1:28b: “Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.’”

·         Genesis 2:16-17: “And the LORD God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.’”

God says 1) populate the earth (Genesis 1:28a), 2) take care of everything in it (Genesis 1:28b) and 3) in doing this I’ll let you eat anything you want in the garden – but just not the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, it’s not safe. I’m saving that for something (Genesis 2:16-17).

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This is like if you, as parents, are going out on a Saturday night leaving your older children to baby-sit their younger sibling for the first time. “Be good and take care of the house”, you say. “I want you to unload the dishwasher and you can have whatever treats you want before bed but just don’t touch the cupcakes; they’re for church on Sunday, so don’t eat the cupcakes or there will be real trouble.” Then you come home, very pleased with your children that they are now old enough to be left alone, you look in the kitchen for something to eat and you notice that where the cupcakes should be… they are gone. That disappointment, sadness and anger must be a reflection of the disappointment God felt when He came back to the garden and saw that – even though there was only one fruit He was saving – He came back and it was gone. As parents, of course, if our children ate the cupcakes we would realize that they are not quite ready for the responsibility of being left alone at home and so we would wait awhile before trusting them to take care of the house again. The children would certainly have a time-out from that responsibility. It was the same with God. He wasn’t about to leave His children in the garden when they betrayed His trust. Adam and Eve couldn’t be trusted to take care of the garden. People couldn’t be trusted. We couldn’t be trusted. That responsibility was thus removed from us until we are more able to handle it (Genesis 3).

Humanity has aged quite a bit since Adam and Eve. Jesus now provides us again the opportunity to have access to the tree of eternal life. We also have a responsibility, like older children, to take care of our younger siblings and point them to the fullness of that eternal life with Christ. How do we doing with this responsibility?

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, God: Creator, Governor, and Preserver of All Things. Presented to Swift Current Salvation Army, 26 Feb 2012. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2012/02/genesis-1-4-god-creator-governor-and.html

Matthew 6:5-15: Forgive and Bear with it

Presented to Swift Current corps of The Salvation Army 

By Capt Michael Ramsay, 18 January 2015

Ray’s Brother Cliff shared this story with us at Ray’s funeral and memorial services this week about Ray’s very generous donation to the Calgary Zoo:

Ray was working up north somewhere. They were clearing a forest and they noticed a bear cub in one of the trees. Ray thought that it would be a good idea to capture the bear cub and bring it home to Ravenscrag, Saskatchewan. So Ray and a group of others fell the tree and collected the bear cub up in a big tarp. Ray then emptied his duffle bag put this bear cub in there for the trip home. They flew into Calgary without incident where Ray then went to board the bus home with his luggage. It is at some point here – I am not sure whether Ray and his new friend actually made it onto the bus or not but they were definitely in the depot and maybe on the bus when the bear decides it is done with the duffle bag and he escapes to see the world. You can imagine the commotion as this bear cub gets out and people are running everywhere – some to get away and some to get the bear - and in the middle of this all is Ray standing there with his now empty duffle bag. They eventually capture the bear cub and bring him to the zoo and if he is alive and well than he is probably still at the Calgary Zoo to this day. This was Ray’s generous, if somewhat unintentional, donation to the Calgary Zoo. Some of the stories I have heard over the last week have given me a whole new way to think of our good friend Ray and his life experiences.

Jesus was certainly all about encouraging people to look at our world in a whole new way and the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 is definitely about seeing the whole world in a new way. The thesis statement of Jesus’ the Sermon on the Mount, I believe, is Matthew 5:17-18:“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished” (TSA doc 1).[1] Everything else in the Sermon on the Mount seems to expound upon this. You will notice in the lead up to the pericope that we are looking at today, Jesus’ teaching on prayer; he speaks about anger, retaliation, and murder. He speaks about marriage, oaths, adultery, and divorce and he speaks about a new way to consider how we interact with all of these in the context of scripture.[2]

We know that God hates divorce. The Law says you shouldn’t commit adultery. Jesus says that as we are citizens of His country, of His kingdom, we don’t need to obey laws prohibiting adultery and divorce because we won’t let things go so far as to even consider adultery or divorce (Matthew 5:21-32). Jesus says that not only will we keep our marriage vows until death do we part but He says a Christian, a citizen of His Kingdom, a follower of Jesus won’t even need to make marriage or any other vows because everything we say we will do, we will do. Jesus says as we serve him every promise we make we will keep. You know the old expression that a person’s word is their bond. In ancient Israel you were not to be released from any vow you made before God for any reason and over the years people tried to erode that value by making laws about what oaths and vows you needed to keep under what circumstances and what ones you didn’t. Jesus is saying here that if you do everything that you say you are going to do.[3] This is what you will do as you grow into a solid citizen of His kingdom, Jesus says then many vices – such as breaking our vows, adultery, divorce and remarriage - aren’t even on the table.

Murder too: the Law says not to murder but Jesus says that is the wrong place to draw the line (Matthew 5:21-26, 38-48). We should allow God to stop our feelings of hatred and revenge before they even get to the point we are tempted to murder or even retaliate against someone. If we never hate anyone, if we never hold a grudge against someone then we don’t need a law to forbid murder; it will never get to that if we always act in love and forgiveness. Does this make sense?

This– and an introduction to almsgiving – is the groundwork that Jesus lays in his Sermon on the Mount before He teaches us about prayer. Jesus shows us that forgiveness is central to His Kingdom and it is central to prayer. This context is very important for us to remember as we read the Lord’s Prayer. Jesus continues, as he leads us in his prototype of how to pray, by encouraging us that it doesn’t matter if we say long and eloquent prayers like the self-important people. We don’t need to be the people who can pray fancy prayers in front of a bunch of people.[4] In fact, Jesus says that it is beneficial not to do such things if indeed our goal is to have our prayers answered. Jesus then gives us this example of how to pray. He says,

Our Father which art in Heaven – This is acknowledging God, our Father who lives in Heaven. Hallowed be thy Name – Hallowed means holy; God is holy. Thy Kingdom Come – God’s Kingdom of Heaven is coming here.[5] Thy Will be done on earth as it is in Heaven – As God’s Kingdom of Heaven comes here, God’s will (as we read in this whole Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5-7) will be done here.

Give us this Day our daily bread – As this is happening, please continue to feed us daily and - Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us - Again the theme of forgiveness appears in Jesus’ sermon and it is near the culmination of how he teaches us to pray. Jesus says that as we forgive others God will also forgive us. And then Jesus says, Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. There are many temptations, of course. Susan spoke to us last week about the devil’s attempts to tempt Jesus is the dessert (Chapter 4). I would think that in the context of this prayer – however- in the context of this Sermon on the Mount, the primary temptation implied here is the temptation to not forgive. Because look at the next verse: this is Jesus’ whole conclusion to His teaching on prayer in this homily. He says, Verse 14, “for if you forgive others their trespasses, if you forgive others their sins, if you forgive people who do evil things to you,” Jesus says, “if you forgive them, your Father in Heaven will forgive you; but…” Verse 15, “But if you do not forgive them, neither will your Father forgive you.”

This is central to God’s Kingdom. This is probably the primary way we can identify whether we are a part of God’s Kingdom. And if we think about it, it really makes sense. God doesn’t promise here that He will save us from difficult times. God will save us in difficult times.

Look at Joseph in the Old Testament (Genesis 37-50). I think he is a great example. The Bible says that Joseph loved God and Joseph prospered.  Joseph spent the first part of his life as the son of a rich herdsman; Joseph spent a key part of his later life as the right hand man of Pharaoh and governor of all of Egypt BUT that is NOT when the Bible says Joseph prospered. The Bible says that Joseph prospered when he was in slavery and when he was in the dungeon, when he was in prison. This is when Joseph prospered in his relationship with God.[6] The Bible doesn’t say that Joseph prospered when he had money and power. Joseph prospered in his adversity.

King David also: David, when he was rich and powerful he was committing adultery, murder and sowing the seeds of his sons’ future rebellions (2 Samuel). David prospered when he was an innocent young shepherd and when he was a fugitive from the king and the key to David’s prosperity in his relationship with the LORD was forgiveness (1 Samuel).[7] King Saul tried many times to kill David and his friends. David repeatedly refused to take revenge. David refused to harm Saul. Even when he could have killed him as he had Saul in his reach, he instead just cut a piece of Saul’s cloak and held it up for the King to see it as a symbol of peace and forgiveness (1 Samuel 24; cf. 1 Samuel 26).

I think too that we know in our own lives that we are most prosperous when we are forgiving and I think, as we consider our own lives we will notice that indeed we are forgiven more readily when indeed we forgive.

I know that there have been times when I have gotten angry. Even not that long ago I know that there were the actions of one or two people that the enemy tempted my mind to dwell upon; I was harbouring un-forgiveness and it almost put me over the edge. In that time of un-forgiveness, I even woke up in the middle of the night enraged. It was eating me up. Un-forgiveness is a self-inflicted wound and it is only when we stop inflicting that wound upon ourselves that we can truly experience the joys of our salvation in the midst of everything that is in our world today. I promise you that as we do forgive others we will notice God’s forgiveness in our lives just like David did when he was on the run, and just like Joseph did even when he was in prison and in slavery. As we forgive others, in the midst of our enemies, when we most need God’s strength we will notice that indeed He is there providing us the grace and forgiveness we need to get through even the shadow of the valley of death (Psalm 23).

I have one more story for us today from Ray’s brother. Cliff told me of these two neighbours down in his neck of the woods that were feuding. I think it was something to do with driving a bus: the routes they would take, when the children would get on, what would happen on the bus – something like that. It got so bad that I think they even had to maybe change the bus route so that the one neighbour no longer went by the other neighbour’s land.

One day, the daughter of one of these neighbours fell into a bog; no one could see her. She was under for quite a while. They only way she was found was that one of the searchers actually stepped on her. Of course, everyone called for everyone to come and help. The other neighbour appeared. His spouse was a nurse and he told her to do CPR, do something, save this little girls life! The spouse said, “she’s dead; she’s not breathing; there’s no pulse; its too late; she’s dead.” The daughter - she said of their neighbour with whom her husband had been feuding and not forgiving - was dead. Her husband refused to accept that. He implored, cajoled, ordered, begged, commanded, directed, pleaded, insisted that his wife continue to do CPR on the girl while he drives his neighbour’s little girl to the hospital however many miles away it was. She did and you know what? The little girl came back to life. She lived. Do you think that these neighbours ever fought about busses or anything else like that ever again? Do you think that they ever let un-forgiveness rob them of the freedom to love their neighbours again?

This is what the Sermon on the Mount is saying. This is what the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount is saying. If we truly want to live in the freedom that comes from serving Christ as part of the Kingdom of Heaven, the only way to do that is to forgive and God promises that indeed as we forgive others, God will forgive us and then whatever else befalls us in our life it will be alright. It will be okay. Let us pray as our Lord has taught us to pray:

Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven

Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

Lead us not into temptation and deliver us from evil for Thine is the Kingdom the Power, and the Glory forever and ever. Amen

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Cf. Douglas R.A. Hare, Matthew (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 46-50.

[2] Cf. R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 122

[3] Cf. M. Eugene Boring, Matthew, (NIB 8: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 193.

[4] Cf. R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 137

[5] NT Wright, ‘Matthew for Everyone Part 1Chapters 1-15’ (NT for Everyone: Louisville Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 59.

[6] Captain Michael Ramsay, Genesis 39:2a: The Lord was with Joseph and he prospered. Presented to Swift Current Corps, July 10, 2011. Available

on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2011/07/genesis-392a-lord-was-with-joseph-and.html

[7] Captain Michael Ramsay, 1 Samuel 17:46 – 47: The Battle belongs to the Lord Presented to Swift Current Corps on May 2, 2010 and Nipawin and Tisdale on July 6, 2008. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2008/07/1-samuel-1746-47-battle-belongs-to-lord.html

Week 16: Matthew 3:8: Security

A devotional thought presented originally to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 15 January 2015

Read Matthew 3:7-10

The Sinner’s Prayer has always been important to me. I remember saying it as a child and confirming it more than once. I remember leading many people in this prayer. The Sinner’s Prayer is like a criminal record check.

Years ago I worked for a janitorial company. One place I worked was the RCMP/CSIS building. The security clearance process was quite something. I was a teenager and in my interview they asked what I did twenty years ago, I responded, ‘nothing, I’m only 18.’ I thought it was funny – they didn’t. They asked why I haven’t held a job for more than 5 years. I repeated ‘I am only 18.’ I laughed – they didn’t. This interview went on for a long time; they fingerprinted me and even interviewed two of my friends. I was beginning to have faith in our spy agency’s thoroughness and ability, especially when they reviewed this information for months before finally clearing me.

Just out of curiosity, I asked why it took so long to notify me of my clearance and they said it took so long because they – Canada’s spy agency - couldn’t find me. I pointed out that my address and phone number were on the form. I laughed; they didn’t. I assumed they were joking. They weren’t. I laughed; they didn’t. Shortly afterwards I worked a shift at the CSIS building and as I was emptying a garbage, an officer told me that if I looked at anything in it he’d have to kill me, I laughed – he didn’t. The next week, my boss told me to cover another shift at the CSIS building. I said no. She laughed – I didn’t. I was cleared to work there but I didn’t return.

It is quite the process and a security clearance is important but do you know how long one is really good for? About 5 minutes: in between receiving your security clearance and handing it in you could stop by the 7-11 and rob it. The paper may say that you have never committed (or at least been convicted of) a crime but as soon as you leave the police station it is no longer up-to-date. The Sinner’s Prayer, that is rightfully so important in many of our lives, is like a security clearance in this way.

The experience of salvation is more like a marriage. There is the initial event that starts off the marriage, the wedding: this is like the Sinner’s Prayer. The wedding is just the beginning of the marriage relationship. It is not its culmination – and hopefully not the best part of it! There is more to marriage than simply saying ‘I do’. If you never spend anytime with your spouse after that day, then you may have had a wedding but you do not have a marriage. Our proclamation of salvation, the Sinner’s Prayer, likewise is just the beginning of our salvation; it is not the totality of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Praise the Lord for that!

Our questions for today: Is your relationship with Christ more like a security clearance and/or a long ago wedding ceremony than it is like an exciting marriage that grows stronger everyday? If so, what can we do to grow our relationship with the Lord?

www.sheepeak.com

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[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Matthew 3:7-10: Security Clearance. Presented to Swift Current Salvation Army, 11 April 2010. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2010/04/matthew-37-10-security-clearance.html

Week 15: Acts 15:8: Welcome

A devotional thought presented originally to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 08 January 2015

Read Acts 15:8-11

The Lord is blessing the evangelistic efforts of the apostles beyond expectation. Everyone is pleased as more people are joining their congregation. They are all glad to see Gentiles and everyone else saved. Some Christian Pharisees, however, have a problem with these new Gentile believers. What is their difficulty?

The new converts aren’t acting like the old converts. Until now the only people the Christian evangelists were approaching were Jews. The Christian Pharisees in Acts here understand that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and that salvation only comes through the Messiah (cf. Ro 1:16-17); so now that these Gentiles are saved, those already in the Church expect that they will also become Jews.

If you are saved, they reason, you will want to become a Jew and do all the things that Jews do; once you are a Christian, they reason, to make your salvation sure you must also become a Jew and many Gentile Christians to this point have been Jewish proselytes.

This viewpoint was not unusual. It is however not accurate: some non-Jews like Cornelius received the gifts of repentance (11:18; cf. also15:12) and of the Holy Spirit (10:45) without first becoming Jews. Thus Peter says, Acts 15:8-11: “God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for He purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

So then some saved people were not accepting others whom God has saved into their number. What about us today? Are we more accepting? If a new or non-believer shows up in our place of worship, does she feel welcome? What if she is a different colour or from a different culture? What if she smokes? What if she dresses differently? What if she is dishevelled, dirty or smelly? Are new and non-believers welcome into our churches? What can we do to welcome people whole-heartedly into the family of God?

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Acts 15:1-19 - The Chihuahua Barks Again. Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Salvation Army, 09 September 2007 and Swift Current, 26 May 2013. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/09/acts-151-19-chihuahua-barks-again.html

Matthew 5:1-16: A Spoonful of Blessings

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 04 January 2015 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 29 September 2019 and 04 January 2023 by Captain Michael Ramsay

I remember being taught a card game once involving spoons. I am not entirely sure of all the rules now because I only have played it once many years ago. The basic idea is that there are a number of spoons put in the middle of a circle of people playing cards, one less spoon than the number of people playing. You then pass cards around the circle to each other until someone notices they have four-of-kind. Once someone has four-of-kind, one subtly grabs a spoon. Then everyone, once they notice the spoons are disappearing, tries to grab a spoon. The last one to notice that the spoons are going, the last one to grab a spoon loses. You play this game, eliminating one person each time, until only one person is left. (S)he is the winner. Of course it is easiest if you are the one who has the four-of-kind because then you can grab the first spoon and thus not be eliminated.

The one time I played, I was blessed to be one of the last two people in the game. We need one person to have four-of-kind so that we could try to grab the last spoon. It got to the point where I knew that Sheldon had picked up 3 Aces and he knew I had one Ace. That is when Sheldon spoke up and announced that we can never have a winner to this game because, "Michael is holding onto one Ace and will not want to part with it because as soon as he does, I will have four Aces, grab the spoon and win." It is then that I pass him a card and I grab the last spoon. Someone in the crowd of spectators who was obviously looking at my hand says to me, “Hey! You can’t do that you don’t have four-of-kind.” To which I reply, “Sheldon does”, which of course he did. I gave Sheldon the last Ace but by the time he realized it and reached for the spoon I, of course, had already taken it and won the game. The strategy changed here when there are only two people. Instead of trying to get the last card yourself, you give it to someone else. In order to win this game you need to interact with the world in a new way. This is not unlike the God’s Kingdom as expressed by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is saying that as we belong to His Kingdom, we need to interact with this world in a new way. Citizens of Heaven will act according to the ways of Heaven even while we are living and working in Canada or wherever we happen to be.

Jesus’ opening to the Sermon on the Mount speaks about the blessings of serving God and it is often referred to as the beatitudes: the word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin word for blessing.[1] These blessings -and indeed this whole sermon- speak about what it is like to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now by ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, we don’t mean what it will be like ‘when you go to heaven’ because this passage speaks very clearly that these blessing occur here on earth. It says the meek will inherit the earth (v. 5) and further on in this sermon Jesus speaks about marriage, adultery, an end to divorce… and –of course- Matthew tells us, as recorded in Chapter 22 of this Gospel, that there is no marriage, let alone divorce, remarriage and adultery in heaven (Matthew 22:23-30, Mark 12:24-26, Luke 20:34-36). This whole sermon speaks to what life is like when we are citizens of God’s Kingdom living here on the equivalent of a divine work visa so to speak or more accurately, as a fifth column or an advance guard preparing the way for Jesus’ return. This sermon is about what life is like when you are a Christian in this place, in this time, and this is quite something.[2]

It opens with some wonderful words of comfort so let’s take a look at Matthew 5:1-16 this morning. The first two verses of this chapter are nicely setting the stage for Jesus’ sermon. Matthew often draws parallels for his readers between Jesus and Moses who has been called ‘the Great Law Giver.’ Moses of course received the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, the Law from the LORD atop a Mountain. This Law articulated what had demarcated the people of God  (vv.17-18) and now that it is fulfilled, Jesus is sharing with us what life looks like for the people of God living in His proleptic kingdom.

This is interesting: we said that the word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin word for blessed. The Greek equivalent of this word is makarism and makarism refers to people in a privileged circumstance: those who are ‘fortunate’, ‘happy’, ‘well off’, ‘blessed’. It relates to the Hebrew world Shalom which means ‘peace’ and ‘well-being’ and this closely relates to the German word Heil. Those of us who have grown up in and around The Salvation Army, do you know what Heil means? Whereas we wear S’s on our uniforms the German Salvationists wear H’s on theirs. Heil means ‘Salvation’.[3] When our scriptures today say, ‘blessed is so and so because of this and that’, it is saying that we blessed people are saved and we are at peace. ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven’ means ‘saved and peaceful are the poor in spirit as they live in the Kingdom of Heaven.’

So then who are these poor in spirit and why are they blessed, saved, and peaceful as they inherit the kingdom of heaven? ‘Poor in spirit’ in a unique phrase. It is not as straightforward as Luke’s ‘blessed are the poor’; it does include those who are monetarily poor but it also includes those who are otherwise not self-reliant. It may refer to anyone who realises that they cannot make it by themselves; those who inherit the kingdom of heaven as the ‘poor in spirit’ would be the opposite of the ‘me generation’; the poor in spirit are those who realize that they are not independent financially, socially, emotionally… Jesus is saying that those of us who do not buy into the cult of the individual but rather lean on Him, we are the ones who are blessed, saved, and peaceful as we inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

The next group Jesus’ says are blessed, peaceful, and saved are those who mourn. Jesus says we will be comforted. This is speaking about all those who are suffering in our world today and there are many.[4] That Christianity is about comfort shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Of Course, Ray was Promoted to Glory on Friday morning and I was blessed to be able to be with Cathy and his family offering whatever comfort I could. And I am often reminded around Christmas time of the power of God to comfort those who mourn. I often receive Christmas cards, emails, and comments from people whose relatives’ funerals I have officiated telling me how much they have appreciated the comfort received during the memorial and how they draw on the Lord’s comfort now at Christmas time, in the absence of their loved ones. Of course this is a blessing from the Lord, for there is no comfort that I can possibly offer apart from Him. In the Kingdom, blessed, peaceful, and saved are those who mourn for they are comforted.

Blessed, peaceful and saved also are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Meek is very much a synonym for the ‘poor in spirit’; meek people are gentle. We who inherit eternal life will also inherit this earth as Christ’s proleptic kingdom grows its foothold here. Blessed, peaceful and saved are the meek for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed, peaceful and saved are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled. The word righteousness in this context includes the concept of justice. It speaks to those who long for wrongs to be made right and for those who cry out for salvation from the injustices of our current socio-economic-political structures. All last year I was studying Restorative Justice through Simon Fraser University. Did you know that in the US, our closest neighbour in more ways than just geography, one in three African American men has been disenfranchised; 1/3 of all African American males have been locked in jail at least once? This is just one symptom of the myriad racial injustices south of the line. No wonder there have been race riots for months now. We also have injustices here, racial, other and especially economic discrimination. Jesus says that those of us who stand against injustice and those of us who stand for His righteousness will be filled. We will be satisfied. As Jesus’ reign takes hold in our life and our world, those of us who intercede for those in need will be satisfied. Blessed, peaceful and saved are those who hunger and thirst for justice and righteousness for they will be filled.[5]

Always accompanying true justice is mercy (cf. 5:38-48, 6:14-157:1-5,12). You really cannot have one without the other; therefore blessed, peaceful and saved are the merciful for they will be shown mercy. Jesus says in this sermon, ‘do unto others as you would have them do unto you’ (7:12). In God’s Kingdom - which is within and amongst those of us who are really the Church - in the Kingdom of Heaven, we need not fear retribution from one another as we confess our sins and as we love our enemies because we will forgive and be forgiven; blessed, peaceful and saved are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed, peaceful and saved are the pure of heart for they will see God. Pure of heart “denotes one who loves God with all his heart (Deut. 6:5), with an undivided loyalty, and whose inward nature corresponds with his outward profession” (cf. Isa. 29:13).^[6] Those of us who love God with all of our heart will see Him and experience Him in our life. This is what it is like to be a Christian.

Blessed, saved, and peaceful too are those who make peace for they will be called children of God. We who belong to the Kingdom of Heaven will defuse conflict rather than contribute to it. This is corporate as much as individual.[7] I still remember the day that Canada’s armed forces turned from an army of peacekeepers to an army of war-makers. I had a contract at CFB Esquimalt when Canada invaded Yugoslavia. I spoke with some of our service people headed overseas who until that point had spent their whole military careers standing between warring factions, protecting civilians; now they were ordered to be prepared to kill civilians as collateral damage if necessary in an illegal, internationally condemned war. It tore at the minds and hearts of many of these soldiers.

On the other side of this here is The Salvation Army we facilitate peace through restorative justice in our community by – among other things – the Alternative Measures program. In this program, we are able to provide an opportunity for a victim to face their aggressor, share their story, and forgive them; the offender has the opportunity to hear their story, learn how their actions have affected real people, and be forgiven. We all have the opportunity to heal harms and grow in strength and peace. It is no wonder that our rates of recidivism are negligible amongst our participants – here we see victim, offender, and the community at large healed as peace is made in their lives and our community. We who are saved will contribute to peace in the world. Blessed, saved, and peaceful are those who make peace for they are the ones who will be called children of God.

Now as we come to our last beatitude, I have a question for us. Those of us who are Christians will experience the blessings we’ve talked about today. These blessings come with serving God in His Kingdom. My question is, what is the opposite of a blessing? (A curse.) If we choose not to live in God’s blessing then we are choosing to live a life that is cursed and that is the choice before us today. We know how horrible the world can be around us. We know there is misery. We have been looking today in our scriptures at blessings that come during some very real trials, tribulations, and problems in our world. Christians are surrounded by all of this. We are not spared any more than anyone else but if we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven then we have access to all of these blessings in the middle of everything we are going through and that is Good News. That is the Good News. Jesus was born, lived, died, and raised again so that we can all live out our salvation forever and for now. We can experience God’s Salvation in the midst of all that is surrounding us.

This brings us to our last beatitude, Matthew 5:10-16:

“blessed, [peaceful and saved] are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven; blessed, [peaceful and saved] are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in the Kingdom of Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. You [as you stand up under persecution] are the salt of the earth but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything, but is to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You [as you stand up under persecution] are the light of the world, a city built on a hill [that] cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others [even as you are persecuted], so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.

These wonderful beatitudes conclude with the good news that when we really are Christians we will probably be persecuted (vv. 10-12). And, Jesus says, even though we may lose our lives, our jobs, our family and our friends; we are encouraged to keep strong for the Good News of Jesus Christ’s Kingdom is so good, so important and so valuable that it must be shared at whatever the cost. If – as Christians - we do not share the Good News of Jesus Christ, we are as useless as a nightlight hidden under a cup (vv.13-16). If we don’t share the Good News then we are no more this useful than adding tasteless flavouring to God’s recipe of eternal salvation. But as we share the Good News of Jesus and as we invite other people to experience the blessings of God even in the midst of all of the troubles of our world today, as we invite people to enjoy the salvation that is found in Christ then they and we will be truly blessed, peaceful and saved for ours will be citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven; then no matter what else happens, it will all be okay. We will be okay. I promise. Let us pray.

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To view the most recent version, 29 January 2023, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2015/01/matthew-51-16-spoonful-of-blessings.html 

 
To view the shorter 2019 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/09/matthew-51-16-blessing-of-salvation.html

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[1] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’ (NIB VIII: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995),175.

[2] NT Wright, ‘Matthew for Everyone Part 1Chapters 1-15’ (NT for Everyone: Louisville Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 37.

[3] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’ (NIB VIII: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 176.

[4] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 115.

[5] Cf. D. A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/II. The Gospel of the Kingdom (3:1-7:29)/B. First Discourse: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29)/2. The kingdom of heaven: its norms and witness (5:3-16)/a. The norms of the kingdom (5:3-12)/(1) The Beatitudes (5:3-10), Book Version: 4.0.2

^[6] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 116

[7] Douglas R.A. Hare, Matthew (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 42.