Sally’s Story: A Remembrance Day Address (Psalm 71:1-2)

By Captain Michael Ramsay. Presented to the Premier of Saskatchewan, the Mayor of Swift Current, our Federal MP, Royal Canadian Legion Branch #56 and their guests on 11 November 2010 and to The Swift Current Corps 13 November 2010 and Alberni Valley Ministries 10 November 2019.[1]

Click here to read the address: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/11/sallys-history-remembrance-day-address.html

Matthew 5: Jesus' Election Speech and Moore.

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries, Port Alberni, BC on 27 October 2019 by Captain Michael Ramsay

A variation of this message was presented to TSA AV, 05 Feb, 2023: 

https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2023/02/matthew-5-more-righteous-than-righteous.html

 

We have just had a general election in this country. The incumbent won our riding. We wish him all the best in the next term: May it be as productive as the previous one. I really appreciate having an MP in this riding who supports the Army and comes out to our events – the day before the election even, he came out to the Bread of Life dinner. Before that he was at our Pillow fight: Fight against Hunger, and Christmas kick-off last year and he did a number of kettle shifts. We also joined him for a carol sing last year at the arena and more.

I mention all of this political stuff because we are continuing our look at Matthew 5 and Jesus’ speech that is often referred to as the ‘Sermon on the Mount’. This is a very political text and it is not dissimilar to many political speeches we have heard over the last 40 days and nights. In the spirit of election night reporting, I will play the part of the pundit today, analyzing Jesus’ address to the crowds.

1. The Introduction: Playing to His Base

First Jesus’ addresses His base supporters in the introduction to his speech which we now call the ‘beatitudes’. His base is made up of people who are marginalized under the current social order. They are the disenfranchised:  the poor in spirit, those who are mourning and need comfort, the meek who are trampled upon, those who desire righteousness but are frustrated with their current state and feel empty inside, those who are questioning why they bother showing mercy to those that keep taking advantage of them, those whose motives are right but may be tempted to give into being as underhanded as their foes, those who make peace but may sometimes or secretly want to just let the other guys have it. Jesus tells His base – Don't give in! Keep it up guys! When I am in power you will be comforted, you will be filled, you will see justice. Keep on working, keep on fighting, Jesus tells his supporters, because great is your reward when we are victorious. Jesus says great is your reward in Heaven (Jesus' constituency, which is coming to earth). Jesus tells His base supporters ‘keep fighting! We will prevail and you will be satisfied.’ 

2. Accusations from His Opponents

Next, after playing to His base, Jesus, like many contemporary politicians, addresses people’s spoken or rumoured criticisms of Him. It seems that some people have accused Jesus of threatening to destroy the values and traditions of their society. The Law was a central part of their culture and practices and it seems like some of his opponents (and probably some of His followers as well) have accused Jesus of taking all the traditional Judean values and the Law and tearing them up. Jesus denies this - sort of - He denies this like a brilliant politician – because then he elaborates. He says that the Law won’t disappear until… everything is accomplished. Then he turns on some of His political opponents. His two closest rivals at this stage in the campaign: the Pharisees and the Sadducees. These are the Law and Order parties. Both of these parties have seats in the Sanhedrin. They are furious that someone might threaten their culture and values and get rid of the Law. To this, Jesus says he is not going to abolish it… as long as it is still useful. Jesus also says that unless people are better at obeying the law than the Pharisees and Sadducees it is no longer useful. He says that as long as the Law is any use we will leave it in place but he alludes quite transparently that its usefulness is coming to an end and He goes on to explain how his opponents have misused or misinterpreted the Law so that it is indeed useless and now its days of being useful are nearly done.

3. You have heard it said (times six)

Jesus gives six examples in three categories of how his opponents and their predecessors have misused the Law and its disastrous results. He does this through a series of six ‘you have heard it said’ statements.

3a. You have heard it said… do not murder. (Verses 21-22)

21 “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a [sibling] will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to [another], ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Jesus’ point here is important. He is saying that drawing the line at ‘do not murder’ as the Law has been interpreted by his opponents and others, is way too far from the right place to draw the line. You will never stop people from murdering people by drawing the line there. Jesus says you need to try to not even get mad at someone. He says as it stands now if you call someone ‘Raca’ they can take you to court but really if you get so angry that you call someone a 'fool' you may be in danger of becoming angry enough to even commit murder or some other such thing worthy of hell - (the word for hell here is Gehenna which refers to the garbage dump outside of Jerusalem which was famous for its incessant fires and may have been built on an ancient pagan site in order to defile it as well; Gehenna became an image of torment, of hell)[1]

Jesus then gives us an extreme scenario. Some of those listening to Him may have even laughed (albeit a little nervously) as he explained the following to them.

23 “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

The people Jesus is speaking to are probably a three day walk from the Temple. Jesus tells them that if you walk all that way for three days with a goat or another animal, or walk all that way and buy a goat or another animal and then realize that someone is angry with you or has something against you. Jesus says...leave the goat there (and hope it doesn’t walk away or get stolen) while you walk three days back to your home, make things up with the person and walk 3 more days back to the Temple again hoping that your goat hasn’t wandered off or gotten stolen![2]

There is no way this could happen, of course; the offering would not still be at the Temple when they returned and no one would do that return trip right away anyway. Jesus is attempting to make His point in a way that people will remember it. It is better not to let things get out of hand than to push everything to the limit. It is better to solve your problems at the early stage before they get out of hand.

Jesus then moves onto his second of six, ‘You have heard it said’ statements. This one would be as significant as murder in people’s –particularly women’s - eyes. And this one is related to the next two very closely: One builds upon the next, answering anticipated questions and clarifications. The next three actually are timely in relation to the John MacArthur, Beth Moore, ‘Go Home’ controversy this past week. It isn’t about women preachers (The Salvation Army has always had women preachers) but it is about how we should treat each other and specifically how men should treat women. The Coles Notes version of the next three pericopes is this: Men,

1. Do not cheat on your wives
2. Do not divorce them and cast them aside
3. You made a sacred vow to her now keep it!

3b. You have heard it said… do not commit adultery

27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

Just like with murder, Jesus says drawing the line at adultery is just wrong. That will not help anyone and it may not actually stop anyone from committing adultery anyway. Devastating Sin is like a cliff overlooking a thousand foot drop that itself is situated at the bottom of a mountain. If, while skiing down the mountain, you stop any time before you plunge over the cliff you will be fine but the problem is that the further you travel down the slope, the more difficult it is to turn back.

With this in mind, Jesus says do not even put your skis on when you see the peril. He is even more vivid than that. He -exaggerating to make his point again!- says if you can’t stop looking at women in that way, pluck out your eye! It is better that than to have your whole self thrown into hell (notice that it is the man in this scenario who plummets into hell). Again the word for hell here is Gehenna - the flaming pit of refuse that is not extinguished. This is quite an image!

But Jesus does not leave it here. He goes further! He further defines this adultery that can pull us into hell and he comes right out and tells us how to avoid it with his next, ‘You have heard it said’ in his speech.

3c. You have heard it said… anyone who divorces his wife...

31 “It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’32 But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for adultery, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

This is a neat little passage that is simple and to the point and has been misquoted, misunderstood, and misapplied ad nauseum in our culture and society - at least in my lifetime, since Canada liberalized its divorce laws in 1972. What it says is this: if you divorce a woman you make her a victim of adultery unless of course she has already made herself a victim of adultery. (The word for adultery here in Greek refers each to the perpetrator and the victim).[3] It then says that by marrying a divorced woman you make her as much a victim of adultery as any of the other scenarios. This passage isn’t saying that divorce is only okay in instances of adultery... as you have heard it said. This passage is saying that if you have relations with someone other than your spouse (male or female), you commit adultery: that is what adultery is. Jesus is saying this to elaborate on what he already said about adultery - stop before you even think about it. It is not worth it! Gehenna awaits! He then explains it even further. The marriage oath is supposed to help stop divorce and adultery.

3d. You have heard it said… do not break your oath...

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

So what about the marriage oath? Jesus already said that people are taking it too lightly. Jesus doubles down on this. Jesus says, ‘people aren’t keeping their oaths!’ That is all part of this adultery and divorce that we are talking about. Jesus says, it is time for people to stop finding ways to try to get out of their marriage and other oaths through tricks, details and loopholes. I tell you the truth; you need to just start doing what you say you are going to do! Stop always looking for a way out of everything! In a world where people can’t even be trusted to do tomorrow what they say they will do, how can they be trusted to even make sacred vows in the first place! Jesus says, if you can’t even be trusted with seemingly unimportant promises how can you be trusted with sacred vows? Jesus says: instead of trying to get out of promises, you need to do the opposite: treat everything you say as a sacred oath!

Jesus is appealing to women as well as men in his speech here. Women were quite vulnerable. Single mothers were in a very difficult situation then and there. Single mothers are in a very difficult situation here today too. How does one both spend all their time earning money for their family and spend all their time taking care of their family? That sounds like no-win choice when you are alone! Jesus is saying we need to take care of vulnerable people. If we commit to our spouse for better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, we should do it! Jesus is all about perseverance, sticking to it, and sticking up for the vulnerable. That is why Jesus says ‘no’ to divorce and ‘no’ to adultery. Not to punish divorced people, No! Quite the opposite: Remember the Samaritan woman at the well? Remember the woman caught in adultery who was brought to Him? Jesus’ words here are not to castigate victims but to protect all people from the vulnerability and destruction that can come from divorce and more.

Jesus, having signed off on this, now moves onto another contentious issue. The last of his six ‘you have heard it said’s.’ These relate to what he opened with: murder: Jesus speaks about hatred and vengeance. This also relates somewhat to the over the top hatred we have heard spewed in and around Christian community this week with the John MacArthur Beth Moore ‘Go Home’ controversy and also the venom I have heard around politics this past week. I think I have heard more hate this week – especially in the west - than I did during the 40 days and nights that this election was making waves from seas to sea to sea.

3e. “You have heard it said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

And

3f. “You have heard it said, ‘...hate your enemy’

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbour and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?

These last two points relate directly to vengeance, violence, and hate. These are important to the next part of Jesus’ speech which we are not going to look at today but they also conclude the ‘you have heard it said’ section of Jesus message the same way as He started it: addressing violence that is running rampant not only in society but also in people’s hearts again as we have seen in the news and on social media this week.

Jesus says that we do need to stand up to injustice. Jesus also says, we need to avoid the trap of being tricked into hating our opponents, which merely continues the cycle of violence and hate, and puts everyone in jeopardy.

Here is an analogy I have used before and I will use again: There is a new Star Wars movie coming out very soon. There is a pivotal moment in the famous Star Wars movie franchise where Darth Vader is trying to turn Luke from Good to Evil, from the Light to the Darkness; how does he try to do this? He tries to do this by making him hate. He tells Luke that only his hatred can destroy his enemy: this is a lie of Darth Vader and this is also a lie of our enemy, the Enemy, the devil. In the real world, hate cannot defeat evil; hate can only become evil. Hate is what turns a good person, bad; it is love, Jesus’ love, which redeems us.

Martin Luther King Jr said, “Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.” “Let no man pull you so low as to hate him.” “I have decided to stick to love...Hate is too great a burden to bear.”[4]

This is what the Gospel is about: as we love God we will stand up for the vulnerable, forgive and love each other, even loving - as the Officer covenant commits us - the unloveable.

If you haven’t been so charitable or loving this week to people of different regions, politics or theological perspectives, I invite you to break free of that hate. Let Jesus save you from it. If you want forgiveness, Jesus offers it unconditionally and if you need to forgive someone today, I invite you to come to the front now, pray in your seat or pull someone aside after the service. Jesus wants us all to be free to love him and each other. Jesus wants us all to elect to be a part of His Kingdom and His Kingdom is a Kingdom of Love and Forgiveness.

Let us pray.

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[1] The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, ‘1067: Gehenna’ (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995).

[2] Cf. NT Wright, Matthew for Everyone Part 1: Chapters 1-15 (NT for Everyone: Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 44.

[3] The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, ‘3431: Adultery’ (Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1995).

[4] Martin Luther King Jr, A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr (Ed. James M. Washington (HaperCollins: New York, NY, 1986) and A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend  Martin Luther King, Jr.

See also: 

Captain Michael Ramsay. Genesis 11:9-12:1, Matthew 5: The Means are the Ends. Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto, 31 July 2016. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2016/07/genesis-119-121-matthew-5-means-are-end.html

Captain Michael Ramsay, 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. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2015/01/matthew-51-16-spoonful-of-blessings.html

Captain Michael Ramsay, Matthew 5:17: Government Contract. Presented to Swift Current Corps on 30 May 2010. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/05/matthew-518-government-contract.html

Captain Michael Ramsay, Matthew 5:18: Disappearing Act! Presented to Swift Current Corps 16 May 2010. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/05/matthew-518-disappearing-act.html

Captain Michael Ramsay, Matthew 5:43-48: Love Your Enemies. Presented to 614 Warehouse, 05 February 2017. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2017/02/matthew-543-48-love-your-enemies.html

https://www.facebook.com/Salvogesis/

www.sheepspeak.com

Matthew 5:1-16: Blessing of Salvation, Healing, and Wholeness

Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 03 January 2015 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 29 September 2019 by Captain Michael Ramsay

To read the slightly longer 2015 version, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2015/01/matthew-51-16-spoonful-of-blessings.html

Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount 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’ introduction to the Sermon on the Mount speaks about the blessings of serving God: this 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, 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 in the first sixteen verses so let’s take a look at Matthew 1:5:-16 this morning. The first two verses of this chapter nicely set 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 not only them: 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. I am often reminded around Christmas time of the power of God to comfort those who mourn. I receive Christmas cards, emails, and comments from people whose relatives’ funerals I have officiated telling me how much they have appreciated comfort received during the memorial and how they draw on the Lord’s comfort at Christmas, in the absence of their loved ones. Of course this is a blessing from the Lord, for there is no comfort 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. I studied 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 will 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 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 in 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, be forgiven and 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 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. If – as Christians - we do not share the Good News of Jesus Christ, we are as useless as a nightlight hidden under a cup or a tasteless flavouring added to a bland recipe (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.

www.sheepspeak.com

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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.

Matthew 24:9-44: Friday the 13th: The Eschaton

Presented to The Salvation Army's Alberni Valley Ministries, Port Alberni, BC, 15 September 2019, by Captain Michael Ramsay

Today we are going to chat a little bit about the eschaton; who can tell me what the word ‘eschaton’ refers to? Eschatology? Eschatological? End times.

We have just had Friday the 13th this week. Friday the 13th this week also fell on a full moon. Apparently this was the first time in 13 years that Friday the 13th had fallen on a full moon. For any who are concerned by these kinds of things, this would be particularly concerning.

When I was younger there was even a horror/thriller franchise, a bunch of scary movies entitled ‘Friday the 13th’ – I don’t know if everyone knows about those or not. The premise is that there is this person and later like some kind of monster (as the original bad guy – or bad gal, in the first one - dies in the movies) who goes around killing people. It is scary stuff.

Matthew 24:9-22a has some elements of this in it when it talks about the eschaton. (What does ‘eschaton’ mean again?)

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

22 “If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive…

This is scary stuff – right out of Friday the 13th. And Matthew tells us that Jesus continues: verses 36-44

36 “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 37 As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38 For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39 and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40 Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41 Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Again this is scary stuff. Picture this movie, ‘Friday the 13th: the Eschaton’ by Matthew: Two men are working outside the house, in the field and then it will happen, all of a sudden – and one man will escape but the other will be taken away (presumably to be handed over to be put to death, as in Verse 9, or to drown as in Verse 39) … Then, in rapid succession, the next scene: two women are working away in a different location, presumably not too far from the first. They are carrying on their conversations about whatever it is that people like to chat about when they are working away…and then it happens. All of a sudden, one of them is dragged off.  The other flees…but one of them is taken.

This is scary stuff. Now theologians like to disagree about this kind of stuff. Some contemporary North American theologians think that the people who are taken away are happy about it – there is a whole theology built up around the idea of the ‘rapture’, which I am not going to get into today but maybe you have read those books, ‘Left Behind’? Some people, like the author of that series, see those who are taken away by surprise like this as being ultimately happy about it. (Never mind that the whole story is prefaced with people being taken to be persecuted and put to death and the fact that the people in the preceding sentence who are taken drown in Noah's flood and the fact that the very next sentence compares the whole thing to your house being robbed and who of us likes to have our house robbed?) Nonetheless some people think that those taken are the ones that are better off. Either way: whether people see the ones who are taken as better off than those who escape or whether those who get away as better off than those who do not – either way, it is scary stuff that some will survive but some will not.

Matthew then continues, talking about people working again, both in the field and in the home; the person in charge of both. He says:

45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. 48 But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

This is some scary stuff. Matthew goes on quite a bit about “Friday the 13th: the Eschaton” – what does eschaton mean?

Matthew 25 tells us more about being ready for the eschaton and being ready in Jesus’ the parable of the 10 Virgins, Verses 1-13. Due to time we won’t read the whole thing but the long and the short of it is that those who aren’t ready don’t get to join the Bridegroom when he comes back. They miss out. But those that are ready get to come into the party and enjoy the celebrations.

Matthew then tells another story right away. Verse 14-30 about the eschaton and faithful servants (good employees) and an unfaithful one. The faithful servants do what the master wants them to do with His things while he was away. The unfaithful servant does not. The good employees are commended and the best is rewarded while the unfaithful servant is fired or worse.

Matthew then tells the parable of the sheep and the goats from Verse 31 on and the point of this parable is, in short, that as we love God, we will love our neighbour – which means that we will feed the hungry, water the thirsty, invite the stranger in, clothe the naked, and so on. And as we love God and our neighbour we will be safe from all of the scary stuff, the eschaton.

I have one more story.

My daughter Rebecca worked at camp all Summer; she had a great time meeting new friends, reuniting with friends from the previous years and across the province. She didn't really want to come home; she didn't want the Summer to end. She knew it had to and she knew that we, her family, were coming to get her.

The rest of the family, as the time was nearing to pick Rebecca up, we took our holidays near the camp. One night, while everyone else was asleep, Sarah-Grace (Rebecca's closest sister in age) and I decided to go and surprise Rebecca.

Sarah-Grace and I drove to the camp, found out where her cabin was and Sarah-Grace went inside to see her. Rebecca was glad to see us but her first response was one of fear and surprise. "What are you doing here?" "It's not time to go yet?" "I am not ready to go!" "We're not going!"

Sarah-Grace calmed her down. We were just visiting. We went to the dining hall and visited with Rebecca and a friend or two and then left them there in the dining hall. We had a very good visit.

As we were leaving the camp Sarah-Grace told me about Rebecca's reaction; so, we decided to stop by her cabin again (while she was still in the dining room) on our way out. In Rebecca's lipstick, on a piece of paper she attached to the wall, Sarah-Grace wrote, "Matthew 24:36" (She could have equally written "Matthew 25:13" or Matthew 24:42 or 44). When Rebecca looked up Matthew 24:36, it read: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." The implication was that we could show up anytime (unexpectedly like now) and take her away from her Summer job. (And that is really what it is like with the eschaton and also with the end of our own life. None of us know when our time here is complete; so we should all be ready.)

Regarding Rebecca. We put her mind at ease and told her exactly when we were going to show up again with her mother and her other sister so she wasn't really worried about the note but it was a fun memory we shared.

This is not unlike our scripture today (Matthew 24:36-44). When the Lord returns it will be good for us to be with be Him but we need to be ready. (And we can be ready by praying, reading our Bible, loving God and loving and taking care of our neighbour) We all miss our friends who pass on. None of us should want to end our shift at the metaphorical Summer Camp that is this life too soon. And when we do have to go, there are inevitably some things that we would have still wanted to do and we couldn’t but the truth is we need to be ready because we do not know when our Father is coming to get us.

Are you ready?

Let us all get ready for our Heavenly Father by praying, reading our Bible, loving God and loving our neighbour.

Let us pray.

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