Monday Bloody Monday
It's Monday- joy. The nice thing about it being Monday is that it is another day which means I am that much closer to knowing where I will be assigned. On the other hand it also means that it is no longer the weekend and my time with my wife is less and less as she is quite busy. I had a pretty good weekend however, so I do feel refreshed for another week. It's amazing what sleep will do for a person.
Anyway, enough about my immediate life, let's talk about more exciting stuff. The sermon I preached on Sunday focussed on Matthew 5:1-12, otherwise known as the beatitudes. The word "blessed" occurs nine times throughout in a kind of unusual setting. "Blessed are those who mourn" for instance does not seem to make sense. I decided to approach the text with a focus on "happy" rather than blessed. The Greek word actually can be translated as happy rather than blessed so it was not that big of a stretch. I stressed that all of those people can be happy because of the fact that "theirs is the kingdom of heaven"- now, in the present not in the future. I found it interesting that in the Gospel reading, the kingdom of heaven was now, while everything else was going to happen in the future.
After preaching the sermon, I began to wonder to myself, what is it that makes me happy? The fact that the kingdom of heaven is mine is pretty powerful and breeds happiness. Yet do we tend to forget this promise as we live our lives? I know I don't always do a good job of living as if I know this. If we remember daily even hourly that God has given us his kingdom now- because of Jesus Christ, would that change the way we live and treat others?
We are indeed blessed, and we can truly be happy. Recently I was reading on another blog about the struggle of faith. Someone was not feeling as if church was providing the kind of thing they were looking for. She was very interested in Christianity, but not the Church as we know it. That seems to be a struggle many people in young adult generation tend to have. The joy is Christ can be encountered in other places as well. We, that have that struggle and/or understand it need to relationally encourage while embodying the risen Lord and Christ in all we do. Big task- yes- but truly we are blessed because the kingdom of heaven is ours- now.
Anyway, enough about my immediate life, let's talk about more exciting stuff. The sermon I preached on Sunday focussed on Matthew 5:1-12, otherwise known as the beatitudes. The word "blessed" occurs nine times throughout in a kind of unusual setting. "Blessed are those who mourn" for instance does not seem to make sense. I decided to approach the text with a focus on "happy" rather than blessed. The Greek word actually can be translated as happy rather than blessed so it was not that big of a stretch. I stressed that all of those people can be happy because of the fact that "theirs is the kingdom of heaven"- now, in the present not in the future. I found it interesting that in the Gospel reading, the kingdom of heaven was now, while everything else was going to happen in the future.
After preaching the sermon, I began to wonder to myself, what is it that makes me happy? The fact that the kingdom of heaven is mine is pretty powerful and breeds happiness. Yet do we tend to forget this promise as we live our lives? I know I don't always do a good job of living as if I know this. If we remember daily even hourly that God has given us his kingdom now- because of Jesus Christ, would that change the way we live and treat others?
We are indeed blessed, and we can truly be happy. Recently I was reading on another blog about the struggle of faith. Someone was not feeling as if church was providing the kind of thing they were looking for. She was very interested in Christianity, but not the Church as we know it. That seems to be a struggle many people in young adult generation tend to have. The joy is Christ can be encountered in other places as well. We, that have that struggle and/or understand it need to relationally encourage while embodying the risen Lord and Christ in all we do. Big task- yes- but truly we are blessed because the kingdom of heaven is ours- now.
I wonder what 'church' would be like if the people who came to worship - in whatever setting it was - truly were inspired to be there? I have been in a number of worshiping communities where there is almost no life or spirit and in many places where it is obvious to me that there was a great sense of the Spirit's vibrant presence.
As one who will soon be a pastor I am struck with the need to make worship an experience that truly touches people's lives and does what is humanly possible to connect people to the work the Spirit is already doing in their lives. I don't believe I should be in the business of making people happy, but I am in the business of helping people come to know the blessings they have which leads to a true sense of happiness.
The real message of worship should be the Risen Christ is here and he has brought the Kingdom of Heaven to us - here and now, not in some far-off-distant-place. Do we worship the Almighty, let alone live, accordingly?
"Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation. O my soul, praise him, for he is your health and salvation! Let all who hear now to his temple draw near, joining in glad adoration!"
Posted by
Leland |
11:05 AM