Sermon for November 2nd

My favorite TV show is Heroes, on NBC. I love the fantasy, the drama, the science fiction. I like to see lightning bolts fly out of people’s fingers, people going invisible and then going superhumanly fast and those things are all a part of this show. There’s no doubt some psychological reason for my interest with this type of genre, maybe I am an obsessive overachiever or am constantly losing my grip on reality. Maybe I just like special effects? Who knows? But, whatever the reason, I like to imagine what it would be like to have super powers. To be the strongest, the smartest and the fastest person in the world. The best of the best. To be special, both in my own eyes and in the eyes of others.

I carry this attitude with me into everyday life as well, like it or not. I like to be the best I can be and, if truth be told, I wouldn’t mind being the best in the eyes of others as well. I like to be told I am really good at what I do. It strokes my ego and makes me smile. I want to be a hero just like on the TV show even if I can’t create fire in the palm of my hand or fly around town. My parents called this attitude “self-confidence”. Others along the way have called this attitude “cocky”. Most psychology books would call this attitude “unrealistic”.

But I’d like to know what God thinks about my attitude? Is he happy that I am so focused on being the best that I can be? Being a hard worker must count for something. A hero, by definition, would help others out and, well, that is certainly biblical: “love your neighbor as yourself”. Does God praise these wonderfully traits of mine or does he notice them at all? What would it take to be a hero in God’s eyes?

I remember daydreaming when I was younger about the possibility of Jesus coming back to earth and finding disciples to walk across the countryside spreading the gospel message. I thought, “What if Jesus came to my door when my dad was gone and said follow me? I’d follow him right away!” I thought! “How cool would that be, right! And so I told my dad that if I was ever just gone one day he shouldn’t worry. Jesus probably just came back and asked me to be his disciple. I’d probably show up on the news that night.”

I wonder if that’s how the twelve disciples felt when they were asked by Jesus to come and follow him. I mean, they believed he was their Messiah! The awaited Savior of the Universe! The king of the Jews and he was asking them—them of all people!—to walk around with him and spread the news and do good deeds. They could be heroes! How wonderful!

Our gospel reading today sets the scene at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry where the disciples follow Jesus up a mountain after the crowds have gone home. They had just been called out of their ordinary lives, lives full of catching fish or counting silver coins, to a life of extraordinary faith and adventure! And now, Jesus sat them down for a pep talk. No doubt, Jesus was about to tell them what a great job they had done already and what great expectations he had for them!

Jesus begins by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” You can imagine their surprise. “Pssst. Hey Matthew! Did Jesus just say the poor in spirit? Who’s he talking about? Jesus continued, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” “Uh, hey Jesus. I’m actually really happy to be here . . . not sad at all!” Blessed are the meek,” Jesus said, “for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness; sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

You’d have to imagine that the disciples felt a little gypped at this point. Heroes aren’t meek! They aren’t meek at all! They eat meek for breakfast! Heroes aren’t peacemakers! They have swords and shields and defend damsels in distress! I guess heroes are pure in heart, but they shouldn’t be persecuted. No, no, no, no! Jesus has this all wrong. Blessed are the heroes! The best of the best! The hard working, faith confessing, evil whupping, Messiah following disciples! The twelve special ones, you know. Who were these poor in spirit people? “We’ve got spirit, yes we do, we’ve got spirit, how bout you?”

For many of you, when you first heard the list detailing the kinds of people who were blessed by God, you might not have found yourself on the list. And for good reason, right? No one wants to be known as mournful, meek, poor in spirit person! That doesn’t sound good at all. A few of these things sound like positive traits, in a churchy, religious kind of way, but none of them seem THAT exciting. Who wants to be merciful? I want to be Mr. wonderful! I want to be a hero.

It is a strange thing really. When Jesus hands out his blessings, nobody really wants them. It’s not that we don’t want to be blessed, it’s just that we want to be blessed for our achievements and our hard work. Noble things. Heroic things. We want to be rewarded for our faith, not blessed because we have none. We want to be honored for our efforts, not blessed because we have to hunger and thirst for righteousness. We want Jesus to bless us on our terms. We want Jesus to praise us for our extraordinary abilities. Jesus wants us to utterly despair of our own abilities and to praise God’s name alone for our salvation.

Later on in the gospel of Matthew Jesus says, “I have come not for the healthy but for the sick. Not for the righteous but for the unrighteous.” At first, that can sound very upsetting if you feel good and think you’re doing alright in God’s eyes. But if Jesus has come to bless the poor in spirit, and he’s talking to you, perhaps you are more poor in spirit than you thought. Maybe it’s not something to be ashamed of. Perhaps, that righteousness you thought you had wasn’t much to look at after all.

God’s blessings are for you in fact, even if you don’t want them at first. You and I want to be heroes, not merciful meek peacemakers. But when you try to make yourself look so hot in God’s eyes you tend to move farther and farther away from his blessings. The more you trust in your own abilities, your own faith, your own understanding, the more you turn your back on God and his promises. You forget that everything is God’s and God’s alone. You forget that God wants you to fear, love and trust him above anything else. Above ANYTHING else, even above yourself and your heroic ambitions.

This passage describes what God values over and against what we think is important. It shows us that there are many in this world that are blessed in God’s eyes even though they are seen as second-class citizens to the rest of us. However, what I find most amazing is that these blessings are for you and for me, even though we never wanted them to be. We want to be heroes, but in God’s eyes we all come in second to Jesus Christ and his glory. The more you find yourself trusting God’s will for your life and trusting his values instead of your own, the more you will realize the hero Jesus was for forgiving your sins and blessing you with eternal life. Like it or not, these blessings are yours. You’re not the hero. Jesus is your hero.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness; sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be glad! Yours is the kingdom of God.” Amen.