"Shattered Illusions"

Series: “Jesus, the Provocative Teacher”

Sunday, July 13, 2008/ Matthew 5:1-12

Introduction: Life is full of ups and downs. Times can be good, and then times will get bad. Sometimes they are from our own doing, but many times that is not the case. Right now many of you are going through tough times financially because of the gas crunch, especially those of you on fixed incomes. Money is tight, and it is affecting how you are choosing to spend your time, your travel, and your money.

One of the downs of life is shattered illusions. As we continue our series, “Jesus, the Provocative Teacher,” this morning I want to not only look at the shattered illusions of life, but also the shattered illusions that we face when it comes to Jesus and faith. There are times in our faith journey when we expect things to be different, maybe even easier, but they aren’t. In these times our illusion is shattered.

I. Let Downs-

a. Trinity Presbyterian- My ministry career has been quite the journey.

I started as a 10-hour-a-week junior high director, making $200 a month, then went to a full-time position as the high school director at Bel Air Presbyterian church, then to be the full-time Director of Student Ministries at Trinity Presbyterian church in Camarillo, CA. All the while I was in seminary; it took me 9 years to finish a 3-year program because I was involved in ministry the whole time. Once at Trinity, I had the opportunity to do the kind of ministry that helped to prepare me for an ordained position. Not only did I oversee 4^th grade – College (which required a great deal of organization and delegation skills), but I also got a chance to preach and lead in worship. While I was at Trinity, I was able to finish my seminary education. When I finished Seminary, I was excited to seek a call to an ordained position so that I could become an ordained minister. A little before this time the associate pastor had left to start a church plant, and Trinity was looking for a new associate. I was glad that my graduation coincided with their search, and I hoped to get an interview. One day I got a call from someone on the search committee telling me that they were going to be closing the period for receiving PIF’s (Personal Information Form, which is the extended resume ministers send to churches), and that I needed to get my PIF in soon. Well, I did, but I didn’t get a chance to interview for the position./ I later found out that the Senior Pastor told the committee that it wasn’t the right position for me…You would think I should be making that decision, not him; shattered illusion.

b. Ecumenical church- Fortunately, I got an opportunity to interview for

the position of Solo Pastor at Ecumenical Church of Pueblo West a few months later. I know that most of you know this story, so I won’t go into the details of the interview, just to say that it went well and I got the job. It was exciting to have this opportunity. I felt so blessed and humbled to have this position. I took it as a great responsibility to be the pastor of the church. In fact, every day I would walk into the sanctuary to practice my sermon, and before I got started I would say over and over, “I am the pastor of this church. I am the pastor of this church. I am the pastor of this church.” It took me about a year to fully have that reality sink in. But being the pastor of that church wasn’t all that I expected. It was by no means smooth sailing. Soon into my pastorate I realized that they, being an “ecumenical” church, lacked a Christian foundation, so I made sure that I stressed the “lordship of Christ” in my sermons. This caused some conflict with those who weren’t so “into Christ,” and some people left the church. On top of that I had some trouble with my custodian (who was married to my choir director, who was in cahoots with the organist), and this too caused some great conflict (especially in the end when we had to fire the custodian for lying. It was at this point that I started to realize that ministry was not what I expected, and that some churches were far more challenging to minister to than others. This too was a shattered illusion for me.

c. Expectations unmet- As I share about a couple of my let downs, I’m

sure that there are some in your own life that come to mind. The world is often quite different from what we envision, and our illusions are being shattered all the time. No one likes to feel disillusioned. Disillusions come to us when we have a dream that isn’t fulfilled the way we hope, or when we expect a certain outcome, but it doesn’t play out that way. Sometimes these “shattered illusions” are caused by an abandonment that will stay in our hearts and minds for months or years.

The truth is, in many areas of life we have some idea, some illusion in mind. We believe that we will be happily married, we believe that we will have good health, we believe that life will be smooth. When these things don’t happen it is dramatic, and a powerful negative force in our lives.

II. The Beatitudes- (Matthew 5:1-12; Psalm 37:11; Romans 12:18; Jn. 15:16)

a. Qualities of being blessed- These shattered illusions can be

disappointing, but they can also open us up to the ways of Jesus and our understanding of God. Those of us who have been through the “Focused Living” seminar have learned just this; we learned that the “pink post-it notes,” which represent what we would consider the negative aspects of our life, actually helps to prepare us for something that God will do in and through our lives. This disappointment can remove illusions that might need to be removed so that we can embrace a new reality that God has for us.

Our scripture reading this morning (on the front of the bulletin) is from Matthew 5:1-12; better known as the Beatitudes. They describe to us the qualities of those who are blessed. Now if God were to ask you to make a list of qualities of those who are blessed, you might have written the list a little differently. But let’s break this down a little:

1. ³"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…” The

“poor in spirit” is actually referring to those who are God-sufficient, as opposed to those who are full of themselves or feel that they are self-sufficient. Those who acknowledge that they need God in their life are the ones who will see and experience the kingdom of heaven (even here on earth).

2. “⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Those who are

willing to mourn, willing to allow their sad emotions to come forth, will be the ones who are not only comforted by others, but comforted by God. If you can’t allow yourself to be comforted by another person, then you won’t know how to let God comfort you either.

3. ^“5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” This verse is taken

from Psalm 37:11, which says: “But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy great peace.” The word “meek” here is not referring to our disposition toward other people (meaning that we are quiet, unassuming, or weak), but rather it refers to our disposition toward God; that we are humble. In response to this idea of inheriting the earth, theologian William Barclay says: “It is the fact of history that it has always been the men with this gift of self-control, the men with their passions, and instincts, and impulses under discipline, who have been great.”

4. “⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be

filled.” In Jesus’ time, the religious leaders were thought to be righteous. They said the right words, dressed the part, and put on the show. This can be true in our time too, where people might “appear” to be righteous. But righteousness comes from having the desire to be righteous, which leads you to live a life of righteousness.

5. ^“7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” The Bible

constantly reminds us that as we act, so it will be shown to us. We are told that we will be forgiven based on how we forgive; if we forgive others, we will be forgiven. And Jesus continues this way of thinking here with the aspect of mercy. But the mercy referred here is not just being kind to someone who is ill or is having trouble. The mercy referred to here is that of empathy; getting into someone’s skin and feeling their pain and walking with them through the pain.

6. “⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Jesus then tells us

that it is the pure of heart who will see God. We are called to “be holy as God is holy,” and so the purer of heart and mind that we can be, the more we can break away from the distractions and actions of the world, and see the things of God.

7. “⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” The

Bible is full of statements of love and unity. God sent His Son Jesus to reconcile the world to Himself. God desires us to live in peace. So to be children of God, we need to live as God calls us to live. When we are in conflict with another, we need to seek reconciliation so that we can be at peace. As Paul said in Romans 12:18, “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”

8. “¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs

is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” You might not think it a blessing to be persecuted, but if we are persecuted for following Jesus, then it is a blessing, because Jesus Himself tells us in John 15:16, “…If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” To be persecuted shows you that you are living in the right way.

b. Disturbing words- Jesus is being provocative in His teaching here

because we see that these words have a disturbing side to them. First, they are disturbing to the people, because they wouldn’t normally think of being poor in spirit, being meek, being persecuted as ways to have a blessed life. If most people were to write a beatitudes, they might write something like this: Blessed are the strong; blessed are the independent; blessed are those who are financially secure; blessed are those who have no problems.

Second, it is provocative because it is a new kind of teaching. It is a new way to relate to God; a personal way to relate to God. Be God-sufficient and you will experience the kingdom of heaven. Be merciful to others and experience God’s mercy for you. Seek God, and you will find God. Live the way God calls you to live regardless of what others think of it and you WILL be blessed.

Third, it is provocative because it isn’t just teaching information, Jesus is teaching how we are to act and live. It is helping us to have a new “worldview” (a frame of reference on which all other thoughts and decisions are based).

Fourth, it is provocative because it goes against the teaching of the religious leaders of the day. They walked around all arrogant and showy; they were not poor in spirit. Their mercy was not real, it was legalistic. They were not peacemakers, but rule keepers. They were provoked to anger because Jesus’ teaching was so different, so beyond them, that they could not relate to it or support it.

Lastly, Jesus is provocative because He challenges us in our own faith and thinking. So many believe that once they follow God whole heartedly that their life should become easier, that their problems should dissipate, that they should have a “happier” life. Jesus shatters our illusions by teaching us that it is in the midst of trials and struggles and hurts that we find blessing.

Conclusion: Having our illusions shattered is initially painful, and can create confusion in our faith and in our lives. But it actually is a way to free us up to participate in a whole new world of experiences that God has for us, His people. How do you respond to the Beatitudes? Hopefully not like the Pharisees, who were angered by them. Hopefully it is with curiosity and a willingness to see what God can actually do in and through us if we follow His teaching. So let us seek to be more God-dependent, more real with our emotions, more meek, more hungering for righteousness, more merciful, more pure in heart, and more the peacemaker. Let us give thanks to God that He opens our eyes to the truth by the poking and prodding, by the teaching of Jesus! Amen.