Living in Anticipation That God’s Will Be Done On Earth As In Heaven
This sermon can be listened to here
Gate Pa – Year C 8th
Sunday in Ordinary Time, 2019
Readings:
Psalm Psalm: 92:1-4,
12-15
First Reading:
Isaiah 55:10-13
Second Reading:
1
Cor 15:51-58
Gospel:
Luke
6:39-49
What I want to say:
Remind people that
we read Luke through Luke 4 and the Magnificat. This is the third set of wisdom
sayings on how to live no in anticipation of that day when God’s will is done
on earth as in heaven – what we pray for every time we pray the Lords prayer.
What I want to happen:
Lead a Lectio
Divina – finishing with "What is Christ the Word inviting me to this Lent?"
The Sermon
1. Introduction:
Part 3 of Jesus sermon on Plain
-
not something we have heard for a
while
-
nor hear again as lectionary reading
for some time
-
not until we have another really late
Easter in Year C.
-
not a lot of resources around for
readings this week.
2. Some Introductory Comments
-
like all Luke read this through lens
of Luke 4- reading Isaiah and sermon in Nazareth
-
"The Spirit of
the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the
blind, to let the oppressed go free, 19 to proclaim the year of
the Lord's favor."
o
in itself restating of Magnificat –
Mary’s song of protest
-
this is Luke’s equivalent of Mathew’s
Sermon on the Mount
not accident on plian or level place
Matthew and Moses and Mount(ain)
Luke in comparison deliberately on a
plain
level place - often refers to places of corpses, disgrace, idolatry, suffering,
misery, hunger, annihilation, and mourning
on this level or
broken place Jesus surrounded by sick people,
-
possessed people
-
poor people
-
broken people –
spiritually, economically, psychologically
-
surrounding Jesus
-
grabbing hold of
Jesus in broken place
-
This is what it looks like when Jesus
“brings good news to the poor, proclaims release to
the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, lets the oppressed go free, and proclaims
the year of the Lord's favor."
while surrounded he looks up and
restates Magnificat in his Beatitudes
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
"Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 "Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude you, revile you,
and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
for surely your reward is great in heaven;
for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
24 "But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25 "Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
"Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 "Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
"Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 "Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude you, revile you,
and defame you on account of the Son of Man.
23 Rejoice in that day and leap for joy,
for surely your reward is great in heaven;
for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
24 "But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
25 "Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
"Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 "Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
-
quiet different from Mathew
follows that up
like Matthew
wisdom saying on how to live now in
anticipation of when God’s will is done on earth as in heaven
when the reign of God is complete
3. Continuity
doing this in way helps community
writing for hear that Jesus not only speaking to dsiciples
but speaking to them
wisdom saying applied as much to them
as it did to those who first heard them
writing in way that invites us to
realise that Jesus is also speaking to us.
rather than have me speak about this
want to do Lectio Divina
way reading scripture goes back to Benedict
of Nursia – early 500’s
father of western monasticism
read gospel 3 times
-
each time give you different question
to reflect on in silence for minute or 2
-
A. Listening for Christ the Word
What word or phrase that is especially meaningful for you.
He
also told them a parable: "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will
not both fall into a pit? 40 A
disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be
like the teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's
eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Friend, let me take out the
speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.
43 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear
good fruit; 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs
are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces
good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of
the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.
46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell
you? 47 I will show you what someone is like who
comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. 48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid
the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a
house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it,
immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."
In Silence for
invite you to hear and silently repeats the word or a phrase that has attracted
you.
B. How Christ the Word speaks to me
after read
reflect in silence for two minutes on
“How does the content of this reading touch my life today?”
Luke 6:39-49 (The
Message)
39 He quoted a proverb: " 'Can a blind man guide a blind man?'
Wouldn't they both end up in the ditch? 40 An apprentice doesn't lecture the master. The point is to be
careful who you follow as your teacher.
41 "It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be
oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. 42 Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,'
when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this I-know-better-than-you
mentality again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your
own part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face and you might be fit to offer
a washcloth to your neighbor.
43 "You don't get wormy apples off a healthy tree, nor good
apples off a diseased tree. 44 The
health of the apple tells the health of the tree. You must begin with your own
life-giving lives. 45 It's who you are, not what you say and do,
that counts. Your true being brims over into true words and deeds.
46 "Why are you so polite with me, always saying 'Yes, sir,' and
'That's right, sir,' but never doing a thing I tell you? 47 These words I speak to you are not mere additions to your life,
homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundation words,
words to build a life on.
48 "If you work the words into your life, you are like a smart
carpenter who dug deep and laid the foundation of his house on bedrock. When
the river burst its banks and crashed against the house, nothing could shake
it; it was built to last. 49 But
if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life,
you are like a dumb carpenter who built a house but skipped the foundation.
When the swollen river came crashing in, it collapsed like a house of cards. It
was a total loss."
Scripture quotations from THE MESSAGE.
Copyright © by Eugene H. Peterson 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
“How does the content of this reading touch my life
today?”
C. What Christ the Word is inviting us to do
In Silence reflect for two minutes on “I
believe that God is inviting us to be or do this Lent?”
Luke 6:39-49 (NRSV)
He
also told them a parable: "Can a blind person guide a blind person? Will
not both fall into a pit? 40 A
disciple is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully qualified will be
like the teacher. 41 Why do you see the speck in your neighbor's
eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? 42 Or how can you say to your neighbor, 'Friend, let me take out the
speck in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log in your own eye? You
hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see
clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor's eye.
43 "No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear
good fruit; 44 for each tree is known by its own fruit. Figs
are not gathered from thorns, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. 45 The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces
good, and the evil person out of evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of
the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.
46 "Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I tell
you? 47 I will show you what someone is like who
comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. 48 That one is like a man building a house, who dug deeply and laid
the foundation on rock; when a flood arose, the river burst against that house
but could not shake it, because it had been well built. 49 But the one who hears and does not act is like a man who built a
house on the ground without a foundation. When the river burst against it,
immediately it fell, and great was the ruin of that house."
New
Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education
of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of
America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
After silence invite them if wish talk to neighbours
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