Sunday Homily - February 17th, 2019 - Instruments of God's Judgment

Sermon on the Mount Icon

I.

"Hey you!
 Yes! You all sitting here!
  How would y'all like to be the instruments of God's judgement
   here on this earth?

That's right, you can be a part of God's judgement
 carried out
  today!"

Sound like something you want to be a part of?
 Excellent, let's get started!

Because, first and foremost,
 we need to be clear about what it means
  to carry out God's judgment on the world.

Judgement is such a misunderstood word.
 A word that, at least etymologically in our English language,
  has often been associated with the words "vindictive" and "vindication"
   which are certainly fine uses of judgement in a sense.
    [https://www.etymonline.com/word/justice]

But it becomes much more complex when vindication
 gets conjugated into one of its other forms: vengeance.
  And even more complicated when vengance
   turns into re-venge.
   [https://www.etymonline.com/word/vengeance]

Rather, let's step back and make sure we are understanding
 what the Holy Scriptures are saying when they speak of justice.

What does the Bible actually say about justice?

What does God actually say is right
 What does Jesus say about blessedness
  and what does Jesus say about woe?

II.

"Blessed are you who are poor,
 for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who are hungry now,
 for you will be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now,
 for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you,
 and when they exclude you,
  revile you,
   and defame you on account of the Son of Man.

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."

But woe to you who are rich,
 for you have received your consolation.

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.

Woe to you when all speak well of you,
 for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."
[Luke 6:20-26 NRSV]

Jesus Christ is speaking about justice this morning, y'all.
 He is talking about judgement.
  And the judgement of God,
   the justice of God,
    is that all of our lives should be God oriented,
     loving God more than the things we own,
      than the food we eat,
       than the parties we attend,
        and even more than having a good reputation among other people.

Rather, blessed are you when you are poor,
 for the kingdom of God is your sustenance rather than your material possessions.

But be warned, you who are rich and have a lot.
 Because your wealth is not yours: it is for the feeding of the hungry
  and the housing of the homeless.

Blessed are you when you weep and are broken,
 for you will receive comfort from God who loves you and died for you.

But be warned, you who laugh and are safe,
 you who don't have to move out of your comfort zone for the sake of another!
  Because you were not given safety, security, and happiness just for yourselves,
   but rather you have been given it so that you may become a shelter and a recourse
    for the downtrodden and the depressed,
     for those that have been destroyed by the world
      and have been utterly forsaken.

Blessed are you when people make fun of you,
 when people smear you,
  when people write angry and irritated things on Facebook about you,
   when people write you off and scoff at you
    because you have chosen to stand for what is right,
     for what is true,
      for the Love of God that favors no one more highly than another.

Because the righteous prophets of the Old Testament,
 John the Baptist,
  Jesus, our Lord,
   the Holy Apostles,
    and countless other holy saints have suffered the same and have died
     for the sake of the Good News
      the foolish Good News that all are loved by God,
       that all are called to live into God's perfect justice
        and that God has given us a responsibility to actually carry out God's will
         for all who live on earth.

But be warned, you who desire the approval of those around you
 more than the approval of God.
  Be warned, you who like to please others more than enacting uncomfortable justice for others.

Because the false prophets,
 the preachers of our age who make a profit off of telling people what they want to hear,
  the proclaimers of wealth and prosperity and blessedness
   as the only sign that you are blessed:
   
These are the people who make a mockery of the justice of God,
 Telling people that anything less than wealth and a fat wallet
  means that you must not be right with God.

Be warned, because the easy way of life,
 the life where you don't have to get out of your comfort zone,
  or better yet, the life where you don't have to even make the DECISION
   to get out of your comfort zone,
    that path only leads to isolation and the denial of justice
     the denial of God's just judgment toward the poor and needy.
 

III.

"Hey you!
 Yes! You all sitting here.
  How would y'all like to be the instruments of God's judgement
   here on this earth?

Because, as you probably have noticed,
 God's judgment in the gracious words of Our Lord Jesus Christ this morning
  is about the good,
   the right,
    the perfect justice being shared AMONG all people,
     whether they be rich or poor,
      healthy or sick,
       employed or not.

Blessedness and woe,
 in complete contrast to what we are so often taught to believe,
  has absolutely nothing to do with the stuff you own,
   the wealth you amass,
    or the security that you are given by God.

Rather, blessedness and woe
 is a commission and a warning to us who dare to follow Christ Jesus.
 
A commission to actually carry out God's judgment on the world:
 to do the hard thing of proclaiming God's love,
  God's loyalty,
   God's rock solid, unchanging pursuit of you and me
    and William, who stops by our Little Free Pantry,
     and Kyle Osbourne, our mayor,
      and that Harding Student who is passing through our doors for the first time.

And a warning against the seductively easy route of selfishness,
 isolating ourselves away from each other and from our neighbors,
  and falsely assuming that since we are stable,
   and self-sufficient,
    and wealthy,
     that maybe God likes us just a tad bit more than, you know, those other people.

So, yeah, by the way,
 we all who are gathered here right now,
  we here who have come to be disciples of Jesus Christ:
   we have already been commissioned as heralds of this just judgment.

Yes, its true!
 We are ALREADY instruments of God's judgment in the world,
   a judgment that sets the captives free,
    heals the sickness of the world.
     Yes, WE have already been commissioned.

Blessed are you when you cry out for the Gospel to reach those desperate for it.
 You will be heard
  AND you will be commissioned to proclaim it.

In the name of the +Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.