Be Perfect ...

A sermon preached in St. Columba's, Knock on Sunday 20th Feb 2011 at 10:30pm


Jesus, in the sermon on the mount presents us with huge challenges. Any quick glance through Chapter 5 of Matthew’s gospel highlights HUGE areas of life which we are called to be working on/

The beatitudes call us to be peacemakers, they also tell us that we will be persecuted

We are called to be salt and Light to the world

Keep the commandments

Not to get angry

Be reconciled with Brothers and Sisters

we are called Radical purity in terms of our thoughts and deeds, last week we had in our Gospel reading if your eye or hand causes you to sin ... which when we were discussing it on Wednesday evening at Bible Study proved to be quite horrific at the thought of such things - but basically that bit is about the causes of sin in each of our lives and removing that temptation from our lives.

We are called to Love our enemies

go the extra mile

Then at the end of today’s gospel reading we are called to Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect!

We are called to be perfect ... If I am honest this morning that bit of the reading I have struggled with all week ... what is Jesus saying/commanding?

Keeping the commandments... most of them are OK

Being reconciled with Brothers and Sisters ... yeah!

Purity of thoughts and deeds ... still working on that

Not getting angry ... most of the time that is OK ... but I know I loose my temper sometimes.

But being perfect... I am sooo far away from that it is unbelievable.

We need a way into this passage, we need to know that Jesus has hopes for his disciples, he has dreams for those who are listening, he is calling them to a radical life, a life which will change them, a way for them to see amazing things, a life which will see them do amazing things. A topsy turvy life which will turn their values on their head - the last first, the first last. A life which will call them to deny themselves, a life which will see them in the world but not of the world.

I am sure that there is not one of us here today meets the standard which Jesus sets out Be Perfect

Which is great, it is a great leveler - from the youngest here to the oldest, from teachers or students, rector or visitor, curate or choir member, vestry person ... who ever you are this morning.

We are in loads of ways we are messy - perhaps we do have immaulate houses or not, perhaps we are wealthy or not BUT under the surface we undoubtably have weaknesses we have messed up - all of us if we are honest are messy ... people who need to be made less messy

But the exciting thing is that whoever you are, whatever your role is we can all begin a journey, a journey with Jesus, finding out more about him, finding out more about ourselves.

As Disciples we are all called on a journey through life of sanctification ... of becoming more like Jesus, day by day.

yes we have and will mess up

yes we will do stupid things

yes we will say stupid things

The great news is that we can succeed at this, we can, if we let God change us do amazing things, we can strive to do better.

Three weeks ago the Rector looked part of the sermon on the mount as a kind of MOT for us, looking at things which could be better.

I wonder as we read through today’s reading is there anything we could pick up as things which could be improved upon?

perhaps in certain things we need to go the extra mile
perhaps in other things we need to discover love for those we do not like, or indeed love those who we actually hate the sight of.

A warning has to go out with all of these illustrations about our view of God.

He is not a policeman ready to catch us out, or a ticket warden ready to slap a ticket on us

but rather as heavenly father who has our best interests, who is willing us to do the right thing, who is ready to forgive when we get it wrong -as long as we learn from those mistakes and try better next time, he is ready to help us pick up the pieces and begin again.

We are all called to a radical lifestyle, showing our culture that there is much more to life than meets the eye, more purpose than simply making money, more love, more power, more adventure in a life dedicated to God.

The church, us, you and me are the hope for our nation, for our world - but we, each one of us has the power first to transform ourselves and then to transform our workplaces, community. This is the great news which we have contained in the pages of scripture but we need to be transformed ourselves.

But we do need to get rid of the mess ... offer the mess to God and get on with living life ... mess free

Amen.

If you are happy and you know it ...

A sermon delivered at the 10:30 service in St. Columba’s Parish church on Sunday 30th January 2011

While going to sunday school, I remember distinctly learning the wee chourus

If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands

If you’re happy and you know it and you really want to show it

If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands

So often we get caught up in the pressures of life - in balancing accounts, in meeting work deadlines, in flying from one thing to another that we push the things of God from the centre where they should be to the periphery of life. We get caught up with the details that we forget the bigger vision of what life is all about. We know all too well that depression and anxiety is on the rise.

Throughout this year we are working our way through the Gospel of Matthew at the Morning Services. Our reading today is the first part of the first major teaching block of the Gospel known as the Sermon on the mount.

Jesus opens his sermon by emphasising what the blessed or happy life looks like

Jesus here is emphasizing the values produced in Kingdom Men and Women by the Holy Spirit. Values which stand in stark contrast to the values of the world back in his day as well as values which are all to common today.

JB Philips has rendered the Beatitudes that apply to the kingdom of this world like this

Happy are the “pushers” for they get on in the world

Happy are the hard boiled for they never let life hurt them

Happy are they who complain: for they get their own way in the end

Happy are the blase for thy never worry about their sins

Happy are the slave drivers for they get results

Happy are the knowledable men of the world for they know their way around

Happy are the trouble makers for they make people take notice of them

Happiness is a concept which I am sure we all strive for, economists tell us that it is one of the goals of the decisions we all make with our finances - not simply working and making decisions to increase wealth but asking questions as to how we spend our money, our time to get happiness and fulfillment out of life.

This week, amidst all the usual news stories two stood out for me...

BBC Breakfast took on the challenge of seeing if people could learn to be more happy though various tasks and challenges.

Also the chief of the Bank of England Mervyn King in a speech quoted the Ken Dodd song

King said: "When it comes to measuring success, don't count money count happiness. The advice of Ken Dodd in 1964."

Within the Beatitudes we have a concise list of Kingdom values - which will be mediated on through the remainder of the gospel

Poverty, mourning, meekness, hunger for righteousness, purity, mercy, peacemaking and persecution.

To those on the outside - who are searching for happiness in our world today these values may seem quite alien but actually by meditating on each of them in turn is quite useful and gives us a picture of True kingdom life. Life which Jesus himself promises us elsewhere in the Bible - Life in all its fullness

Time only allows me to look at a 3 of the examples but if we look at these you will see a pattern emerging

“Happy are the meek” becomes “Miserable are the arrogant”. The meek will inherit the earth, but those who bully others can only take: they are not *given* anything.

“Happy are the merciful” becomes “Miserable are the merciless”. People who bear grudges, who refuse to forgive, and who take revenge, are the real prisoners. They are prisoners of their own hate, and it eventually poisons all their relationships.

Happy are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” becomes “Miserable are those who have no spine”. It isn’t always easy to stand up for what is right — yes, we can wind up persecuted. But who will ever trust us with what is truly important if we don’t have the inner strength to hold on to it in the first place?

The others ... why not take the reading sheet home with you and see what Jesus was getting at through them

If you are happy and you know it and you really want to show it

If you are happy and you know it Go and ...

• Do not be afraid to to show that you do not have everything
• be meek
• fulfill your hunger for doing what is right
• show mercy
• be pure
• make peace
• don’t be afraid of what others will think of you

Do all of these things because God has called you to do them! - The world is waiting for Men and Women, Young and Old to show what true happiness is all about