February 11, 2007, Epiphany 6

Jeremiah 17:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26; Psalm 1

Blessed are those…

I bet you couldn’t help but notice that there were several themes running through today’s lessons? And they come in pairs – contrasting pairs.

There are trees planted by streams of water that bear fruit and that have leaves that are always green. And to contrast with that there is a dying bush in the desert and chaff blowing in the wind.

We have those who are blessed and those who are cursed – those who are blessed and those who find woe. It all boils down to whether you look to the Lord for the things you need in life.

Jeremiah tells us, “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals – and make mere flesh their strength.” You know, there are those who have trusted in their own strength and through their own strength have clawed their way to the top – often leaving a bloody trail behind them. But are they happy? Are they satisfied? Is it worth the price to be envied by the masses?

Sam and I sent to see the movie, The Devil wears Prada. In it, Miranda, the head of a fashion magazine was a real witch and everyone had to live up to her standards if they were going to work for her. Andy, a young woman with no sense of fashion applies for a job and gets it. She finally realized that in trying to meet the standards that Miranda sets, she had lost everything that was precious to her. Andy finally questions if this new life is worth the price and Miranda replies, “Of course it is. Everyone wants to be us.”

There are those who have trusted in mere mortals – and have found themselves, not only disappointed, but often devastated. Look at the fallout in the wake of the Enron collapse and others that have gone the same way.

Maybe closer to home, when you’ve trusted in a person who has made promises – and failed to keep them. Maybe trusting in the medical profession and finding that even they can’t help. Trusting in a friend who fails to come through for you when you need him or her.

You trust first in the Lord, and allow God to work through the people around you. That’s what it’s all about, first trust in the Lord.

I really like where Jeremiah says that when we trust in the Lord, place our faith firmly in him, even when we are going through a dry season (a drought) – maybe we can’t feel the Lord at all – but we will still bear fruit in season because our faith is in God and God can bring about all things.

Our gospel lesson has similar a theme. This is Luke’s version of the beatitudes – He cuts Matthews 9 beatitudes down to four and he adds four woes to parallel them. Even with the woes, it’s really all about attitudes.

There is a story attributed to a Jesuit priest named Anthony de Mello.-

There is a true story about a Quaker who put up a sign on the vacant piece of land next to his house: It read THIS LAND WILL BE GIVEN TO ANYONE WHO IS TRULY SATISFIED. A wealthy farmer who was riding by stopped to read the sign and said to himself, “Since our friend the Quaker is so ready to part with this plat, I might as well claim it before someone else does. I am a rich man and have all I need, so I certainly qualify.”

With that he went up to the door and explained what he was there for. “And art thou truly satisfied?” the Quaker asked.

“I am, indeed, for I have everything I need.”

“Friend,” said the Quaker, “if thou art satisfied, what dost thou want the land for?”

It’s all about attitudes. The smugness, the self-satisfaction, self-reliance, self-absorption are the attitudes that keep us from being able to live into the fullness of life as God intended it. When we are so wrapped up in ourselves and what we have, then we have no room for God or anyone else in our life. You’ve heard the phrase, “It’s lonely at the top.”

If we can empty ourselves of our worldliness and allow God to come in and fill us with his love and his will, then we can begin to be what God want us to be and to live into his desire for our lives. When we empty ourselves, then we have room for God and for others that he places in our lives. When we give ourselves over to God, then he begins to mold us and shape us into what he wants us to be.

Friday night when we got to Austin, I was handed a CD made by the daughter of a friend. The daughter is a songwriter and performer in Austin and has just recently begun to write Christian music. The name of the first song was “The Attitudes” and the chorus says:

I am blessed when I’m meek, for it’s then that I seek,

I am blessed and forgiven, freeing my heart for living.

Blessed is life, blessed is mind, where these attitudes shine

And my spirit reflects the divine.

That’s what God wants for us – for our spirit to reflect the divine.

These lessons today all boil down to one statement from our Old Testament reading: “I the Lord test the mind and search the heart, to give to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their doings.” One of the contemporary songs popular these days called “the Heart of Worship” addresses God, “You search much deeper within, through the way things appear, You’re looking into my heart.”

God has a plan for us – he has a desire for us. I will tell you now, and I’ll tell you many times, that I firmly believe that God desires for all people to come to him and to be saved. God does not create in order to destroy.

We are human, and regardless of how good, or important, or righteous we think we are, only God can see into the heart of people in order to judge them. And we have to remember that God’s intent is to save. We are all a mixed bag – we are all human – we are all partly good and partly sinful. We all have good times and bad times – times of glory and growth, and times of drought. But Jeremiah assures us that even in times of drought; we will bear fruit if we trust in the Lord.

Blessed are you whose trust is in the Lord.

Please feel free to email me with comments at nan@doerrworks.com