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Transcript

Blessed Are the Troublemakers · Pine Street Pod

• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: And now here's the tweet message.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus had a word for troublemakers.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: He called them B-L-E-S-S-E-D.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_01: Troublemakers are blessed, blessed, however, sophisticated your feeling, you can pronounce that word however you want.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Troublemakers equal blessed.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: Now he stands in a long line of prophets who have said the same thing in different ways that God sees the forgotten.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: King says history bends toward justice.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus says the last will be first.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: But on this hillside in Galilee, here in Matthew's gospel, Jesus said it with some finality that has stuck ever since.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_01: He gave a name to every kind of person the world normally discards.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_01: The poor, the grieving, the meek, those who hunger for justice, the merciful, the peacemakers, the persecuted.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: And he said, the kingdom of heaven belongs to every last one of these.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_01: We have a few things going on today.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: We are two days from an election.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_01: We are so happy that Marcus Christopher is with us today.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it is all Saint Sunday.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_01: We give thanks for holy heroes and sheros who came before us and did not quit.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: No matter how rough the road got.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_01: Any one of these three things would make a sermon.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_01: I promise I'll do my best not to try to preach three in the next little bit.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yay! Any one of these three things would make a sermon.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_01: But taken together today, they are a summons.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_01: Somewhere there lives inside of me a Pentecostal preacher still who would say, This is not a sermon.
• 2:53
  SPEAKER_01: This is a summons.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_01: So let's get into it.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_01: Tom Long, who trained preachers for decades at Princeton and then at Candler School of Theology, calls the Sermon on the Mount the Constitution of the Church of Jesus Christ.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: That hits different to me today.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: The Sermon on the Mount is the constitution of the Church of Jesus Christ.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_01: Now, here's a strange thing about the times we're living in.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_01: We've got politicians out there defending the Bible.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_01: And we've got pastors out here defending the Constitution.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: What?
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_01: We've got Christians worried about protecting doctrine.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: And we've got other Christians worried about protecting human dignity.
• 4:00
  SPEAKER_01: Now, those two things do not have to be mutually exclusive.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: But when protecting our beliefs matters more than protecting our neighbors, we've lost the plot of the gospel.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that's why I keep coming back to the Beatitudes, because for those of us trying to follow Jesus, this is our spiritual constitution.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I have to say, Jesus didn't exactly write a constitution designed to win over wealthy donors.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_01: Blessed are the poor, blessed are the meek, blessed are those who hunger for justice.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: Just imagine his campaign consultants after a speech like this.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus, we really need to have a chat about your messaging.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: But Jesus wasn't running for office.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: He was announcing a different kind of kingdom, a different kind of realm.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_01: So think of the Beatitudes as the opening words of a new national anthem for the kingdom of God.
• 5:08
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus gathers people on a hillside, he tells them what matters in the kingdom of God, or as we say a lot around here, the kingdom of God, the family of God.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: And right away you realize this kingdom plays by really different rules.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_01: It's important to know that Matthew's first readers knew something about living in scary times.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: Many scholars date his gospel in the 80s or the 90s common era, after Rome destroyed the temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: So imagine trying to rebuild your sense of who you are after the center of your religious world has been undone.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: Some of you personally know a little bit about what that is like: to have your theology come undone, to have your relationship with the church or Christianity come undone.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: But that's the kind of world in which Matthew's community was trying to follow Jesus, and they are asking urgent questions that are not altogether different from our own.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_01: They are asking, who are we now?
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: What holds us together?
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: And how are we supposed to live with one another?
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Matthew points them back to this hillside.
• 6:33
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus begins not with the powerful or the successful or the well-connected or those wealthy donors.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_01: He begins with the people the world has dismissed and calls them blessed.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_01: Matthew goes on to give us Jesus as a kind of new Moses.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_01: He stands on the mountain and shows people this new way to live.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: And where does he begin?
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_01: He begins with blessings.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: Blessings for the very people the empire would forget.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_01: People pushed aside and people who knew the cost of belonging to a movement that the powerful resented.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: One of the great New Testament scholars of our time, Amy Jill Levine, she makes a point we need to lock into, I think, and that is that the beatitudes are declarations.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_01: They are not conditions.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: The beatitudes are declarations, they are not conditions.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_01: Meaning Jesus is not saying, do these things and you'll get a reward.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: He is saying the kingdom already belongs to these people.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Now, already, not in some distant day, if they work hard enough for it.
• 7:52
  SPEAKER_01: Duke theologian Stanley Harawas takes this further.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_01: He says the Beatitudes describe the community that Jesus is forming.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_01: Like this is who the church is when it takes its assignment seriously.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: When it takes the words of Jesus seriously.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_01: And here's what it looks like.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_01: Blessed are the poor in spirit.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: So Jesus doesn't begin with the movers and the shakers.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: He begins with people who've been moved and shaken by the movers and the shakers.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_01: The ones the world considers expendable, and he calls them blessed.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_01: And blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
• 8:44
  SPEAKER_01: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: Land was life in the ancient world.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: It was concrete, it was physical, it was existential.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: And Marcus, again today, reminds us of this.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: A member of a community of more than 800 people at San Lazaro Mobile Home Park who own their homes but not the ground those homes stand on.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: And as many of you know, an anonymous buyer has offered$42.5 million for that land.
• 9:20
  SPEAKER_01: And these are families who have been neighbors, some of them for 60 years.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_01: They arrived as strangers.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_01: They learned each other's languages.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: They shared meals.
• 9:32
  SPEAKER_01: They've raised children side by side.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_01: And again, they have until December 3rd to figure out how to make this work.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: Marcus said it plainly and beautifully as anybody can say it.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: He said, We belong to one another.
• 9:49
  SPEAKER_01: We belong to one another.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_01: I think we forget that sometimes, he said.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: The families of San Lazaro know this firsthand.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: By the way, San Lazaro, San Lazaro, San Lazaro, talk to Marcus after, and he can help with this.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: But those families, these families know all about this.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: They've organized, they've held lemonade stands, they've tackled real estate financing that would give even seasoned developers a headache.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_01: And they've kept going.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_01: They haven't quit.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: And Anna has helped build a bridge between Pine Street and our neighbors, and that's really a gift to our church.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_01: And we're super grateful for that, Anna.
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_01: So again, if you'd like to stand with San Lazaro community, visit Pine Streetchurch.net slash support San Lazaro San Lazaro.
• 10:47
  SPEAKER_01: I want to be clear that we come alongside our neighbors not from charity, but from conviction.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: John Adams named the civic version of this two centuries ago.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: And as Marcus said earlier, for those of you who've raised your hands that have already voted or will vote on Tuesday, the civic version, being civic-minded, is this.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: Government is instituted for the common good, John Adams said.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_01: Government is instituted for the common good, for the protection, safety, prosperity, and happiness of the people, and not for the profit and honor or private interest of any one man or one family or class of men.
• 11:37
  SPEAKER_01: That's John Adams.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_01: Pine Street has committed resources to this effort because we believe our neighbor's future is bound up with our own.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: The meek shall inherit the land.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_01: And blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_01: Here's one for those of us who are civic-minded, who are people of Christianity for the common good.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_01: You cannot demand that children learn the Bible in public schools while cutting free lunches for kids who are hungry.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: That's faith.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: Faith that is phony baloney when it's turned into a performance to score cheap political points in the name of our faith.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus fed hungry people, he healed the sick, he touched people, everyone else avoided.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: But when we care more about putting the Ten Commandments up in classrooms, rather than putting food on children's plates who are hungry, we have lost our way.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_01: We're defending the appearance of Christianity, and we're abandoning Jesus while we do.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: I sat in a room with Belmont University Professor David Dart just a couple of weeks ago.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_01: Isn't that a great name?
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_01: Dr.
• 13:17
  SPEAKER_01: David Dark.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I've been ruminating on a question from his book titled, We Become What We Normalize.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_01: We become what we normalize.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: And he asked this question: Am I responsible for the lies voiced in my presence unchallenged?
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_01: Am I responsible for the lies voiced in my presence unchallenged?
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_01: I think yes.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: Staying close to Jesus who called himself the truth is an act of moral courage these days.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: And blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's peacemakers, you notice, not peacekeepers.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: Peacekeepers maintain what already exists.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_01: Peacemakers build something that doesn't yet exist.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: And sometimes you have to disturb a false peace to find a real one.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_01: And blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_01: White evangelical Christians represent approximately fourteen percent of the American population.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_01: I hear this a lot from our white evangelical brothers and sisters, that Christians are being persecuted in the United States.
• 15:09
  SPEAKER_01: Fourteen percent of the American population, and yet they hold disproportionate representation in Congress, on the Supreme Court, and in every major Republican administration in recent memory.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: The last several Supreme Court terms have expanded religious liberty protections for conservative Christians across the board.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: Prayer was never removed from public schools, by the way.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_01: One of the great Baptist fire brands once said, James Dunn, by the way, as long as there are math tests in school, there will be prayer in school.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_01: Students can pray, teachers can pray, and I'm sure they do.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_01: I know one who does.
• 16:01
  SPEAKER_01: Students can pray, teachers can pray.
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_01: Public schools simply cannot lead prayers or require anyone to practice a particular religion.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_01: When you've spent generations making the rules, when you've spent generations enjoying cultural privilege, being asked to follow rules that protect the rights and dignity of everyone can feel like persecution.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: Evangelical Christians are not being persecuted in the United States.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_01: We are being asked to share power and the rights and responsibilities of people who believe differently, and that is called, and maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I think that's called religious freedom.
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm pretty sure that's called democracy.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: If you want to understand religious persecution, look at Christians in Nigeria.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Many have been killed in attacks on their communities.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Look at North Korea, where gathering for worship or holding a Bible can get you thrown into prison.
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_01: These are people who know the cost of their faith.
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_01: Some have lost their homes, they've lost their freedom, some have lost their lives, and we cheapen their suffering when we cry persecution because we no longer get to make the rules for everybody else.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: And on this All Saints Sunday, I think about the people who started Pine Street Church.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_01: They called it First Baptist Church of Boulder.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_01: They weren't looking for a comfortable place to settle in, they were starting something.
• 17:50
  SPEAKER_01: Six people on October 13th, 1872.
• 17:57
  SPEAKER_01: Their first baptisms took place in a pool behind a judge's home on Walnut Street.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_01: They didn't have a budget and they didn't have a sanctuary and they didn't have a strategic plan.
• 18:11
  SPEAKER_01: They just had six people with some faith and some courage.
• 18:17
  SPEAKER_01: And probably a few good troublemakers in the group.
• 18:22
  SPEAKER_01: And I wonder what they imagined for the future.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_01: Maybe they had their own vision 1881.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: And they certainly couldn't have imagined us standing here 154 years later talking about Vision 2031.
• 18:39
  SPEAKER_01: The dates change, and the good gospel work goes on.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: There's an old Reformation phrase that says the church is always being reformed.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_01: The church is always being reformed.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: We're always growing.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: We're always being called to change.
• 18:59
  SPEAKER_01: And those six people didn't finish the work, and you and I won't finish the work, but we inherited something that they began, and one day we will pass it on too.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: That's what it means to be a part of a communion of saints.
• 19:18
  SPEAKER_01: We keep faith with those who came before us and we make a little good trouble on our own.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: Finally, two days from now, in that voting booth, this will be the Beatitudes translated in one form or another.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: Vote from love.
• 19:40
  SPEAKER_01: Think about the most vulnerable people in our community.
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_01: Who sees them?
• 19:49
  SPEAKER_01: Who has a plan that includes them?
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: Who believes their lives matter enough to protect?
• 19:58
  SPEAKER_01: The Jesus of Matthew 5 does not cast a ballot to defeat the people he hates, or even to defeat the people he disagrees with.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: He moves from mercy.
• 20:12
  SPEAKER_01: He's motivated by mercy.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_01: John Lewis got arrested forty five times.
• 20:28
  SPEAKER_01: We need to raise our standards for getting arrested for good trouble.
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_01: John Lewis was beaten on a bridge in Selma for walking for dignity.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_01: He sat in a jail cell for sitting on a lunch counter.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_01: He got up every time and went back.
• 20:45
  SPEAKER_01: He called it good trouble.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_01: Necessary trouble.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: The struggle, John Lewis said, is not a day or a week or a month or a year.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: It is the struggle of a lifetime.
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_01: The Beatitudes are about people who refuse to sit around waiting for the world to change.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_01: These are people who stand up and speak out and get in the way when the world wants to remain the same.
• 21:17
  SPEAKER_01: These are our people.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_01: These are our saints.
• 21:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that work is in our hands.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: Jesus climbed a hillside to bless us, that is true.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_01: But also to keep us awake in the gospel.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: To stay woke in the gospel.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: To send us into the world God made and God loves, to make a joyful noise unto the Lord and stir up good trouble along the way.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_01: My friends, this is Sermon on the Mount, Christianity.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_01: It has always run on good troublemakers.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_01: So blessed are the troublemakers, all you good troublemakers, the kingdom of heaven is already yours.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_01: Amen.