Sermon: Natures of Power

Lectionary: Palm/Passion Sunday Year A

Texts: Philippians 2:5-11; Matthew 21:1-11

A Choice
Lauren Wright Pittman, 2018

Jesus directs a couple of his disciples to fetch a donkey and a colt and bring it back to him. This isn’t some random request or an impromptu activity. This is prearranged. What Jesus is about to perform is a deliberate demonstration – a parody of a Roman imperial procession. Through this parody, Jesus contrasts two different kinds of power and rule, two differing ways of defining kingship.

This procession instigated by Jesus, on the Sunday prior to his crucifixion, is often referred to as the triumphal entry, but that is a misnomer. It is a triumphal entry only in its parody of the Roman version. Those following Jesus likely would have expected him to use the opportunity to seize power, and at least for a few days it seems like Jesus continues to increase his power and influence. But the week finishes in dishonor, shame, and defeat… at least when judged by human standards of triumph and victory.

There are a couple of small, but important, textual details in the Palm Sunday narrative. The first to point out is that the text describes two different crowds: one is mostly Galileans who followed Jesus and sang his praises; the other is the Judean crowds of Jerusalem who ask, “Who is this?” These are two distinct crowds. When later in the week the crowd turns against Jesus, it is the Jerusalem crowd.

The second point to note is that the procession ends before Jesus enters Jerusalem proper. The procession and acclamations are finished in Matthew 21:9. Jesus enters Jerusalem in verse 10. This sequence rendered more precisely in Mark 11.

When the processional crowd shouts “Hosanna”, they are praising Jesus as the son of David who they expect will bring salvation to them. But how that salvation is inaugurated is utterly unexpected and despicable.

Christianity has sanitized the symbol of the cross. Many wear it as a sign of honor and respect. Some may wear it with pride. And there are some who wear it shamelessly even when their actions contradict the values of Jesus. But hardly anyone feels shame to be associated with it.

For the early followers of Christ, it held mixed messages. On one hand, it was a symbol of the worst kind of suffering and shame that the imperial powers could inflict on who they considered worthless and utterly disposable. On the other hand, because Jesus had accepted his lot with the worthless and disposable and died in shame and dishonor, Christians could be assured of their worth in the sight of God.

In deliberately presenting himself before Jerusalem as its messianic king, Jesus has chosen an OT model which subverts any popular militaristic idea of kingship. The meek, peaceful donkey-rider of Zech 9:9 is not a potential leader of an anti-Roman insurrection. In [Matthew] 20:25–28 Jesus has spoken of a type of leadership which is completely opposed to the world’s notions of kingship and authority, and now he models it in the “meekness” of his royal procession to the city. (France, 2007)

Our text from Philippians is what many scholars believe is one of the earliest Christian hymns about Christ. Paul is probably not its author, but he included it because it spoke to what he was trying to convey. To understand why, we need to back up in the letter to chapter 1, verse 27, and begin reading from there.

Here it is from The Message translation:

^27-30 Meanwhile, live in such a way that you are a credit to the Message of Christ. Let nothing in your conduct hang on whether I come or not. Your conduct must be the same whether I show up to see things for myself or hear of it from a distance. Stand united, singular in vision, contending for people’s trust in the Message, the good news, not flinching or dodging in the slightest before the opposition. Your courage and unity will show them what they’re up against: defeat for them, victory for you—and both because of God. There’s far more to this life than trusting in Christ. There’s also suffering for him. And the suffering is as much a gift as the trusting. You’re involved in the same kind of struggle you saw me go through, on which you are now getting an updated report in this letter.

2 ^1-4 If you’ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care—then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don’t push your way to the front; don’t sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help others get ahead. Don’t be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.

^5-8 Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.

^9-11 Because of that obedience, God lifted him high and honored him far beyond anyone or anything, ever, so that all created beings in heaven and on earth—even those long ago dead and buried—will bow in worship before this Jesus Christ, and call out in praise that he is the Master of all, to the glorious honor of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5-11, The Message)

John Van De Laar writes this about the city of Philippi:

The city of Philippi “prided itself on its loyalty to the Roman Empire and its ‘Lord,’ Caesar”. As a Roman colony, it held a privileged place in the Empire; its citizens enjoyed the same status as those who lived in Rome itself, and the population included many veteran Roman soldiers. In this society, honour, status, and power held great value, and it seems that this culture had infiltrated the church. Paul’s letter reveals that there was competition, rivalry, and dissension in the community. And so Paul wrote to the believers and pleaded with them to “adopt the attitude that was in Christ Jesus” (2:5). (Van De Laar, 2026)

Paul is trying to get across to his audience that the glory and honor of Christ Jesus is not like that of the Roman Emperor. The Roman Emperor is considered godlike because “he rules mercilessly over the violently conquered territories.” (Van De Laar, 2026) This is the default view of gods through human history. Even today, Christians have a difficult time abandoning this view of God. Many Christians seek to walk the halls and chambers of power, to amass material wealth, recognition, and honor, and justify the use of violence and war in the name of God. “When we cling to an image of God that is defined by power and domination, we have to ignore most of Jesus’ life and message.” (Van De Laar, 2026)

On Palm Sunday, Jesus began the demonstration of the stark difference in what he valued vs. what the world values. The demonstration will continue through the week and end at the cross, when the world crucified Jesus to silence the voice that announced an alternate kingdom, a kingdom where no one held power over another, a kingdom that threatened all other kingdoms based on holding on to power over.

On Palm Sunday, Jesus comically showed what it looks like to renounce “power-by-dominance and join the dance of true freedom.” (Van De Laar, 2026) Jesus showed that what looks like mundane or even failure to the world is where the power of divinity can be found.

By becoming human, and remaining one, Jesus raised humanity along with himself. We do not have to become something else to have worth and value. Honor and glory are not found by pursuing it. Rather, to mutually give to and serve one another in humility and love is how we join the work of Christ in building his kingdom and share in Christ’s honor and glory.

In the name of God who Creates,

In the name of God who Loves,

In the name of God who exposes our desire for illicit power, Amen.

References

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Cousar, C. B. (2013). Reading Galatians, Philippians, and 1 Thessalonians: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing, Inc.

Craddock, F. B. (1985). Philippians: Interpretation - A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching. Louisville, KY: John Knox Press.

France, R. T. (2007). New International Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Van De Laar, J. (2026, March 23). Lectionary Reflection for Palm-Passion Sunday A on Philippians 2:5-11. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/lectionary-reflection-for-palm-passion

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

 

 

Sermon: Breathing Hope

Lectionary: Lent 5(A)

Texts: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Romans 8:6-11; John 11:1-45

You Shall Live
Cranach, Lucas, 1472-1553

In case you haven’t guessed already, today’s message comes from our Ezekiel reading.[1] It is a dialogue between God and Ezekiel, set in a valley of dry bones. It is a curious passage where God commands Ezekiel to prophesy, to speak words that God has given Ezekiel, to the bones. Once the words are spoken, God does something. But the return of life is not instantaneous; it is completed after two phases and required Ezekiel’s involvement.

What could this vision of Ezekiel mean? One interpretation that is dismissed by nearly all is where this vision is interpreted as evidence of a future resurrection of individuals. A key reason for this is that the idea of resurrection of people developed in the post-exilic period. As we will see, Ezekiel was written close to the beginning of the Babylonian exile.

First, who was Ezekiel?

Ezekiel the son of Buzi (1:3) was an Israelite priest in the deportee Israelite community in Babylonia. Dates in the book imply that he was born in Judah in 622 BC, just before Josiah’s reform, and thus lived through much of Jeremiah’s ministry there. He was married (24:18), was thirty years old when he began his ministry in 592 BC (1:1), and continued his ministry until at least 571 BC (29:17).[2]

As for the book bearing his name, scholarly views range from Ezekiel being its sole author to Ezekiel having written none of it. There are reasons to dismiss the sole authorship hypothesis, and it is impossible to determine how much of the text can be traced back to the prophet in Babylon. Therefore, it is perhaps best to conclude that the text of the book has some undeterminable relationship to Ezekiel and his time in Babylon.

The portion of text that was read comes from the fourth and final division in the book where the prophet writes about the restoration of Judah and a return to their land. The key point of the prophecy of the dry bones is found in verses 11 to 14.

¹¹ Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ ¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the Lord GOD: I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people, and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. ¹³ And you shall know that I am the LORD when I open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people. ¹⁴ I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken and will act, says the LORD.”[3]

The bones represent an entire group of people as a single entity. There is no hint that the bones are about individuals. The message presented is not about a resurrection, but a return and restoration of the group entity to their ancestral lands. The message is for a people who have lost hope, “who have lost heart, who are suffering a death of the spirit, a living death in exile in a foreign land.”[4]

Is hope and the lack of it really a determinant of life and death?

You may have heard of a book by the title, Man’s Search for Meaning. It was authored by Viktor Frankl, a Jewish Austrian who survived the Nazi concentration camps and wrote about his experiences and observations while imprisoned. In it he writes how those who looked for meaning and purpose, however minute, in their lives tended to survive better than those who lost hope.

Another example comes from the city of Sarajevo and a cellist by the name of Vedran Smailovic. An explosive shell had killed 22 and wounded more than 100. To honor those who had died, Vedran played Albinoni’s Adagio for 22 days. In this war-torn city, where many civilians had died and had been wounded, Vedran, even if for just a few minutes, brought a sense of normalcy and hope that peace would return.

A third example comes from our own state, Alaska. In 2014 Craig Johnson fell through ice while riding a snowmobile 80 miles to visit his family for the holidays. A rescue chopper flew overhead without seeing him and he was stalked by a wolverine. He was ready to give up, but his hope of being reunited with his boys and family kept him going and alive.

Finally, from the world of fiction we might look at the Lord of the Rings where Frodo is the unwilling ring-bearer. He is accompanied every step of the way by his loyal friend, Sam. Toward the end of the journey, Frodo, burdened by the ring and the responsibility of carrying it, poisoned by the curse of a Nazgul, he struggles and is on the verge of giving up. But Sam is there by Frodo’s side, carrying him when necessary, and keeping hope alive for both.

Several years ago, I was involved in several suicide prevention and intervention courses. Among the many ways to intervene when someone is considering suicide, here are a couple of them. The first is to remind the individual that things won’t always seem so dark or hopeless – that there are better days to look forward to. A second is to talk with them to find at least one reason to keep living, even if for just one day.

For the Jews who ended up in Babylon, the dry bones represent a total collapse and loss of hope. God asks Ezekiel, “Can these bones live?” When Ezekiel answers that he doesn’t know, God tells him to prophesy to the bones, “I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you and cover you with skin and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the LORD.”

Ezekiel becomes the agent of hope that is carried to the hopeless. He sees the bones come together, and sinews and flesh formed on the bones. But there is yet no life. Ezekiel must persist by prophesying breath into the physical forms. Only then do the bones, sinews, and flesh recover life and stand as a multitude.

The African American spirituals, of which we sang one earlier and we will be closing with another, were words of hope in what seemed to the ones singing places of hopelessness and death. They looked toward a time and place when they would be free, away from forced labor, and where families would not be torn apart for the monetization and profit for the slaveowners.

The world we inhabit today is not all that different from nations and empires of the past. The poor are still exploited by the rich. War and violence still mostly victimize the poor and weak. The powerless continue to be the victims of the whims and privilege of the powerful. Outsiders are still blamed without cause for the problems created by those on the inside. The powerful still lord power over the less powerful.

All of us, in one way or another, participate in the games of power and position. We try to hang on to what we have, lest we end up falling down the ladder of this game called life. We are scared. We are fearful. And sometimes we feel hopeless. We look at our nation and world and oftentimes it can be difficult to see any kind of hopeful future.

Maybe hope isn’t looking for something big to change. In fact, it doesn’t seem to be about waiting for something to change. Rather, it is finding something, however small it might be, to be an agent and spark of hope in someone else’s life.

In today’s gospel reading, Jesus is the agent of hope who brings life back to Lazarus. It is a sign that even death and the grave is powerless in the presence of Jesus, the Life and Light of the world.

We are agents of hope and life in the world as well. We may not physically resurrect dead people back to life, but we can carry the hope of a just world, the kingdom of God, to those who are suffering under the pressures of this present one. We can be agents of hope by offering encouraging words and through our work to help bear the burdens that others are suffering under.

The Season of Lent is not just about introspection. It is also about looking forward to the kingdom of heaven fully realized and acting today to do what we can to bring pieces of it to be tasted by the communities in which we live and serve. Each of us are called, as Ezekiel was, to prophesy hope and life to the world around us.

In closing I read from Romans 8:6-11.

⁶ To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For this reason the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law—indeed, it cannot, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

⁹ But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. ¹⁰ But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. ¹¹ If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. (NRSVue)

Let us live as resurrected people, alive with the Spirit of Christ.

References

ABC News. (2014, December 28). Alaska Man Survives Three Days Lost in Sub-Zero Temps, Fights Off Wolverine. Retrieved from ABC News: https://abcnews.com/US/alaska-man-survives-days-lost-temps-fights-off/story?id=27860053

Alter, R. (2019). The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Burns, J. F. (1992, June 8). The Death of a City: Elegy for Sarajevo -- A special report.; A People Under Artillery Fire Manage to Retain Humanity. Retrieved from The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1992/06/08/world/death-city-elegy-for-sarajevo-special-report-people-under-artillery-fire-manage.html

Tolkien, J. R. (n.d.). The Lord of the Rings (Trilogy).

Van De Laar, J. (2026, March 12). The Other Side of Suffering: Evolving Consciously in Lent (Part 5): A Reflection on Ezekiel 37:1-14. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/the-other-side-of-suffering

Wikipedia. (2026, March 21). Viktor Frankl. Retrieved from Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viktor_Frankl

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

 

 

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[1] One of the hymns was Dry Bones.

[2] (William B. Eerdmans, 2003)

[3] Ezekiel 37:11-14, NRSVue.

[4] (Bartlett & Brown Taylor, 2010)

Sermon: A Fall, or Failure to Mature?

Lectionary: Lent 1(A)

Texts: Genesis 2:15-17, 3:1-7; Matthew 4:1-11

From Paradise to Chaos
Herrel, Edie Mae; 1975

A mother bakes a cake for her child’s – let’s call him Greg – birthday party. She tells Greg to leave the cake alone, and not pinch pieces away and eat them. Why? Is it because she doesn’t want him to have the cake? No, it’s for him, after all. But the time is not right. When the party takes place, that is the right time. But Greg is still quite young – let’s say he is 3 years old – and the wait is too much. He doesn’t yet comprehend the value of delayed gratification. His immaturity gets better of him; he tears a piece off the cake and eats it.

The story of The Fall as it is commonly known, at least within Christianity, can be interpreted in many ways. The most common and I would argue, the least interesting goes like this:

Adam and Eve are fresh-off the assembly-line, shiny, new, perfect, first human beings—sort of super humans. God tested these flawless creatures with this command not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, just to see if they meant business and would obey God. But they failed the test, rebelled against God, and lost not only their own perfection but that of every other human being since.[1]

This is how most of Western Christianity has read and interpreted the text since at least Augustine (CE 354-430). If you’ve heard of the Doctrine of Original Sin, this is where it originates (pun sort of intended), even though the word sin never occurs in these texts.

Now recall that I said, “Western Christianity.” This is because the other large group of Christians, the Eastern Church, reads it differently.

Another angle, one often taken by Christians in the Eastern Orthodox tradition, is to read the Adam story as being not about a fall down from perfection, but a failure to grow up to godly wisdom and maturity.

Think of Adam and Eve not as perfect super humans but as young, naïve children, who were meant to grow into obedience, but were tricked into following a different path.[2]

Some of the earliest Christians read it quite differently from even these first two that I discussed. Just prior to Augustine, Ambrose taught that eating the “forbidden fruit” was “fortunate guilt.” It was because of this “blessed fault” that Christ was able to enter the world.[3] Now, when this interpretation is analyzed, it doesn’t take long to realize it is based on several pieces of faulty logic.

For the early Jews, the story is not about human disobedience.

The early Jewish focus is rather on the garden itself, the gaining of sexual knowledge (“and they knew they were naked”[4]) and the concurrent loss of immortality, and the regaining of the garden in the future.[5]

For the early Jews, the loss of immortality of a single individual was replaced by immortality of the community through reproduction and descendants.

For the later rabbis, contemporary with the early Christian period,

The idea of an edenic fall is a minority opinion. More popular are countervailing claims suggesting the everything, including death, was part of the divine plan.[6]

Why do I bring up these many interpretive variants? Some not Christian? Because interpretation and development of doctrine don’t happen in a vacuum. Development happens in conversation with the past and with contemporaries who hold divergent views. Sometimes it agrees and at other times it is a reaction against.  Understanding and knowing about them (hopefully) allows us to be better interpreters and more open to listening to other viewpoints, even when we ultimately disagree.

In addition to different theological interpretations, there are also different views about the historicity of these texts in Genesis. One view posits that the stories of the creation, fall, and exile are literal and historical facts. Another view is that while not everything should be viewed literally, it is still a factual accounting of history.

A third view sees these stories as myth. Now “myth” does not mean lies or falsehood. It does mean fiction. But as any good literature professor will tell you, oftentimes, good fiction can communicate truths better than bland facts.

I started in the “literally true” end of the spectrum. But now I read these early chapters of Genesis as mythology. These are texts that preserved early Hebrew traditions where they attempted to make sense out of their world. They were in conversation with other cultures and mythologies around them. They used familiar motifs and archetypes to create their own mythology of how the world began and how it ended up so fractured in so many ways.

The text of Genesis as we have them today wasn’t finalized until well after the return from Babylonian exile. This is important because Genesis 2 and 3, in addition to a mythological tale of Hebrew origins, it is also an allegory of the historical journey that Israel has taken. The creation of man from dust can be seen as paralleling the creation of Israel out of slavery. The first humans were placed into a paradise garden; the Israelites were led to a paradise-like land, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” The first humans were given a command to follow; the Israelites were given commandments to follow. Life and perpetual habitation of the land given to them would follow obedience. Conversely, disobedience led to death and exile for both parties of the allegory. God gives warnings to both the first humans and to Israel the consequences of disobedience.[7] The mythology of Genesis is written by returnees from the Babylonian exile, looking back at their history and diagnosing what went so wrong.

Lending more strength to the argument that Genesis 2 and 3 are stories about Israel is the different word for God used in chapter 1. In Genesis 1, the word for God is Elohim, a general, cosmic deity. But when we get to Genesis 2:8, the words used are Yahweh Elohim, naming a deity who is specific to the Israelites.[8]

This is where we revisit the theological interpretation of naïve children who are faced with a choice to obey God or do their own thing. Did God want them to remain naïve? I don’t think so. Proverbs chapter 1 begins with the following words on the purpose of this collection:

To know wisdom and reproof, to understand discerning maxims.

To accept the reproof of insight, righteousness, justice, and uprightness.

To give shrewdness to the simple, to a lad, knowledge and cunning.

Let the wise man hear and gain learning, and the discerning acquire designs.

To understand proverbs and adages, the words of the wise and their riddles.

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Wisdom and reproof dolts despise.[9]

During the Babylonian exile, the prophet Ezekiel wrote about returning to obedience, not because of commands written in stone, but because they would be internalized. One such text reads:

²⁶ A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you, and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ I will put my spirit within you and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances. ²⁸ Then you shall live in the land that I gave to your ancestors, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God. [10]

The writer of Hebrews writes about maturing in faith:

You need milk, not solid food, ¹³ for everyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is unskilled in the word of righteousness. ¹⁴ But solid food is for the mature, for those whose faculties have been trained by practice to distinguish good from evil.[11]

There is no shortcut to maturity. There is no shortcut to genuine knowledge and wisdom. The problem with Adam and Eve in the garden was not that they desired these things, but they took a supposed shortcut that was offered to them.

And here is where Jesus’ wilderness temptation (our gospel reading) becomes relevant. Jesus too, was offered shortcuts to achieve what he was destined to do. But to take the shortcut would have prevented him from reaching his goals. The journey itself – the learning that happens, the struggles that must be overcome – are just as important, and perhaps even more than the destination. The writer of Hebrews wrote, “Because he himself was tested by what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested,”[12] and “Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.”[13] The writer also (in chapter 4) describes how Israel failed to grow and mature because of their disobedience.

Shortcuts appeal to our own vanity, comfort, and power. These are the things to avoid and give up (in the spirit of Lent).

Rather, we should not shy away from the hard work necessary to gain Christ’s wisdom and knowledge. Paul writes in Philippians what this means:

³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. ⁵ Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

⁶ who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
⁷ but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
⁸ he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
⁹ Therefore God exalted him even more highly
and gave him the name
that is above every other name,
¹⁰ so that at the name given to Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.[14]

Amen.

References

Alter, R. (2019). The Hebrew Bible: A Translation with Commentary. New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 2. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Enns, P., & Byas, J. (2019). Genesis for Normal People: A Guide to the Most Controversial, Misunderstood, and Abused Book of the Bible. The Bible for Normal People.

Hamilton, V. P. (1990). New International Commentary on the Old Testament: Genesis 1-17. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company.

Levine, A.-J., & Brettler, M. Z. (2020). The Bible With and Without Jesus: How Jews and Christians Read the Same Stories Differently. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Van de Laar, J. (2026, February 12). Falling Down, or Growing Up? Retrieved from Sacredise Your LIfe!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/revolutionary-blessedness

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

 

 

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[1] Around page 37, Kindle edition. (Enns & Byas, 2019)

[2] Ibid.

[3] Around page 128, Kindle edition. (Levine & Brettler, 2020)

[4] Around page 113. Ibid.

[5] Around page 123. Ibid.

[6] Around page 129, Ibid.

[7] Around page 36, Kindle edition. (Enns & Byas, 2019)

[8] Genesis 1:1-2:7 and Genesis 2:8ff are two separate creation accounts. The first one, the more cosmic one, and the later one, could be read as Jewish reaction to Babylonian creation mythology. The second is based on older Hebrew traditions, still probably influenced by surrounding societies, but more distinctly Israelite.

[9] Proverbs 1:2-7. (Alter, 2019)

[10] Ezekiel 36:26-28. (NRSVue)

[11] Hebrews 5:12b-14. (NRSVue)

[12] Hebrews 2:18. (NRSVue)

[13] Hebrews 5:8. (NRSVue)

[14] Philippians 2:3-11. (NRSVue)

Sermon: The Good Life

Lectionary Epiphany 4(A)

Texts: Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew5:1-12

Sermon on the Mount
Laura James, 2010

What does “living the good life” look like to you? To most, I suspect the good life includes leisure, recreation, and relaxation. It most likely excludes working for a paycheck and people with more power and authority than you ordering you around. It likely includes good health, physical safety, financial security, and freedom from all kinds of worries. And oh yeah, time spent with people I like and enjoy.

When we imagine people who are blessed, or when we apply the term blessed to ourselves, it usually means something fortunate has happened: receipt of good news, unexpected income, offer of a dream job, good family relationships, etc.

We tend to associate blessings with prosperity. And to think about it that way would place us in good company with ancient peoples. What is translated as “blessed are” or “happy are” in the Beatitudes is the Greek work makarios. “In classical Greek, makarios denoted a state of enviable fortune, a privileged position, often associated with worldly success, power, and prosperity.”[1] The Greek gods on Mount Olympus were makarios. They were living the good life, at least in the eyes of mortals down below.

“We want what the gods have!” the cries of humankind rise throughout history. They employ the means employed by the gods, violence and deceit, to acquire. They create hierarchies of social classes and economic standing to codify power and wealth. And they appeal to religion to keep people in their place.

“But followers of the true God certainly wouldn’t fall prey to the games of power and privilege, would they?” one might ask. But the Hebrew scripture and Christian writings contain the sordid history of God’s people falling into the same traps that allow some to enjoy the privileges of wealth and comfort at the expense of others. History of Christianity beyond the canon of the New Testament reveal the same pattern. From the time of Constantine, through medieval Christianity and European royalty’s belief in divine right, through Manifest Destiny, through the history of slavery and the Civil Rights movements, and to today’s Christian Nationalism, the allure of power and privilege of a select few over the rest continues. Any means of pursuing and maintaining power can be justified by appealing to an interpretation of “Christianity.”

The Beatitudes and the rest of the Sermon on the Mount are relevant today as it was when Jesus spoke those words and when Matthew put them down in writing.

A large crowd has been following Jesus, and he goes up a mountain, evoking the image of Moses at Sinai. Jesus’ disciples draw closer to him, and Jesus begins to speak. “Makarios are,” he begins. But what comes next is unexpected. It is not gods, emperor, nobles, priests, the wealthy, or those at the upper echelons of the social hierarchy that are makarios. Jesus tells them, “You are makarios.” Those who are at the bottom of the social ladder: laborers, slaves, women and children. “God is with you,” Jesus tells them. “God’s favor rests upon you. You are living inside God’s good life.” Later in the Sermon, Jesus will tell them that worldly status and riches mean nothing when it comes to the kingdom of God. In fact, they will be great obstacles to finding the kingdom.[2]

The Beatitudes, especially the one in Matthew, is often interpreted in mostly spiritual and inner life terms. It is often read as something that will be fulfilled in the future. Although spiritual and future elements are in the text, it is mostly concerned with the present state of his audience.

The poor and the meek describe those who are literally poor and lack wealth but also include those who are powerless and oppressed. Considering this, those who mourn are those who do so because of the oppression and suffering at the hands of the wicked.

When we hear “righteousness” our minds typically think about good and moral character. But in the Bible, righteousness cannot be divorced from following God’s demand for justice, i.e., how people relate to and treat one another. And here we can review some of our other readings today. From Micah, we heard, “He has told you, O mortal, what is good, and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”[3] From the Psalms we heard that those who are in God’s presence speak the truth, do not slander, do not cause evil and shame to fall upon others, will stand by their word even when it hurts, and do not take advantage of others.[4] The Beatitudes describes these actions and attitudes as showing mercy and being of pure in heart.

Those who are makarios are also peacemakers. Peacemaking is not about avoiding conflict, however. For the audience of Jesus, they were experiencing Pax Romana, Rome’s peace. However, this came at the imposition of violent military power. The peace spoken of by Jesus is something altogether different. It is the kind of peace that restores and reconciles. It is a peace that does not seek revenge for wrongdoings. It is a peace where no one takes advantage of another. Peace-making includes not simply living this in one’s own life, but in advocating for this kind of society and speaking out against actions and words that go against.

Those who actively pursue this kind of righteousness and justice, who advocate for the oppressed and powerless, who speak out against violence and atrocities that are being committed in society, can expect pushbacks, can expect persecution, and might even experience loss of their lives. Those who seek to maintain the status quo and those who see the world’s power and might as benefiting them will slander you and label you as evil and agitators. But this is makarios. This is where God is already present. This is where one will encounter the power and favor of God.

The pursuit of justice through non-violent activity is weak and foolish in the world’s eyes. The movement initiated by Jesus, the kingdom of God, is a pursuit of the transformation of communities through the non-violent power of God. We heard from 1 Corinthians,

For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God… For God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength… God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to abolish things that are.[5]

Jesus faced and overcame the temptations of self-glorification and power. Jesus overcame the powers and principalities of this world. Through the last two millennia, however, his church has been far less successful in avoiding the allure of worldly power and glory. In that wake is a history of violence and atrocities committed and justified by the church.

We too, must decide. Will we take the side of those that God calls makarios? Will we give to God our worldly possession, reputation, and even our lives to join with those that are poor and oppressed, to mourn at the injustices that are causing fear, loss, and hunger. Will we join those who actively pursue genuine wholeness, peace, and justice?

Or will we choose to hold on to what comfort and security we have in this world? Will we rather be complicit in the injustices that are excused as necessary to maintain what the world tells us is “peace”?

In the name of God who creates,

In the name of God who confounds,

And in the name of God who discomforts, amen.

Bibliography

Bailey, K. E. (2008). Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels. Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Bartlett, D. L., & Brown Taylor, B. (2010). Feasting on the Word: Year A, Volume 1. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

France, R. T. (2007). New International Commentary on the New Testament: Matthew. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Garland, D. E. (2001). Reading Matthew: A Literary and Theological Commentary. Macon, GA: Smyth & Helwys Publishing.

Hermandad del Cautivo of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. (2026, January 25). Understanding the Greek Makarios: More Than Just "Blessed". Retrieved from Cautivo Estrella: https://cautivoestrella.org/en/greek-makarios/?expand_article=1

Jarvis, C. A., & Johnson, E. E. (2013). Feasting on the Gospels--Matthew, Volume 1: A Feasting on the Word Commentary. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.

Van De Laar, J. (2026, January 25). Lectionary Reflection for Epiphany 4A on 1 Corinthians 1:18–31. Retrieved from Sacredise Your Life!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/lectionary-reflection-for-epiphany-f89

Van de Laar, J. (2026, January 22). Revolutionary Blessedness. Retrieved from Sacredise Your LIfe!: https://sacredise.substack.com/p/revolutionary-blessedness

William B. Eerdmans. (2003). Eerdman's Commentary on the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans.

Wilson, W. T. (2022). Eerdmans Critical Commentary: The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 1. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

 

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[1] (Hermandad del Cautivo of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, 2026)

[2] Matthew 6:19-21, 24.

[3] Micah 6:8.

[4] Psalm 15.

[5] 1 Corinthians 1:18, 25, 28.