Blessed Is the One Who Perseveres
Blessed are the poor in Spirit.
Blessed are those who are mournful.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the pure in heart.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.
Blessed are you when people insult you, and persecute you because of me.
We know the words to the Beatitudes. Those 9 blessings that Jesus specifies in the Sermon on the Mount. Those blessings that lift up an oppressed people, comfort a mourning people, give action to a restless people, and call a hurting people to forgiveness.
When Jesus talks about these things he is talking about what it takes to follow him. That it does not do to do things in half measures. There is no need to take up the sword. There isn't much call in anything Jesus says here for people who are cold, callous, and uncompassionate.
Jesus asks us to be faithful to him. All of the time. It's a faith shown in the generosity we show to others. In the forgiveness we offer to people who have wronged us. In the trust we place in a God who offers us so much, even if, in our earthly possessions, we have very little.
I'm thinking on the Beatitudes this morning as we approach our reading from the Epistle of James. James, who is the brother of Jesus, who writes, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord God has promised to those who love him.”
James is not writing a new Beatitude here. He's not preaching a sermon. He's not elaborating or expanding on the Beatitudes Jesus has already taught. He's making a simple statement of faith.
It's a statement in this letter to what is quickly becoming the Christian diaspora. Those Jewish Christians scattered around the ancient world outside of Israel. He's talking to those Christians of Jewish heritage who now live in Rome or Greece or Egypt or Persia. Those few who are minorities within a minority. Who, living in great cities and empires, find that their immediate communities are only a handful of households. A few families scattered here and there.
And James's message to them is to keep going.
Keep going to those faithful few. To those handfuls of people living in indifferent or even hostile cities.
Keep going to those who live under threat of violence, arrest, or the confiscation of property.
Keep going to those people who are enduring true trials of their faith.
It's a situation that, in our context, we have difficulty imagining. A lot of Christians like to use rhetoric like we're living in a time of persecution, simply because fewer people are choosing to come to church, but compared to the people James is writing to, we're really living on Easy Street.
Our trials are different. There's not much threat of violence against our churches. It does happen from time to time, but it's not something we really need to worry about from week to week. Many churches are closing or have to sell their land or buildings, but that's more due to their own membership and lack of sustainability, not because any government is coming to confiscate their property. And I strongly doubt that anyone here is at risk of getting arrested for coming to church on a Sunday morning.
That's not to say that we're without our trials, though.
When we started this business with the daycare, we thought it would take a year and cost a certain amount of money. But with delays, with bureaucracies, with dealing with companies that sometimes seem like their right hand doesn't know what their left is doing, everything's taking longer and costing more than we expected.
And the pandemic which closed our church for a few months, and had us re-opening in fits and starts, first with masks and no singing, and gradually adding elements of worship back in... you can't tell me that the disruptions to how we gather and pray together haven't been a trial.
Our ongoing concerns of membership... the same concerns that congregations around the country are facing... these are a trial as some people... worshipful, faithful people... turn away from churches, and take worship into their own hands.
If we wanted to sit and make a list of everything that hasn't gone our way. Every lament. Everything we wish we could have done better. Everything we that maybe could have been different if only the breaks had gone our way... we'd be here all day.
And instead of dwelling on what might be... we persevere. And we keep going. And we take stock of who we are and what we have going for us, and we move from there.
We are not persecuted. We are free to gather and worship as we sit fit.
We are blessed to be part of a congregation that, though we can disagree on a great many things, we are still intentional about returning to the table to break bread together.
We are small in number, true, but we are a community that cares first and foremost about each other. About each others' lives, our sorrows and our victories.
We are blessed to have a beautiful space to worship in. This is a sanctuary of peace, where we are free to come and pray, to gather our thoughts, and to lift our voices together in God's holy praise!
This is not to ignore our problems or sweep those things under the rug. We know there is more to be done in terms of securing this congregation's future, growing our numbers, reaching the community we serve, and so much more.
But it is to say that, all things considered, we have much to be thankful for. Our trials and hardships are not insurmountable. We have been mightily blessed by a gracious and generous God. And so when we receive that instruction this morning to persevere, to keep going, and to look ahead, we must do exactly that.
To God be all glory, praise, and honor. Amen.
Let us pray.
Most gracious and merciful God, we hear you through your servant, James, this morning. We know that the trials that we face are real and serious, yet your church has seen much worse and made it through. We pray that you give us the strength to persevere, to trust in you, and to see this congregation through to the promise of your many bright tomorrows. We pray in gratitude for the generosity you have already shown us, and the strength you will give us as we keep going forward, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
Blessed are the poor in Spirit.
Blessed are those who are mournful.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the pure in heart.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.
Blessed are you when people insult you, and persecute you because of me.
We know the words to the Beatitudes. Those 9 blessings that Jesus specifies in the Sermon on the Mount. Those blessings that lift up an oppressed people, comfort a mourning people, give action to a restless people, and call a hurting people to forgiveness.
When Jesus talks about these things he is talking about what it takes to follow him. That it does not do to do things in half measures. There is no need to take up the sword. There isn't much call in anything Jesus says here for people who are cold, callous, and uncompassionate.
Jesus asks us to be faithful to him. All of the time. It's a faith shown in the generosity we show to others. In the forgiveness we offer to people who have wronged us. In the trust we place in a God who offers us so much, even if, in our earthly possessions, we have very little.
I'm thinking on the Beatitudes this morning as we approach our reading from the Epistle of James. James, who is the brother of Jesus, who writes, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord God has promised to those who love him.”
James is not writing a new Beatitude here. He's not preaching a sermon. He's not elaborating or expanding on the Beatitudes Jesus has already taught. He's making a simple statement of faith.
It's a statement in this letter to what is quickly becoming the Christian diaspora. Those Jewish Christians scattered around the ancient world outside of Israel. He's talking to those Christians of Jewish heritage who now live in Rome or Greece or Egypt or Persia. Those few who are minorities within a minority. Who, living in great cities and empires, find that their immediate communities are only a handful of households. A few families scattered here and there.
And James's message to them is to keep going.
Keep going to those faithful few. To those handfuls of people living in indifferent or even hostile cities.
Keep going to those who live under threat of violence, arrest, or the confiscation of property.
Keep going to those people who are enduring true trials of their faith.
It's a situation that, in our context, we have difficulty imagining. A lot of Christians like to use rhetoric like we're living in a time of persecution, simply because fewer people are choosing to come to church, but compared to the people James is writing to, we're really living on Easy Street.
Our trials are different. There's not much threat of violence against our churches. It does happen from time to time, but it's not something we really need to worry about from week to week. Many churches are closing or have to sell their land or buildings, but that's more due to their own membership and lack of sustainability, not because any government is coming to confiscate their property. And I strongly doubt that anyone here is at risk of getting arrested for coming to church on a Sunday morning.
That's not to say that we're without our trials, though.
When we started this business with the daycare, we thought it would take a year and cost a certain amount of money. But with delays, with bureaucracies, with dealing with companies that sometimes seem like their right hand doesn't know what their left is doing, everything's taking longer and costing more than we expected.
And the pandemic which closed our church for a few months, and had us re-opening in fits and starts, first with masks and no singing, and gradually adding elements of worship back in... you can't tell me that the disruptions to how we gather and pray together haven't been a trial.
Our ongoing concerns of membership... the same concerns that congregations around the country are facing... these are a trial as some people... worshipful, faithful people... turn away from churches, and take worship into their own hands.
If we wanted to sit and make a list of everything that hasn't gone our way. Every lament. Everything we wish we could have done better. Everything we that maybe could have been different if only the breaks had gone our way... we'd be here all day.
And instead of dwelling on what might be... we persevere. And we keep going. And we take stock of who we are and what we have going for us, and we move from there.
We are not persecuted. We are free to gather and worship as we sit fit.
We are blessed to be part of a congregation that, though we can disagree on a great many things, we are still intentional about returning to the table to break bread together.
We are small in number, true, but we are a community that cares first and foremost about each other. About each others' lives, our sorrows and our victories.
We are blessed to have a beautiful space to worship in. This is a sanctuary of peace, where we are free to come and pray, to gather our thoughts, and to lift our voices together in God's holy praise!
This is not to ignore our problems or sweep those things under the rug. We know there is more to be done in terms of securing this congregation's future, growing our numbers, reaching the community we serve, and so much more.
But it is to say that, all things considered, we have much to be thankful for. Our trials and hardships are not insurmountable. We have been mightily blessed by a gracious and generous God. And so when we receive that instruction this morning to persevere, to keep going, and to look ahead, we must do exactly that.
To God be all glory, praise, and honor. Amen.
Let us pray.
Most gracious and merciful God, we hear you through your servant, James, this morning. We know that the trials that we face are real and serious, yet your church has seen much worse and made it through. We pray that you give us the strength to persevere, to trust in you, and to see this congregation through to the promise of your many bright tomorrows. We pray in gratitude for the generosity you have already shown us, and the strength you will give us as we keep going forward, in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.