FACES
IN THE CROWD
Matthew
5: 1-12 (NRSV)
Two great movies of my parent's generation made stars out of unknowns and speak to the identity of a culture and it's values and humor. Lucy Ball and the "Long, Long, Trailer," and Andy Griffith in "A Face in the Crowd." Both made celebrity status after being a faceless, nameless person in a crowd of "wantabees." Both came out of the crowd to success and failure.
Let's let you all operate as a crowd first off this morning. Let’s
have a Bible Trivia Quiz this morning. Are you ready? Call out your answers and
we’ll see how many of you know something about the Bible:
What kind of man was Boaz before he married? Ruthless.
Who was the greatest financier in the Bible? Noah. He
was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible? Pharaoh’s
daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
What kinds of motor vehicles are in the Bible? The Lord
drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden in a Fury. David’s Triumph was heard
throughout the land. And a Honda, because the apostles were all in one Accord.
Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible? Samson. He
brought the house down.
What excuse did Adam give to his children about why they
no longer lived in Eden? “Your mother ate us out of house and home.”
Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in
the Bible? Moses. He broke all Ten Commandments at once.
Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy? The area
around Jordan. The banks were always overflowing.
Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible? David.
He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.
Which Bible character had no parents? Joshua, son of
Nun.
How did you do? One last question – who did Jesus say
was blessed during the “Sermon on the Mount?” That’s right, the poor, the meek,
the merciful, the hungry, the pure in heart, and the peacemakers!
All of these question and answers should be familiar to
most Christians and church goers. Some of us have heard these stories and
sayings so many times we can close our eyes and almost imagine ourselves there.
Christianity is participatory.
Have you ever put yourself there? Have you ever imagined
yourself a face in the crowd when Jesus preached the Sermon on the Mount? I have.
Imagine an area rising on four sides with a natural cup like indentation. That's where they say Jesus gave the sermon on the mount.
Before
we hear our lesson for today let’s read the last verse of Matthew Chapter 4 to
set up what is happening here.
So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him
all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains,
demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from
Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.
Will you close your eyes and imagine yourself there that day?
Listen to the words of Jesus from Matthew 5: 1-12 -
When Jesus saw the
crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to
him. Then
he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed
are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed
are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed
are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are
those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. ‘Blessed
are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil
against you falsely on my
account.
Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they
persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Can
you hear Jesus say those words? Can you hear the excitement around you? Can you
sense these words are being spoken directly to you? They are by the way.
These
words are among the most soothing, calming, and reassuring ever spoken and
written. But they are words of caution as well. Jesus is sharing His love,
passion, and grace to these people but He’s also telling them it will come at a
great cost to Him, and those who will choose to follow Him.
Yet
he offers a full relationship and mutual sharing of love and the knowledge of
good and evil.
Jesus
is telling us that as He relates to us one-to-one we will no longer be able to hide
in the crowd. Jesus is telling us we know what's good, we know what's bad, and we will be held accountable for and to it.
A little girl discovered the secret to making mud one
day, which she called “warm chocolate.”
After her grandmother cleaned up the mess, she told
little Larissa not to make any more “chocolate.” The little girl soon resumed
making her chocolate, saying sweetly, “Don’t look at me, Nana. OK?”
Nana, being a little codependent, agreed.
Larissa continued to work the mud, but three times she
said, “Don’t look at me, Nana. OK?”
We see in the action of this little child how necessary
it is to us that we think we remain unobserved in our wrong doing. Our sins
unknown and hidden.
Anytime we choose to do wrong or to withhold doing
right, we choose hiding as well. It may be that out of all the prayers that are
ever spoken, the most common one — the quietest one, the one that we least
acknowledge making — is simply this:
Don’t look at me, God.
Don't hold it against me, God.
The Devil made me do it, God.
We think we can hide our head knowledge from our heart.
Jesus, in blessing us, removes any possibility to ever deceive ourselves again. He is blessing us with clarity and knowledge.
Think about the very first prayer spoken after the fall
of Adam and Eve. God came to walk in the garden to be with the man and the
woman and called, “Where are you?”
“I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid,” Adam
answered, “so I hid.”
"Don’t look at me, God, let me remain a face in the
crowd."
Jesus is declaring that we are no longer alone, unobserved, and
protected. Amen.
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