{"id":5074,"date":"2014-01-28T07:39:44","date_gmt":"2014-01-28T12:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/?p=5074"},"modified":"2014-01-22T17:30:44","modified_gmt":"2014-01-22T22:30:44","slug":"february-2-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/february-2-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"February 2, 2014&#8211;Blessed to Bless"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by David Delaney, Salem, VA<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Warm-up Question<\/h3>\n<p>Has anyone in your group ever spent time in a very poor area, either as part of<a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/01\/shutterstock_109184036edit.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-5085 alignright\" style=\"margin: 5px\" alt=\"shutterstock_109184036edit\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/01\/shutterstock_109184036edit.jpg\" width=\"200\" height=\"301\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/01\/shutterstock_109184036edit.jpg 200w, https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2014\/01\/shutterstock_109184036edit-199x300.jpg 199w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/a> your own living experience, or on a mission or immersion trip to a developing country, or heard stories from those who have been to such places?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What are some of the words that come to mind when you imagine or recall the lives of those who live day-to-day, hand-to-mouth, or under threat of disease, war, or oppression?\u00a0 \u201cMiserable,\u201d \u201cunfortunate,\u201d \u201cdesperate,\u201d \u201cbitter,\u201d \u201cvictim,\u201d and \u201chopeless\u201d are all words that might come to the minds of many.\u00a0 Some people might include words that reflect stereotypes of the poor as mostly responsible for their own condition or dismiss poverty with a resigned shrug \u2013 \u201cthat\u2019s the way the world is.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>What would you do if you lost everything?\u00a0 What would happen if your family disappeared, you had no income and no place to live, and you were left to blame for it all?\u00a0 That might sound like an extreme scenario, but try to imagine it.\u00a0 What words would you use to describe yourself then?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Whatever you might say, it is hard to imagine using the word \u201cblessed\u201d to describe someone else or yourself in a situation of poverty or any other kind of severe stress; that must be kept in mind as we reflect on Matthew 5.<\/p>\n<h3>Blessed to Bless<\/h3>\n<p>Many people use the term \u201cblessed\u201d to refer to some extra experience they have had for which they want to express some gratitude, even if they are not Christian or religious at all.\u00a0 In mid-January, Sandra Bullock described herself as feeling \u201coverwhelmingly blessed\u201d after receiving an Oscar nomination for her movie <i>Gravity<\/i>.\u00a0 Also in mid-January, the manager of the Liverpool soccer team praised one of his players, Daniel Sturridge, as being \u201cgenetically blessed\u201d because of his remarkable ability to recover from injuries much faster than normal.<\/p>\n<h3>Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Are these\u00a0 good uses of the word \u201cblessed\u201d?\u00a0 When you read Matthew 5, does it sound like Jesus is describing exceptional situations for exceptional people or the ongoing lives of everyday people?<\/li>\n<li>Are there ways for us to start seeing the constant experiences of our daily lives as blessings?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Scripture Texts (NRSV) for Sunday, February 2, 2014 (Fourth Sunday after Epiphany)<\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=257333505\">\u00a0Micah 6:1-8<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=257333536\">1 Corinthians 1:18-31<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/?ql=257333570\">Matthew 5:1-12<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(Text links are to <a href=\"http:\/\/bible.oremus.org\/\">Oremus Bible Browser<\/a>. Oremus Bible Browser is not affiliated with or supported by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. You can find the calendar of readings for Year C at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.elca.org\/Growing-In-Faith\/Worship\/Lectionary.aspx\">Lectionary Readings<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>For lectionary humor and insight, check the weekly comic <a href=\"http:\/\/www.agnusday.org\/\">Agnus Day.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3>Gospel Reflection<\/h3>\n<p>The setting for the many things that Jesus taught throughout the gospels varies greatly, but the physical size of the land where he conducted his ministry was very small \u2013 less than the size of the state of Vermont.\u00a0 Most places could be reached by walking in less than a day, and even a trip from Capernaum to Jerusalem could be done in a little more than three days of brisk walking.\u00a0 Because there was a lot of travel done for business, government, and military purposes, people could easily see the great difference between the wealthier areas of the country and the poorer ones.\u00a0 They were often very close together.\u00a0 Jesus\u2019 hometown of Nazareth was one of the poorest agricultural areas of the county, yet a brief walk to the top of the hill just south of his town would allow someone to see into the Jezreel Valley, one of the agriculturally richest areas of the country.<\/p>\n<p>The traditional site of The Sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7), from which this passage comes, is less than a day\u2019s walk from Nazareth and is once again a very rich area.\u00a0 So when Jesus talks about being blessed, people from all different walks of life and economic circumstances might have been listening to him.\u00a0 Regardless of all of those differences, we read these verses knowing that everything \u2013 even life itself \u2013 is a gift from God.\u00a0 How do you hear that from the standpoint of your own particular setting in life?<\/p>\n<h3>Discussion Questions<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>In verse one, Jesus goes up on a mountain to teach and invite his followers to a new kind of \u201claw\u201d for life.\u00a0\u00a0 Who does this remind us of from the Old Testament (answer = Moses)?\u00a0 Do you think Matthew wants us to think of Jesus as replacing Moses or building on what the Israelite law said?\u00a0 (Look at Matthew chapters 22-23 to see examples of Jesus responding to questions about Israel\u2019s law).<\/li>\n<li>If you list all of the various situations listed by Jesus in this set of verses, which ones sound like they are the result of something that has happened to someone (answers: poor in spirit, mourning, meek, experiencing persecution, being lied about), and which sound like qualities that someone might want to adopt or nurture (answers: righteousness, mercy, purity of heart, peacemaking)?\u00a0 Do they all have something in common?\u00a0 (Possibly, all are situations in which the presence of God is needed and one might not recognize the need for God\u2019s presence without them, which is why they are a source of blessing).\u00a0 What do we learn about following Jesus from this?\u00a0 Is the blessed life an active and willful life, or passive and receptive, or both?<\/li>\n<li>These verses in Matthew are traditionally referred to as the \u201cBeatitudes\u201d (pronounced be-AT-i-tudes), from the Latin word \u201cbeo\u201d which means to bless or make happy.\u00a0 There is a story about a child in Sunday School who had never seen or heard the word before and pronounced it \u201cBEAT-i-tudes\u201d and immediately added how much sense that made because these are RULES that BEAT you.\u00a0 It is easy to see how these sentences that are intended to be comforting could be turned around to become a checklist of things you have to do in order to earn blessings.\u00a0 How can we avoid thinking about them like that?<\/li>\n<li>How do we imagine that these blessings become real in the lives of people who experience the hardships Jesus describes?\u00a0 Is it simply a direct line from God to the individual?\u00a0 Or does the community have a role?\u00a0 Do we who have experienced these things before or who are already equipped with the good news of the gospel and the means to relieve suffering serve on God\u2019s behalf in bringing blessing to others?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Activity Suggestion<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>On a sheet of paper that you will fold up and carry with you this week as a reminder, list the names of actual people you know to whom you can relate in a new way according to this list of promises from Jesus.\u00a0\u00a0 Is there someone in your life for whom you only have contempt or conflict?\u00a0 How can you be \u201cpoor in spirit\u201d in your conversations with them?\u00a0 Do you know someone who is consumed by a lifestyle of destructive behavior or shallow thrill?\u00a0 Can your \u201chunger and thirst for righteousness\u201d provide a suggestion of another way to live?\u00a0 Is there someone in your life who needs mercy and forgiveness from you or others?\u00a0 Can you show mercy and forgiveness to that person, knowing that it may not be received or returned?\u00a0\u00a0 Are you afraid of the consequences of representing the love of God in Christ Jesus to others in word and\/or deed?\u00a0 Recall that the promise of verses 11 and 12 are not just that you have a heavenly consolation for your courage and trouble, but that there may be others nearby who have desperately needed to hear and see the witness of someone who believes that God\u2019s grace can really make a difference.\u00a0\u00a0 Who in your life could benefit from that witness? Let this list of people be your personal prayer list for the week and also your reminder that God\u2019s promises for following Christ as described here in Matthew 5 are true!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Closing Prayer<\/h3>\n<p>Lord Jesus, giver of every blessing, we rejoice that the wisdom and promises you first shared with your disciples have come down to us and still remain true today.\u00a0 Help us to come to you as your followers did in those days and to welcome your word with gladness, even as it calls us to repentance and service.\u00a0\u00a0 We lift before you for your blessings all those whose spirits call out for relief and righteousness, all who mourn the loss of loved ones, who feel disenfranchised and isolated, and whose fondest desire is that they could feel strong enough to show mercy and forgiveness in the face of persecution and hatred.\u00a0 Give us along with all your people joy and gladness for the reward that is ours in your kingdom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by David Delaney, Salem, VA &nbsp; Warm-up Question Has anyone in your group ever spent time in a very poor area, either as part of your own living experience, or on a mission or immersion trip to a developing country, or heard stories from those who have been to such places? What are some [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1400],"tags":[13659,731,5951,161,379,334,76,13658,331,418],"class_list":["post-5074","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-post","tag-beatitudes","tag-bless","tag-blessed","tag-change","tag-compassion","tag-disciple","tag-poverty","tag-sermon","tag-witness","tag-witnessing"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>February 2, 2014-Blessed to Bless - Faith Lens<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.elca.org\/faithlens\/february-2-2014\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"February 2, 2014-Blessed to Bless - Faith Lens\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Contributed by David Delaney, Salem, VA &nbsp; Warm-up Question Has anyone in your group ever spent time in a very poor area, either as part of your own living experience, or on a mission or immersion trip to a developing country, or heard stories from those who have been to such places? 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