Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC's - Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany - 01/29/17 Sermon - “He captivated the crowd" "The power of Jesus' presence" Series [Part 3 of 3]

Sunday 01/29/17 Freeville/Homer Avenue UMC’s

Sermon Title:           “He captivated the crowd”

            (“The power of Jesus’ presence” Series – Part 3 of 3)

Old Testament Scripture: Micah 6:1-8

                                            

New Testament Scripture: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Gospel Lesson: Matthew 5:1-12

          Welcome again my friends, my brothers and sisters, on this the Forth Sunday after the Epiphany. Four Sundays after the Wise Men or Magi came to see the Christ Child. They came to see God in the flesh, and they brought him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They came one way, and they left forever changed.

          We will remain in this season after the Epiphany of the Lord, which is also ordinary time, or common time, through then end of February. On the last Sunday of February, on February 26^th, we will have Transfiguration Sunday, and then the season of Holy Lent will begin on Ash Wednesday, which is Wednesday March First.

          With this said, two weeks ago I began a sermon series on what it must have been like to see, to interact with, and to even be able to touch Jesus. You see for nearly two-thousand years, Christians like us, have been followers of Jesus, have been disciples of Jesus Christ. Many of us know a lot about Jesus, as Jesus has been revealed to us in the scriptures. We have also learned about Jesus at church, from family members, and etc. Yet the majority of Christians have never meet Jesus face to face. In fact, we are not fully certain what Jesus even looked like.

          To this end, in the gospel of John, Jesus Christ says in 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

          My sisters and brothers, I have never seen Jesus Christ in the flesh. I didn’t see him at the Jordan River when he was getting baptized, and I didn’t see him when he called forth Peter and Andrew, and James and John to come follow him. I wasn’t there to see the expressions on the faces of those whom he healed, those whom he loved, and those whom he taught and spoke with. Part of me though wants to know what it would have been like to be in the physical presence of Jesus Christ, the savior of the world. I have felt Jesus’ presence spiritually, in my heart, and in my soul, but what would it be like to see him physically, face to face?

          This three week sermon series that I have been doing on what it must have been like to meet and see Jesus, ends today. I could probably preach on this topic every Sunday though, as I can imagine that seeing Jesus must have been unbelievable.

As a Christian, I believe in Jesus, I believe in who he was, what he did, and that he is risen. I also believe that Jesus is alive and well, and that he is in my heart. I believe that Jesus hears me, but I have never met him in the flesh. I wonder, I just wonder, what that would have been like.

          I remember growing up in my early childhood North of Chicago, and then rest of my childhood in Orange County, NY, being a lonely Chicago Bulls basketball fan. Sure more and more Chicago Bulls fans surfaced, as the Bulls won a lot of championships. I remember as young child, and as a teenager idolizing Michael Jordan. In fact, my friends even wanted to get his Nike Shoes, the Air Jordan’s. I have memorized his player number. Does anyone here know Michael Jordan’s player number? He is literally a living legend.

          In my bedroom in Orange County I had one of those basketball hoops that you hang on the closet door, with the soft orange ball. I also had a basketball hoop in the driveway. Sometimes when I was playing basketball in my bedroom or in the driveway, I would pretend that I was Michael Jordan. I would talk out loud and say things like, “Jordan receives a pass from Pippen, and slams it down! Yeah!”

          I remember watching the Chicago Bulls win various championships, and I remember watching Michael Jordan kiss those big golden victory trophies. I also remember when Michael Jordan would stick out his big long tongue in the air. I have never met Michael Jordan face to face, yet I believed in him as an athlete.

          One time when I went to visit my father North of Chicago, I met a man that was at one of the championships games, where the Chicago Bulls won the championship. He saw Michael Jordan, I think he might have even have shook his hand when he was there.

          Michael Jordan, while an exceptional athlete, is just a human, like you and I. What would it have been like to meet Jesus though? Jesus Christ, not a human, but fully God and fully human. Jesus the savior, much more than a legendary basketball player. Remember Jesus Christ said in 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

          In the prophet Micah reading for this morning, it very much talks about the mission of serving God, serving Jesus. The prophet Micah says in 6:8, “and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” (Mic. 6:8, NRSV). If you don’t have faith though, well then you might not be concerned about with God asks of you in this scripture.

          In the Apostle Paul’s first epistle or letter to the Corinthians from this morning, the Apostle Paul talks about the significance of faith. He says, “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” (1 Cor. 1:18, NRSV). For if we don’t believe and if we don’t have faith, then according the Apostle Paul it is “foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:18a, NRSV).

          One could argue then, that if you don’t believe in Jesus that seeing him face to face in the flesh would be no big deal. Yet I think that the presence of Jesus was so overpowering that it had a profound effect on everyone. I believe that the presence of Jesus had an effect on the disciples, on crowds, even yes on the Pharisees. Some of the Pharisees were torn and conflicted at points about Jesus, as what Jesus said and did, along with his presence, was powerful.

          Today in the gospel of Matthew reading, Jesus preaches a sermon. Now Jesus had gone into the Synagogue in Nazareth, read from the prophet Isaiah and then proclaimed that he was the Messiah. Yet the “Sermon on the Mount”, which is what we have this morning, is a powerful sermon. Some also call this the “Beatitudes”. In giving this sermon, I believe that Jesus captivated the crowd. I believe that Jesus captivated crowd so much, that those who saw and heard Jesus, then went to tell others about it, who had never saw and heard Jesus. I bet that some of these people who saw and heard Jesus, convinced some of those who never had seen Jesus, about who he was.

Once again, Jesus Christ says in the gospel of John 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

          So why is the sermon that Jesus gives in our gospel of Matthew reading called the “Sermon on the Mount”? Well this gospel reading begins by saying, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him” (Mt. 5:1, NRSV). So Jesus was literally on a mountain, or an elevated position when he gave this sermon.

          It is at this point that Jesus began to teach and preach to his disciples and those gathered. I believe that in doing so he captivated the crowd, as they saw Jesus, they heard him, and maybe even touched him.

          This “Sermon on the Mount”, which is longer than a similar “Sermon on the Plain” in the gospel of Luke, was likely given by Jesus in the Galilee area. In fact, when I was Israel a few years ago, I went to the location that the Roman Catholic Church believes Jesus gave this sermon.

          So there Jesus is on this mount, likely in Galilee, preaching, teaching, and no doubt captivating the crowd. So what does Jesus actually say in the “Sermon on the Mount?” Well he makes a series of “Blessed are” statements, or some call them the “Beatitudes,” which can translate to mean blessing.

          Jesus then says this, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in 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 righteous, 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” (Mt. 5:3-10, NRSV).

          Jesus then concludes with saying, “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely in my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way the persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Mt. 5:11, NRSV).

          Powerful words, powerful statements that Jesus makes with this “Sermon on the Mount,” the “Beatitudes,” or the “blessings”.

How many of you by the way, love the “Sermon on the Mount,” or the “Beatitudes”? I know I do. I wonder though what it was like to be there. To hear him? My guess is that the crowd was captivated, and so would we have been to.

          As far as the substance of the “Sermon on the Mount,” or the “Beatitudes,” Jesus is telling us that the weak, that the vulnerable, that those who suffer, and those who love and do what is right, that God blesses those people. Jesus is indirectly saying that if someone preys on the weak, harms the weak, or take advantage of others, that God does not bless such things. Jesus is also saying that the people of God are merciful, pure in heart, are peacemakers, and that they strive for righteousness.

          I can imagine though, what it must have been like to be on that mount in Galilee hearing the savior of the world give one of the most famous sermons ever given.

          Remember my friends, my brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ said in 20:29, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe” (Jn. 20:29, NRSV).

          None of us have ever seen Jesus Christ in the flesh, imagine if we did though? What would it be like? What would we say to Jesus Christ, the savior of the world?

I believe that one day we will all see Jesus. Until that day though, we believe that he is risen, that is alive in us, and that he is coming back again in glory. May we seek the life giving face of Jesus Christ today and always. Amen.