Sermon on the Mount as Christian Martial Arts

7 Epiphany A, February 19, 2017
Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18 Psalm 119:33-40
1 Corinthians 3:10-11,16-23 Matthew 5:38-48

Lectionary Link
People who are serious in their practice one of the various forms of martial arts know that martial arts in their origin are not just for exercise or self defense.  They certainly are not for aggressive behaviors.  Martial arts at their best are  holistic ways of life requiring a discipline to discover a life force, a "chi," and to channel this life force in practice into everything that one does in life.  The life of martial arts is a life of discipline and like many spiritual traditions, they were developed in times when people needed a special art of living within some very difficult situations of life.

Using the martial arts ideals as a model, I believe that the Sermon on the Mount teaching of Jesus Christ could be characterized as its own form of martial arts.

I think Jesus Christ came to restore a holistic martial arts-like tradition into the religion of his time.  Religion that has lost its holistic practice becomes just a bunch of prescribed religious behaviors by the clergy, the religious authorities, in order to corral people into religious social clubs.  And these kind of religious social clubs are fine; they serve a purpose for people to maintain themselves in certain society but what Jesus found in his time is that the religious society of his time and place were mainly constituted for negotiating on behalf of Jews living under Roman control in Palestine.  The religious parties tended to favor the Jews who had more power and prestige and those parties did not want to upset the Roman authorities.  Religion in Palestine involved maintaining a separate identity under Roman rule and so the outer signs of Jewishness were very important to the maintenance of that identity.  The great Law of Judaism had become the legalistic practice for the Jews to maintain their separate identity within the Roman Empire.  By stressing the legalistic practices of separation from the Gentiles, what was lost was the Law as a way of life to convert all people to God's goodness.  What was lost was the desire to convert the Roman overlords to the goodness of the Torah.

The early Christians were those who believed that they had to go beyond the outer signs of Judaism to find a better way to live with the Roman situation.  Rome and the Caesar were not going to go away.  How does one live best within the actual conditions of the Roman Empire?

The early Christians found in the life of Jesus Christ the beginning of a holistic, Holy Spirit martial arts way of living.  I would submit to you that the Sermon on the Mount teaching attributed to the Risen Christ within the churches that wrote the Gospel of Matthew, this Sermon on the Mount, gives the best account of the Christian, Holy Spirit, holistic program of martial art living.

What are some on the insights of the Sermon on the Mount martial arts program?

First, with wisdom use every life situation as the occasion for the experience of blessing.  Jesus listed lots of seemingly hopeless and defeating life situations.  Jesus said to live with an inner wisdom which allows one to transform the negative experiences into a state of blessedness.  The sermon on the mount is the ultimate program of taking the lemons of life and making lemonade.  To be able to do this required a special awareness and attention and the early church had a program of spiritual transformation to teach this martial arts alchemy of transmuting the dull lead of life experience into the golden state of blessedness.

Second, the Sermon on the Mount involved the art of self control.  This was an art learned through prayer and discovering the power of God's Holy Spirit within oneself.  With prayer one leashed the power of the death of Christ to die to ones own selfish ego state and discover the arising within oneself of the Risen Christ.  If one could find within oneself love, joy, peace, faith, hope, gentleness, goodness, patience, courage and self control, then one could discover the life assets to be able to take on the challenges of living as a religious minority within the Roman Empire.

Third, the Sermon on the Mount was meant to be a martial arts program of evangelism.  The followers of Jesus were not to live as ghetto communities within the Roman Empire; they were constituted to convert the many people of the Roman Empire to Gospel of Jesus Christ.  The old categories of slave/free, Jew/Gentile, male/female, rich/poor, were to be broken down.  The designation of another person as an enemy was to be overcome?  How? By the practice of non-retaliation.  If someone hits you and you don't seek revenge but seek peace.  If you do this, you have a greater occasion to convert them to goodness.  If someone slaps you and you with a martial artistic turning of the cheek to lessen the blow and not responding in kind, your witness of peaceful passive resistance makes them take account of the force of your life which enable such control. 

Roman soldiers had the right to require citizenry to carry about 100 pounds of equipment for one mile.  If you want to thank that soldier for his service and want to convert him to your way of life, it would make sense to walk an extra mile.  In that extra mile you might be able to tell him about the good news in your life.  You are doing more than simply thanking him by doing something akin to giving up your seat on an airplane for a soldier; you are inviting him into your life.  And what about the legal phenomenon of enemies created by lawsuits?  What if you give up the practice of suing and countersuing other people?  What if you look behind a lawsuit against you and see someone in need and help them out by giving them your coat?  What have you done?  You have lived evangelistically.  You have overcome their evil with the good news of the Gospel.  Can we appreciate how the Sermon on the Mount was a Christian martial arts program which was used to convert the people living in the Roman Empire?

Last of all in the Christian martial arts, the law is fulfilled because you have made the goal of your life to discover the perfection of God.  Who is God?  God is perfect.  God is love.  And when Christian martial arts is able to channel and express the love of God in Jesus Christ, one actually participates in the perfection of God.  St. Paul said to love is to fulfill the law.  To love well, and always, is to discover the secret of Christian martial arts.

Let us embrace the Christian martial arts program as prescribed in the Sermon on the Mount today.  It is still relevant.  How do we do it?  We embrace through submissive prayer the power of the death of Jesus to die to selfishness and allow the experience of the rising power of God Spirit in our lives.  With this super "chi" force of the Holy Spirit, we seek to transform every situation of our lives to the state of blessing.  We learn the kind of self control which allows us to adjust into contentment to every situation in life that comes to us.  We learn to overcome the "apparent" enemies of our lives with winsome evangelism.  We learn not to retaliate and react; we refuse to mimic someone's bad behavior towards us with an equally bad behavior of our own.  We overcome ill will against us by sharing good news to win and convert others who are cursed to live in such states of aggression.  And finally, we embrace God's perfection as our goal and our law.  God's perfection is love and when we channel love in our lives we are participating in God's perfection.

Let's all stand now and do a respectful martial bow toward the altar of our Lord and Master.  Let us receive the communion of his presence again within us today and recommit ourselves to this holistic Christian martial arts program that has been given to us by Jesus Christ.  Amen.

Sunday School, February 19, 2017 7 Epiphany A

Sunday School, February 19, 2017   7 Epiphany A

Theme

Who do you choose as your model?  If you want to learn something do you choose someone who knows more or less than you?  If you want to copy someone who is good in sports do you copy the best or someone who not as good as you are?

Jesus taught that we need to be perfect like God is perfect.  And that is impossible.  Why did Jesus tell people that they had to do the impossible?

Jesus found some people who were spending their time telling other people that they were bad.  He saw that people were bragging about their own good behaviors and they were saying to other people, “We’re better than you are.”

So Jesus showed people that we should not compare ourselves with others and say that we’re better than they are.  He said we should always look to the best and perfect.  God is perfect and God does not judge us for not being perfect, God forgives and asks us to work on getting better.

If we want to be perfect as God is perfect, we will learn how to love others and to forgive others.  When we love others and when we forgive other people, we are able to most like God.  God is love.  To be loving is to be perfect.

We will always be imperfect but we can share in God’s perfection when we practice love, kindness and forgiveness.

Jesus reminds us to look to the one who is perfect and then we will not be too proud and we will not think that we are better than other people.

Sermon

    How would you feel if your mom and dad: You have to be perfect?  Or what if your teacher said, “You have to be perfect.”  Or your soccer coach said, “You have to be perfect.”

  Well, you might say, “It is impossible to be perfect.”  And you might ask your mom and dad, “Are you perfect.”  You might ask your teacher, “Are you perfect?”  And you might ask your soccer coach, “Are you perfect?”

  Now why would Jesus tell us?  Be perfect as God the Father in heaven is perfect.  Jesus liked to speak in riddles and he used riddled to try to coach people how to behave in the very best way.

  Imagine a big brother looking at his little brother and saying, “I’m taller than you….hah, hah, hah, hah, hah.

  What would say to the older brother?  Don’t be too proud about being taller; you didn’t do anything special to grow tall and someday your little brother may catch up to you.

  Jesus was saying to some people who thought that they were better than others.  “Don’t be too proud about how good you are, because you can still be better in the future.  Look how perfect God is; and if you keep your eyes on God, you will always be trying to be better in the future and you will not think that you are better than other people because you will always know you need to improve.

  So do you understand the riddle of Jesus when he said, you need to be perfect as God the Father in heaven is perfect?

  Jesus reminds us that we can always be better in the future.  And so just as we go to school, each day and each year we get more learning and more knowledge, so too we are supposed to become kinder and more loving in the future too.

  Jesus wants us to always be moving in the direction of being perfect.  And though we will not ever be perfect; we should always be moving in the direction of being perfect.  And if we remember that we will be kind and forgiving to each other when we understand that no one is perfect.  And since none of us is perfect, all of us need mercy and forgiveness.

  And if we practice love and mercy and forgiveness, then we will be learning how to be perfect as God is perfect.

  So let us all share this journey towards perfection; learning to be more perfect in love, kindness and forgiveness.  Amen.

St. John the Divine Episcopal Church

17740 Peak Avenue, Morgan Hill, CA 95037

Family Service with Holy Eucharist

February 19, 2017: The Seventh Sunday after The Epiphany

Gathering Songs:

Hosanna, Hosanna, Peace Before Us, Jesus Stand Among Us, Praise Him, Praise Him

Liturgist: Blessed be God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit

People: And Blessed be God’s Kingdom, Now and forever. Amen.

Liturgist:  Oh God, Our hearts are open to you.

And you know us and we can hide nothing from you.

Prepare our hearts and our minds to love you and worship you.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

Song: Hosanna, Hosanna in the Highest! (Renew! # 71)

Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!  Hosanna, Hosanna, Hosanna in the highest!  Lord we lift up your name with hearts full of praise; Be exalted, oh Lord my God! Hosanna in the highest!

Glory, Glory, glory to the King of kings! Glory, Glory, glory to the King of kings! Lord we lift up your name with hearts full of praise; Be exalted oh Lord my God! Glory to the King of kings!

Liturgist:         The Lord be with you.

People:            And also with you.

Liturgist:  Let us pray

O Lord, you have taught us that without love whatever we do is worth nothing: Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts your greatest gift, which is love, the true bond of peace and of all virtue, without which whoever lives is accounted dead before you. Grant this for the sake of your only Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Litany of Praise: Chant: Alleluia

O God, you are Great!  Alleluia

O God, you have made us! Alleluia

O God, you have made yourself known to us!  Alleluia

O God, you have provided us with us a Savior!  Alleluia

O God, you have given us a Christian family!  Alleluia

O God, you have forgiven our sins!  Alleluia

O God, you brought your Son Jesus back from the dead!  Alleluia

A Reading from the First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building on it. Each builder must choose with care how to build on it. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ.  Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?

Liturgist: The Word of the Lord.

People: Thanks be to God

Please read with me from Psalm 119

Give me understanding, and I shall keep your law; * I shall keep it with all my heart.

Make me go in the path of your commandments, * for that is my desire.

Turn my eyes from watching what is worthless; * give me life in your ways.

Litany of Thanksgiving: Chant: Thanks be to God!

Litanist:

For the good earth, for our food and clothing. Thanks be to God!

For our families and friends. Thanks be to God!

For the talents and gifts that you have given to us. Thanks be to God!

For this day of worship. Thanks be to God!

For health and for a good night’s sleep. Thanks be to God!

For work and for play. Thanks be to God!

For teaching and for learning. Thanks be to God!

For the happy events of our lives. Thanks be to God!

For the celebration of the birthdays and anniversaries of our friends and parish family.

   Thanks be to God!

Liturgist:         The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to Matthew

People:            Glory to you, Lord Christ.

Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, `An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.' But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you. "You have heard that it was said, `You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."

Liturgist:         The Gospel of the Lord.

People:            Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Lesson –  

Children’s Creed

We did not make ourselves, so we believe that God the Father is the maker of the world.

Since God is so great and we are so small,

We believe God came into our world and was born as Jesus, son of the Virgin Mary.

We need God’s help and we believe that God saved us by the life, death and

     resurrection of Jesus Christ.

We believe that God is present with us now as the Holy Spirit.

We believe that we are baptized into God’s family the Church where everyone is

     welcome.

We believe that Christ is kind and fair.

We believe that we have a future in knowing Jesus Christ.

And since we all must die, we believe that God will preserve us forever.  Amen.

Litany of Asking:  Chant: Christ, have mercy.

For fighting and war to cease in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For peace on earth and good will towards all. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety of all who travel. Christ, have mercy.

For jobs for all who need them. Christ, have mercy.

For care of those who are growing old. Christ, have mercy.

For the safety, health and nutrition of all the children in our world. Christ, have mercy.

For the well-being of our families and friends. Christ, have mercy.

For the good health of those we know to be sick. Christ, have mercy.

For the remembrance of those who have died. Christ, have mercy.

For the forgiveness of all of our sins. Christ, have mercy.

Youth Liturgist:          The Peace of the Lord be with you always.

People:                        And also with you.

Offertory: Song during the preparation of the Altar and the receiving of an offering

Song: Peace Before Us (Wonder, Love and Praise,  # 791)

1          Peace before us.  Peace behind us.  Peace under our feet.  Peace within us.  Peace over us.  Let all around us be Peace.

2          Love, 3            Light, 4           Christ

Doxology (Stand)

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.Praise Him, all creatures here below.

Praise Him above, ye heavenly host.Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Prologue to the Eucharist.

Jesus said, “Let the children come to me, for to them belong the kingdom of God.”

All become members of a family by birth or adoption.

Baptism is a celebration of our birth into the family of God.

A family meal gathers and sustains each human family.

The Holy Eucharist is the special meal that Jesus gave to his family to keep us together as the family of Christ.

The Lord be with you

And also with you.

Lift up your hearts

We lift them up to the Lord.

Let us give thanks to God.

It is right to give him thanks and praise.

It is very good and right to give thanks, because God made us, Jesus redeemed us and the Holy Spirit dwells in our hearts.

Therefore with Angels and Archangels and all of the world that we see and don’t see, we

   Forever sing this hymn of praise:

Holy, Holy, Holy (Intoned)

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of Power and Might.  Heav’n and earth are full of your glory.  Hosanna in the highest.  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.  Hosanna in the highest. Hosanna in the Highest.

(All may gather around the altar)

Our grateful praise we offer to you God, our Creator;

You have made us in your image

And you gave us many men and women of faith to help us to live by faith:

Adam and Eve, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah Jacob and Rachael.

And then you gave us your Son, Jesus, born of Mary, nurtured by Joseph

And he called us to be sons and daughters of God.

Your Son called us to live better lives and he gave us this Holy Meal so that when we eat

  the bread and drink the wine, we can  know that the Presence of Christ is as near to us as  

  this food and drink that becomes a part of us.

And so, Father, we bring you these gifts of bread and wine. Bless and sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be for your people the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord.  Bless and sanctify us by your Holy Spirit so that we may love God and our neighbor.

On the night when Jesus was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.”

After supper, Jesus took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, “Drink this, all of you. This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.”

Father, we now celebrate the memorial of your Son. When we eat this Holy Meal of Bread and Wine, we are telling the entire world about the life, death and resurrection of Christ; and that his  presence will be with us in our future.

Let this holy meal keep us together as friends who share a special relationship because of your Son Jesus Christ.  May we forever live with praise to God to whom we belong as sons and daughters.

By  Christ, and with Christ, and in Christ, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all honor and glory

 is yours, Almighty Father, now and for ever. AMEN.

And now as our Savior Christ has taught us, we now sing, (Children may rejoin their parents and take up their instruments)

Our Father (Sung): (Renew # 180, West Indian Lord’s Prayer)

Our Father who art in heaven:  Hallowed be thy name.

Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done: Hallowed be thy name.

Done on earth as it is in heaven: Hallowed be thy name.

Give us this day our daily bread: Hallowed be thy name.

And forgive us all our debts: Hallowed be thy name.

As we forgive our debtors: Hallowed be thy name.

Lead us not into temptation: Hallowed be thy name.

But deliver us from evil: Hallowed by thy name.

Thine is the kingdom, power, and glory: Hallowed be thy name.

Forever and ever: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Amen, amen, amen, amen: Hallowed be thy name.

Breaking of the Bread

Celebrant:       Alleluia! Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.

People:            Therefore let us keep the feast.  Alleluia!

Words of Administration.

Communion Song: Jesus Stand Among Us, Renew! #17

Jesus stand among us, at the meeting of our lives, be our sweet agreement at the meeting of our eyes; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

So to You we’re gathering out of each and every land.  Christ the love between us at the joining of our hand; O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

Jesus stand among us, the breaking of the bread, join us as one body as we worship Your, our Head.  O, Jesus, we love You, so we gather here, join our hearts in unity and take away our fear.

Post-Communion Prayer

Everlasting God, we have gathered for the meal that Jesus asked us to keep;

We have remembered his words of blessing on the bread and the wine.

And His Presence has been known to us.

We have remembered that we are sons and daughters of God and brothers

    and sisters in Christ.

Send us forth now into our everyday lives remembering that the blessing in the

     bread and wine spreads into each time, place and person in our lives,

As we are ever blessed by you, O Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Closing Song: Praise Him, All Ye Little Children  (Christian Children’s Songbook, # 184)

Praise him, praise him, all ye little children, God is love, God is love.  Praise him, praise him all ye little children, God is love, God is love.

Love him, love him all ye little children, God is love, God is love.  Love him, love him all ye little children, God is love, God is love.

Serve him, serve him all ye little children, God is love, God is love.  Love him love him all ye little children, God is love, God is love.

Dismissal:   

Liturgist: Let us go forth in the Name of Christ. 

People: Thanks be to God!  

Love Your Enemies; Sermon on the Mount as an Oracle of the Early Church

7 Epiphany A, February 23,2014

Leviticus 19:1-2,9-18 Psalm 119:33-40

1 Corinthians 3:10-11,16-23 Matthew 5:38-48

Lectionary Link 

   “Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.”  How’s that for setting the standard rather high?  And what is the point of confronting us with an impossible goal of perfection?  We have been reading from the Sermon on the Mount which in a way in how Jesus is revisiting the entire purpose of the Law and how it is fulfilled.

  The religious leaders in the time of Jesus were rather proud of the defining documents of their religious and national identity, namely the Torah or the Law of Moses.   “We are an exceptional people because we have been given the Torah.”  An obvious rejoinder to this would be, “Well, you are so exceptional that your land has been controlled by outsiders for many years.”    But we can understand how an oppressed but proud people would not want to be assimilated to the values of the foreign occupiers.  This resistance to the occupier was a daunting task since the people of Judaism could not help but interact with the Roman authorities.  This would mean that within the areas where freedom was allowed by the Romans, the Jewish religious leaders would want to work overtime for their people to retain their unique and exceptional identity.

   To remain distinct in the face of occupation would be to learn how to live with fear of loss. We've lost the control of the borders of our country; we don’t want to lose the very identity of our nation by assimilating to the values and habits of all of the Roman foreigners who have come to our country.

  We might have some pity upon the Pharisees and Sadducees who were trying to retain exclusive identity under the threat of being assimilated into the culture of the outsiders.

This meant that the religious authority understood the great Mosaic Law more for cultural identity and less for transformation of their lives in loving God  It also meant that they were perhaps intolerant with those who could not maintain the details of the laws in the same way that they did.

  Be perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect.  How could this have an intuitive literal significance?

  Imagine an older sibling in any family who lords his experience over the experience of a younger brother.  Imagine being the younger brother who is ostracized or left out because he cannot perform at the same level as the older and more experienced brother.  Imagine an intervening father in such a dispute and the father might say to the older son, “Okay you are harassing your younger brother for not being up to your level of performance; well, now I’m going to require that you be up to the level of my performance.  Since you are requiring an impossible standard for your younger brother, I will require an impossible standard for you.”  And the older son would say, “That’s not fair because you are older than I am.”  And the father would say, “Exactly so do not wrongly judge your younger brother based on the difference in your life experience.”

  Jesus was saying even if someone is advanced in understanding and practicing of the law, they had no right to judge without mercy, someone who did not have the same understanding or the same practice.  Rather, they should set the moral direction of their vision upon the perfect Father in heaven and know that they always have to accept grace, mercy and forgiveness when they compare themselves with perfection.

  So, the words of Jesus teach a crucial lesson about where we should look for moral direction.  We should always look towards becoming better ourselves rather than being overly proud about how we think that we are better than others.

  I think that there is another level of understanding these Gospel words of Jesus based upon the unavoidable habit of writing history anachronistically.  This means that history writers include their own lives and subsequent events in how they recounts events and words of the past.  How were the seeds of what has already happened found in the original words and events of Jesus

  If the Jews in the time of Jesus were encouraged to love their enemies, who were the real enemies of the Jews and what would it mean to love them?  The real enemies of the Jews were the Samaritans and the various persons who represented the Roman oppression in their country.  How would you truly love these foreigners and enemies? Well, you would give them a message of love so profound that you would convert them and persuade them to begin to transform their lives.

  By the time this Gospel was read in the churches in the cities throughout the Roman Empires, the enemy Gentiles had become equal heirs and friends in the faith.  How could this great gap between Jew and Gentile be overcome?  By the message of the Gospel or the good news about Jesus Christ and how this good news could transform lives.

  And so now the Sermon on the Mount with its radical fulfillment of the law was actually realized in the churches which read and taught the Gospel.  The message of Jesus brought enemies to love one another because the former enemies had their lives transformed by the message of the love of God in Christ.

  The Father in Heaven who is perfect is Father of both the Jews and the Gentiles.  Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father has broken down the enmity between Jews and Gentiles and enabled them to live in love and fellowship because they had their lives taken over by the Spirit of God who was the evidence that Christ was still alive and with them.

  We might believe that the Sermon on the Mount is a radical teaching;  but it had already been fulfilled in the reality of the union between Jews and Gentiles in this new community of Christ.

  It is impossible to write the narrative of the life of Jesus without knowing exactly what happened because of the life of Jesus.  The Sermon on the Mount is a case in point.  The oracle of Christ within the church where Jews and Gentiles lived as friends and not as enemies proclaimed the reality of how enemies could be made to become friends.

    Our world needs this powerful transforming reality to happen in profound ways in our world today.  Enemies need to be loved into friendship.  This is the result of the Gospel; this is the power of the love of Christ.  Let us always look to the power of this love in our lives.  Amen.