Scripture: John 3:13-17 and 1 Corinthians 1:18-24
Message: Fools For Jesus
“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.”
This is the final “blessed are you” in what we call “The Beatitudes” in Matthew 5. It is the one that we don’t read so often (you know, “Blessed are poor in spirit… those who mourn…the meek… etc.”) because it feels … scary. But the truth is that Jesus warned us that following his Way would cause others to hate us. Standing up for and with the poor, the hopeless, the meek, the marginalized would put a target on our back. Again and again he gave notice that, despite the altruistic nature of what we are doing, when we do it right the world will hate us – because doing so requires sacrifice. It requires imagination, hope, and a calling that is a higher priority than our personal comfort – socially, culturally, financially, and all the other “-ly”’s that are prescribed by our culture. We will indeed be called foolish! This is what it is to lay one’s life down, pick up our cross and follow Jesus!
Also, if you’re following along with Cole Arthur Riley’s book, This Here Flesh, I’ll be drawing from Chapters 3 and 4, Wonder and Calling.
See you Sunday!
Peace,
Cheryl
Music:
Prelude: “Chorale Prelude in G” Johann Walther
Anthem: “If you but trust in God” Georg Neumark
Meditation: “O Holy Dove” Bryan Leech sung by Marina Khankhalaeva, mezzo-soprano
Postlude: “Fugue in G” Friedrich Zachau