Sermon on the Mount, by Jeremy Thomas
You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “Coffee hour is a good way to provide social connection for parishioners after they attend services,” but I say to you, coffee hour is a powerful tool of Christian evangelism and mission, a communal meal that is located in the center of our community’s heart, and those who prepare and host coffee hour are Spirit-driven apostles in our midst, leading us into God’s future in this place.
You have heard that it was said, “You should welcome the newcomer and orient them to how we do church,” but I say to you, the newest participants in our community are Christ himself, risen and present before us, and we should bow before them in awe, and embrace them in profound gratitude for the blessings they bear, and sit at their feet to learn what they have to teach us. It is not they who are in deepest need of teaching, formation, and leadership: it is us, those of us who are contented and comfortable insiders who do not know how much we do not know.
You have heard that it was said, “The organ is the king of instruments, and all other instruments are unworthy in our praises of God — especially guitars,” but I say to you, all musicians who train their talents and skill in prayer and praise are good and faithful servants in God’s sight, and we Christians should use any instrument we can get our hands on to sing our prayers with great gladness and prophetic passion.
You have heard that it was said, “The Book of Common Prayer provides the best way to pray, better than all the others,” but I say to you, Holy Scripture itself reveals the Word of God, and while the Prayer Book is delightfully chock full of Holy Scripture, so much so that nearly every word in its pages descends from holy writ, it is but the scarcest beginning of prayer in God’s presence; and furthermore, God’s children around the world have equally valid ways to pray, and many of them without books of any kind.
You have heard that it was said, “Anglo-Catholic liturgy is the best expression of Anglican Episcopal identity,” but I say to you, while our favorite way certainly is valid, it can easily become an idol — a tacky, tinny, gold-plated calf beside the majestic, smoking mountain of God; and our worship will be pleasing to God only when we offer it with humility, keeping in mind that we always have much to learn from those who find our way bizarre, irrelevant, or offensive.
You have heard that it was said, “The Law is inferior to God’s grace in Jesus Christ,” but I say to you, the Law — the Torah — contains God’s first and eternal promises to God’s people; the Law records God’s mighty acts of liberation; the Law is like honey in the comb, and God’s grace in Jesus Christ can never be separated from the superabundant grace God shows to all nations in the scriptures of our cousins in the faith, God’s first-chosen people.
Speaking of God, you have heard that it was said, “Calling God Father is the highest and best way to speak of the first Person of the Trinity,” but I say to you, God who is beyond gender will always exceed our linguistic ability to name, understand, or pray to God, and reducing our language about God only to masculine terms and pronouns impoverishes the imagination of God’s people.
And yet, you have heard that it was said, “Calling God Father is a contemptible surrender to patriarchy and harmful to those who are not cisgender men,” but I say to you, most of our forebears — including Jesus himself — called God Father, and though it is not sufficient to the task of naming God, it is necessary. God as Father will always have a prominent place in our language about God.
Speaking of fathers, you have heard that it was said, “Father Knows Best is a terrible, old-fashioned way to run a church, and belongs in the distant patriarchal past,” but I say to you, skilled leaders — ordained and lay leaders alike — should be empowered to set direction for the congregation, and though their authority should never be revered without question, it should be respected, with conscious yet non-reactive awareness of its dangers.
You have heard that it was said, “Writing checks and doing charity outreach is an uninspired and patronizing way to do social-justice ministry,” but I say to you, any effort, no matter how limited or flawed, is an effort, a form of spiritual work, and though every single one of us can do better, and though every single one of us should labor in God’s vineyard to cultivate authentic, reciprocal relationships of trust and blessing that minister to all of us in all of our common human needs, we should meet people where they are on this, with appreciation and empathy, and invite them to go deeper.
You have heard that it was said, “Focusing on children and families is a strategy that marginalizes our elders, who are already on the margins in our ageist society,” but I say to you, Jesus himself placed children at the center of his ministry, while embracing all generations as full and worthy members of the movement, beginning with old Simeon and Anna, who were among the first to tell the world who Jesus is. Children in the center; but everyone belongs.
You have heard that it was said, “The scriptural record of Jesus flatly opposing divorce is antiquated and misogynistic, and doesn’t speak to our era,” but I say to you, these teachings actually condemn the violence against women that was widely accepted in that time; these teachings are part of a larger debate among the religious leaders of that time and place; and these teachings underscore for us not a flat rule about marriage and divorce, but a reminder that these choices are about the health and safety of all involved. Jesus is supporting inter-faith couples in the original context of this teaching, and he is discussing marriage and divorce as crucially important ethical choices that happen in the praxis of community. As such, though the decision to get divorced is sometimes not only okay, it may be the highest and best option for the life and health of the ones making the decision, the decision to divorce nevertheless should not be made in haste, or with one individual’s needs considered apart from the impact of the decision on everyone.
You have heard that it was said, “Pray for your enemies,” but I say to you, empathy and concern for our enemies, for all that they suffer, for all that damages and diminishes them, should spark our deepest curiosity, and open our hearts in vulnerability. If we fail to do this, then we are no better than those whom we hold in contempt; and the risen Jesus, who reconciled with Peter his betrayer and confronted Paul his persecutor, will not recognize us as his own.
Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “Love your neighbor,” but I say to you, our hearts should shatter in gut-wrenching compassion for our neighbors, particularly those who can’t find shelter, or healthy food, or even clean socks. We should weep bitterly when a neighbor falls victim to the elements, or to the indifference of others. We should advocate for our neighbor until our voices are hoarse, and our love for them should flow from us like it did from Jesus in agony at Gethsemane, in great drops of blood, until that day when God’s dominion has dawned fully upon this beautiful but wounded neighborhood. This is the love of God, shown to us in Jesus Christ. This, and nothing less than this, is why we are here.
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This sermon was written by me for the Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany (Year A), February 12, 2023, but preached at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Seattle, by the Rev. Jay Rozendaal, who filled in for me while I was recovering from a Covid infection.
Deuteronomy 30:15-20
Psalm 119:1-8
1 Corinthians 3:1-9
Matthew 5:21-37