Living in the Tension of Grace

Daily Office Devotional, Thursday, September 16, 2021

Proper 19, the week of the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

The Rev. David W. Perkins, Th.D.

Key phrase for reflection from today’s reading:

5:1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Today we celebrate the Feast of Ninian. (See below.)

Daily Office Lectionary Readings (BCP, 984)

AM Psalm [70], 71; PM Psalm 74

1 Kings 22:29-45; 1 Cor. 2:14-3:15; Matt. 5:1-10

Morning Prayer, Rite 2, page 75, Book of Common Prayer

Evening Prayer, Rite 2, page 115, Book of Common Prayer

Compline (Night Prayer), Page 127, Book of Common Prayer

Daily Office Gospel, Matthew 5:1-10

5:1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3 ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

David's Reflections

Today's Gospel reading contains what we refer to as The Sermon on the Mount. (You will find a shorter version in Luke 6, and other parallels to Matthew's sermon scattered elsewhere in Luke. For example, Luke’s Lord’s Prayer is not in his version of the sermon but in chapter 11.) The audience described in the end of the chapter 4 included his disciples and a larger crowd of those who had come for healing and deliverance. Many of those hearers embodied some of the qualities in these opening verses, commonly called the Beatitudes. They indeed were poor in spirit and mourning and hungering and thirsting.

Contrary to what some have taught, we do not have to achieve the demands of the Sermon in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Rather, quite the opposite, the Sermon describes the quality of life that God bestows through the good news of Jesus (the gospel). Hearing the good news creates poverty of spirit and the other qualities in the Beatitudes and leads us into the life of faith in which the attitudes, virtues, and actions of the Sermon are prompted by ongoing exposure to God’s word and presence.

However, when we accept God’s gift of life and are brought into salvation and life in God's Kingdom, we come under the demands of the Sermon. As believers we find the will of God revealed in the Sermon. We must remain open to the enabling dialogue with God, hold ourselves accountable for our inadequacies and sins, and seek to incorporate the attitudes, virtues, and actions of the Sermon into our lives.

The Sermon must be understood in light of Christ. Jesus did the will of God, what Matthew calls the will of his Father in heaven. He embodied the Sermon (compare Matt. 5:3-12 with Matt. 5:35-40). To live by the Sermon on the Mount is both to accept Christ as God’s gift of life and to follow Christ by struggling to conform our lives to his radical demands.

Jesus captured this inescapable tension in a saying: “Come unto me all you who labor and are burdened down and I will give you rest.” (Matt. 11:28--gift). “Take my yoke (teaching) upon you and learn from me, . . . and you shall find rest . . .” (Matt.11:29--demand). The Sermon captures it as well. Compare Matt 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” with Matt. 5:20, “Except your righteousness goes beyond that of the Scribes and Pharisees you shall by no means enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

If we seek to relax the tension between gift and demand we lose a vital element of the Christian faith. To stress the good news of Jesus as gift and neglect or under-emphasis the note of demand leads to apathy, permissiveness, and easy believism. To stress the demand and neglect the notes of grace leads to legalism, a preoccupation with rules and with our need to keep them to experience God's grace.

I think of this paradox in relational terms. Any close friendship or relationship (such as marriage) comes as a gift. The other person loves us as a free gift that we have not earned or merited. Yet, opening ourselves to that loving friendship involves the demand of answering that love and faithfulness and loyalty with our own.

Collect of the Day, Proper 19, the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. (BCP 233)

Today we celebrate the Feast of Ninian of Galloway, bishop and missionary to Scotland (died 435 CE).

http://www.satucket.com/lectionary/Ninian.htm

Collect of the Feast of Ninian

O God, who by the preaching of your blessed servant and bishop Ninian caused the light of the Gospel to shine in the land of Britain: Grant, we pray, that having his life and labors in remembrance, we may show our thankfulness by following the example of his zeal and patience; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Collect for Protection

O God, the life of all who live, the light of the faithful, the strength of those who labor, and the repose of the dead: We thank you for the blessings of the day that is past, and humbly ask for your protection through the coming night. Bring us in safety to the morning hours; through him who died and rose again for us, your Son our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. (BCP, 124)

For stewardship of creation

O merciful Creator, your hand is open wide to satisfy the needs of every living creature: Make us always thankful for your loving providence; and grant that we, remembering the account that we must one day give, may be faithful stewards

of your good gifts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 259)

A Collect for the Presence of Christ

Lord Jesus, stay with us, for evening is at hand and the day is past; be our companion in the way, kindle our hearts, and awaken hope, that we may know you as you are revealed in Scripture and the breaking of bread. Grant this for the sake of your love. Amen. (BCP, 124)

A Collect for Mission

O God of all the nations of the earth: Remember the multitudes who have been created in your image but have not known the redeeming work of our Savior Jesus Christ; and grant that, by the prayers and labors of your holy Church, they may be brought to know and worship you as you have been revealed in your Son; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (BCP, 257)