Pentecost 13
Reformation, Media
Larry V. Smoose
What voices will you listen to? How do you find direction and purpose in life? Who do you consult for important decisions? For 1200 years, the people of Greece, the important people – the kings, rulers and generals went to Mount Parnassus – to the Temple of Apollo – where the Oracle of Delphi resided. In the movie “The 300” King Leonidas comes here to consult about whether Sparta should go to war against Xerxes. Delphi was the center of the earth for Greeks, the navel of the earth where the gods communicated with humans through the oracle. Sitting on her three legged cauldron in a crypt under the main floor of the temple, in a sacred delirium caused by vapors of methane gas and the juice from chewing on laurel leaves, the oracle would give incoherent, babbled responses with no apparent meaning, but which the priests of Apollo could translate. Delphi, in the shadow of Mount Parnassus, was where Political issues, military decisions and other important business matters were decided based on the translation of an Oracle’s babbling.
What voices do you listen to, how do you find direction and purpose for life. The contrast could hardly be greater as we move to the hillside from which the Sermon on the Mount was given. No vapors or special rock representing the navel of the earth. No incoherent trance-induced babbling. Instead, an ordinary man sits on a hillside talking to a crowd of people who valued what he had to say. What voices will you listen to?
Are we so caught up in the hype of dramatic special effects and carefully choreographed emotion that we miss the presence of God when it is right in front of us?
The mountains of the New Testament are not appealing by dramatic height or majestic jagged peaks. They are not the Mount McKinley’s of Alaska or even the Mount Washington’s of New Hampshire. They are more like the 535 foot highest point in Louisiana, Driskill Mountain or the 812 foot highest place in Rhode Island, Jerimoth Hill. Rather than one central location like Delphi, the location of the mountain changes in the New Testament – until you realize that people are not going to see the mountain – they are going to see the man. And the power of God is not limited to one place, with vapors and mystical legends surrounding it – the power of God is within that man.
In a world mesmerized by the babbling voices or so-called oracles and self-help guru’s; in a world captivated by the glittery special effects of digital studios and the high-powered impact of P.R. personnel who pound the airwaves and internet with empty promises for profit; in a world hungry for truth’s to live by, purposes to live for and authentic voices to follow, the quiet voice of Jesus, teaching on the hillside in Galilee remains compelling – and those who decide to pause and sit on that hillside, will discover why the man from Galilee has stood the test of time for 2000 years.
Here, on this unlikely mountain, in clearly spoken words and phrases that the average person can understand, we are being given the essential ingredients necessary for a meaningful life, for a purpose to live for and truths to live by. But be careful – this series of teachings is far more than some simple tenets for life – though they are that. They are far more than teachings for individual discipline – though they will serve you well. This carefully constructed summary of the essential teachings of Jesus is his graduation speech to his disciples.
We tend to remember great speeches that send us out for great purposes. One of the best is in Shakespeare’s Henry V, recalling the Battle of Agincourt on St. Crispin’s Day and gave rise to the phrase “Band of Brothers:”
He that shall live this day and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his friends,
And say, Tomorrow is Saint Crispian’:
Then he will strip his sleeve and show his scars,
And say, ‘These wounds I had on Crispin’s day.’ . . .
And gentlemen in England now abed
Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,
And hold their manhood cheap while any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin’s day.”
Anyone who has seen the movie Patton will remember the opening speech as the general prepares troops for the battles of World War II –- and we still give thanks and we still honor those who stormed Omaha beach, Iwo Jima and lesser known theaters of in that great undertaking to free the world. That was what was at stake, and it is why that war remains a sacred moment in our history, and events and speeches about it are so memorable.
For me, the speech I still remember is when I graduated from Seminary and professor Martin Heinecken spoke on I Cor. 14:8 “And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? Sending us into our ministry with the need to preach well, to preach Christ crucified and risen, and to rally members of our congregations around the power of God’s Word. It is a power concentrated and focused in another sermon – on a hillside in Galilee.
Great speeches, great purposes – and I can’t think of a purpose greater than to change the world. That’s what Jesus’ came to do and the Sermon on the Mount was the graduation speech. He himself had been chosen and commissioned at his baptism – “This is my Son, listen to Him” He had journey to the wilderness and been tempted with all of the temptations that confront us. He had picked out his disciples and now he begins their training – gives them the tools they will need not only for meaning in their own lives, but in order to help change the world.
I can’t possibly look at each portion of the Sermon on the Mount, but in this speech we have the simplicity of the Golden Rule; we are taught the Lord’s Prayer and encouraged to pray; we are taught to love everyone, forgive everyone, take the initiative to be reconciled with those we have wronged or who have wronged us; we are told to be faithful in marriage; we learn how to give generously for the needs of others. People in Jesus’ day highly valued salt and light – so those were among the metaphors he used to describe his followers. You are salt – you season the world and make it more palatable. You are bring light into darkness – let your light shine before others. Today we might say, “You will be like clean air to those living in the smog of Beijing or Los Angeles.”
And, with his opening words, The Beatitudes, Jesus outlines how the most unlikely circumstances can bring a blissful life and the rewards we can expect as we participate in this life of discipleship. They are not meant to be some future reward, but the immediate impact of a life centered in God’s purposes. Take that first Beatitude, for example, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. It is not about spiritual poverty, it is about abject poverty. A better translation might be, “O The Bliss of the person who is so helpless that he has to put his whole trust in God -- for he will discover God’s presence in his life” . . . or the final beatitude might be “O the bliss when you suffer for a cause as great as bringing in God’s kingdom, for those were the kinds of battles fought on Omaha beach and on Crispin’s Day. O the bliss that is yours when people laugh at you or make jokes about you, or ridicule you for my sake and the gospel’s, for those were the taunts that Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela had to endure; and so it will happen to others who choose to live for me and to die for me -- rejoice and be glad, leap for joy, for no purpose is greater in life, no need is greater in our world, and like those who struggled before you, the glory of my kingdom lies ahead.
What voice will you listen to? Who provides a purpose and cause worthy of your life and of your best effort – the oracles and soothsayers of the world. Or the man from Galilee?
Amen.