Wednesday, September 28, 2022
Sunday Preview (October 2, 2022)
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.’ – Matthew 5.5
Jesus has the people’s attention. He’s announced that the Kingdom of God is at hand, it’s within people, it’s near. Jesus has been healing people and telling them the good news…the Kingdom is happening. And now he is instructing them on what God is FOR. And we would imagine that God is for the powerful and mighty, the smart and wise, the gifted and talented. But instead Jesus starts with the ‘poor in spirit’ and those who ‘mourn’ and the ‘meek’.
Our question on Sunday will be: What does it mean to be the meek and why is that a posture God expects of us?
Preview of Jason’s Jot (see more below)
Today’s Jot is going to be a little different. Our audio recording had some issues on Sunday; therefore, we won’t have a video for everyone. Instead, I’m going to summarize my talk in the space below.
Celebrating 60!
Join us on Sunday, October 9th for a special celebration as Peace turns 60. We are inviting the whole family – current participants and members, as well as past members, staff, and pastors. This celebration is for everyone!
We want to know if you are coming! RSVP for the luncheon: by October 1st go to Signup Genius (www.signupgenius.com/go/peace60) or call the church at 651-484-2226 and leave a message.
Mark Your Calendars
October 2 – Communion (back to first Sundays)
October 9 – 60th Celebration Sunday
October 20-21 – MEA
October 28-30 – COSROW Women’s Retreat
October 30 – All Saints Sunday
L.I.F.E. Group Event – October 28th!
The L.I.F.E. Group will attend The Church Basement Ladies’ new musical comedy “Plowin’ Thru” at a 1pm matinee on Friday, October 28.
Secure your spot with a check for $28 per person made out to Carol Mills, 5845 Saint Albans Court, Shoreview MN 55126. Deadline to sign up is Friday October 7.
Volunteer Opportunities
Peace is helping keep Sadie and Joe’s lawn trim and neat this summer while Joe undergoes treatment. Sign up here to help with lawn duty.
The next Good Neighbor Meal is this Saturday, October 8th. Sign up here to help prepare and serve.
Family Ministry Updates
Encore | 1st & 3rd Sundays from 7:00-8:30pm | Fellowship Lounge
Encore is Peace’s middle school and high school group. We will begin this Sunday, October 2 from 7:00- 8:30pm in the Fellowship Hall Lounge. Start to think about topics that you want to cover, what questions do you have about faith, culture, politics, or other topics you think would be helpful for a progressive, socially minded, church youth group to talk about! Feel free to bring your own beverage or snack. We will have a light snack provided.
Children’s Church | Begins October 9 | During the Service in the Fellowship Hall
Children’s Church is for kids in Kindergarten through 5th grade. It will take place during the Sunday morning service so younger kids can have their own time of learning at a developmentally appropriate level. The plan would be to dismiss them from the large service after the first hymn is over so they can join Amanda and the volunteers in the Fellowship Hall. Once in the Fellowship Hall, Amanda will lead a short Bible lesson, then kids will go do art projects and talk about the lesson with a volunteer (two groups: K-2nd and 3rd-5th). After the art time, all the kids will come back together for some games and a snack before joining their family for Fellowship Time in the Commons.
Family Game Nights | Sunday October 16 | 5:00-7:00pm
Thanks to everyone who came out on Sunday, September 25, we enjoyed the last of the root beer floats, some football tosses, and noticed the slight changing of the leaves.
Mark your calendars for Sunday, October 16 5:00 – 7:00pm for our next Family Game Night in the Fellowship Hall. Please note the earlier time. For this one, bring your favorite chili or dish to share and a board game! Peace will provide cocoa, tea, water & juice. We have giant scrabble, let’s see if we can get a team or a tourney going! We also plan on bringing in one of the monitors to have some football games on.
All Saints Sunday | Sunday October 30
Young people are encouraged to wear their costumes and we will have a treat bag.
Jason’s Jot
Why would anyone want to be ‘poor in spirit’ or ‘mourn’ or ‘meek’ or even a ‘peacemaker’?! When I grew up, all I wanted to be was confident and in charge. And when I watched movies or watched how older kids navigated the cesspool called middle school, it wasn’t the peacemakers who seemed to be thriving, but the ones who heroically fought back and punched their way out of trouble: see Luke Skywalker and Indiana Jones and quite literally Rocky Balboa.
So…it probably comes as no surprise that when I read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-8) and it starts with the list of Beatitudes, I never once thought that I was supposed to BE the things listed. I thought the opposite.
God blesses you when you are NO LONGER poor in spirit.
God blesses you when you are NO LONGER mourning.
God blesses you when you are NOT meek.
Who would want to be ‘weak’ like that?!
The problem with this way of trying to read the text…it simply doesn’t work at any level. The narrative of the Bible is of a God who comes near to the downtrodden and oppressed. A God who seeks the liberation of the marginalized and enslaved. A God whose name could be translated: “the with you one” or “the Living Presence”. And true courage, true bravery – is the self-control to realize that violence only encourages more violence. If the Bible is saying anything, if the cross of Jesus says anything – it’s that violence is never the answer.
God doesn’t bless people AFTER they are done mourning or finished with peacemaking or have overcome their spiritual poverty. Instead, God is WITH humanity in the midst of those times.
AND
God is inviting us to become the type of people who identify with these postures.
To be ‘spiritually poor’ is to be out of sync with the dominant religious system that manages participation. Too often religious systems are focused on what they are against and not what they are for. Although it often runs counter to what we may have known and seen all our lives, we must focus on what we are FOR so that our faith truly becomes GOOD NEWS.
To be ‘spiritually poor’ is to experience disconnect from the divine and believe oneself to be unworthy of love. One of the easiest temptations is to think that everything we have is because of our own doing. As if we’ve earned all that we have in life. Instead, all of life is a gift. Including God’s love and grace. It is when we are spiritually humble that we can properly recognize the amazing inclusivity of God.
To be ‘spiritually poor’ is to be told your questions and your curiosity don’t belong and that who you are isn’t welcome. Questions and doubts and curiosities are the drumbeat of faith! We question and get curious about what we love the most. Questions and doubts are an expression of faith…not the antithesis of faith. We must remain curious – otherwise we run the risk of becoming spiritually proud, which leads to becoming the religiously oppressive.
Although it might not make for a compelling Hollywood movie, and it definitely doesn’t make sense to a pre-teen middle schooler – being poor in spirit is actually the place that God is inviting us.
It is in this space that we get passionate about serving and loving people.
It is in this space that we can see that we are worthy of love and belonging.
It is in this space that we are invited to be curious and open and thoughtful.
The Sermon on the Mount is both the most upside-down understanding of being human, and the most compelling and transformative way of changing the world.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
God is on the side of the curious, the doubters, and the can’t-measure-ups; for they are in the flow of the Divine, moving towards shalom.