Epiphany 4 -- Year A -- February 2, 2014
Text: Matthew 5:1-12
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According to this year's lunar calendar,
today is the third day of spring,
and this year is the year of the horse.
The celebration of TET has become a tradition at St. Patrick's since the time we became an Anglo-Vietnamese congregation.
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For many Vietnamese, TET is the most sacred time of the year, when the spirits of their ancestors visit them and bring them blessings.
There are superstitious beliefs about TET,
and one of them is that whatever you say or do,
or whatever happens to you,
on the first day of TET may mean good or bad luck
for the entire year.
The people, therefore, are careful about their
behavior at TET,
like avoiding getting angry, or following
a fortune calendar for the right time exit the house.
To some people,
cleaning your house on the first day of the year by sweeping the floor is not advisable,
for all the blessings that came at midnight
might follow the things
under the broom to the outside.
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In the past Vietnamese did not celebrate birthday.
Modern Vietnamese learn birthday celebration from the West.
TET is the time everyone is one year older.
The children get good-luck money on the day they celebrate a new year that is added to their lives:
the older you get, the more respect you enjoy.
So on the New Year's Day,
you are aware of your age,
and of the blessing of seeing yourself alive.
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This past week I received a phone call from
the Reverend Letha Wilson-Barnard,
pastor of Church of the Holy Apostles in Minnesota,
where Toua Vang and his family came from.
Letha told me that a member of her church,
a Hmong young man,
a sergeant in the U.S. Army,
who was seriously injured by a mine in Afghanistan
and had been through surgery at Walter Reed.
His name was Thai Lee.
Thai did not do well the night before,
so when I came they had taken him from his room
for a CAT scan.
At the hospital I met his mother, his sister and brother in-law.
His wife also came.
When I met him he was alert.
He asked who I was, and where my church was.
He offered me his hand to hold.
He squeezed my hand as I prayed,
especially when I mentioned his friends
who remained in Afghanistan,
and he shouted Jesus' Name as I prayed.
At that moment, both Thai and I realized
that it is a blessing to be alive.
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We seldom realize that we are blessed.
We often pay attention to adversity.
It is a challenge for us to live in the present.
Joan Chittister,
in her book entitled, "For Everything A Season,"
says that "We live with one foot in tomorrow at all times...
We live overcome by losses and dissolved in spiritual ruin
or wasted by a dearth of spirit,
by a diminishment of enthusiasm,
by the dissipation of hope."
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Jesus had no need for being eloquent when he spoke,
especially when he spoke about blessings.
Jesus Christ was keen about words from the heart.
His words were always simple and true.
In today's gospel, Jesus says,
"Blessed are the poor,
blessed are those who mourn,
blessed are the meek,
the merciful,
the peace maker and the persecuted."
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What kind of wisdom is this?
In a world that is so mindful about power, wealth, success and happiness,
how can the poor and the meek be joyful?
Should one become poor in order to find blessing?
Do you have to suffer persecution and injustice because of Christ to find blessing?
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Actually, the words of Jesus in this lesson
do not address the issues of this world.
Instead, they speak to the existence of another realm --
the realm of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.
This age will come to pass,
the believer's mind is supposed to focus on the age to come.
When Christ comes again,
all things will be made anew,
and so the coming of the realm of heaven.
This is what the Gospel of Matthew is about.
This is exactly what we Christians through the centuries proclaim.
The theme about "this age" and "the age to come" is echoed throughout the Gospel of Matthew --
from the story of Christmas
to that of the disciples' encountering
with the resurrected Christ.
The Gospel ends with the promise of Jesus
that he will always be with those who believe in Him
"to the end of the age."
The blessing that Jesus speaks about is not something that makes people happy in "this age."
Blessing, in this sense, is not about gaining or winning.
Neither is it about having enough or having no trouble.
You are blessed because you are included in the coming realm.
We are challenged to put such belief into practice.
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You and I are blessed because we belong in the Kingdom of God.
We may suffer hardship in this life.
We may be fearful about the future.
We may have to deal with health and identity issues,
and those of money, as well.
But Jesus reminds us that we are children of God.
The Father in heaven accepts us and has called us His beloved.
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The Beatitudes was placed in the Gospel of Matthew
partly in order to deal with cynicism in the early church.
The teaching of Christ offers hope to the hopeless.
Christ is the hope to those finding themselves poor in the spirit.
As Christians, we place our hope on Christ.
Can we practice living in hope of the age to come?
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Every Sunday, when we come together to worship,
we celebrate the blessings we have had in this place:
people of different cultures coming together in the Name of Christ and accepting each other in His love.
Focusing on the blessings helps us to stop worrying.
Focusing on the presence of Christ helps us to continue
in doing what we have been called to do.
We may then switch from being mindful about success
to being mindful about fruitfulness.
The teaching of Jesus brings us to the one thing that He wants us to turn our attention to:
stability.
We will find God's blessing right where we are,
in the present.
We should find blessing in our own community
and in our families,
lest we forget to give thanks for our loved ones,
neglecting the blessing of their presence, kindness and care.
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As I celebrate TET with you all for the last time,
here at Saint Patrick's,
I give thanks to God for the blessings we share in this church.
We have been blessed because we trust in our LORD
and love each other.
We have been blessed because we reach out to proclaim
Christ's love to the world, especially to those less fortunate than us.
The Beatitude affirms God's providence,
and reminds us that the Church is not our own but God's.
And so there are three things that we want to be mindful of:
First, simplicity.
Second, hopefulness.
And third, compassion.
In the Name of God: The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
