Elements from this morning’s gathering

Formation Movement | The Passions and The Beatitudes

Where is pride in your life – a denial of your dependency on God, a belief that you can or must make it on your own?
Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor & dependent, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Where is acedia – that listlessness that falls asleep to life? The reticence to risk disappointment? The refusal to suffer or feel pain?
Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, they will be comforted.”

Where is there wrath? Where am I holding power to push what I reject away?
Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, they will inherit the earth.”

Where am I enslaved to gluttony – desiring more for myself than I desire for others?
Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness & justice, they will be filled.”

Where is there greed – a need to control and consume, a holding on tight?
Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, they will be shown mercy.”

And what about lust – a longing to take and absorb whatever you find?
Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, they will see God.”

Where is there vainglory – a sense of scarcity, a sense that you must win your well-being over and against others?
Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, they will be called God’s children.”

And finally, do you sense despair – despondency and futility at all that is wrong and that you’ve done wrong?
Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, the kingdom is theirs.”

And so we trust that our pain and perspective is not the final one. God has a kingdom where all we entrust to his care will endure into eternity. Amen.

Scripture Reading

A Reading from Mark 1 & Matthew 4-6
Mark 1:9-12; Matthew 4:17, 6:19-34

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ 

And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

From that time Jesus began to announce: “Change your hearts and lives!
Here comes the kingdom of heaven!”… 

Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in the heavens, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. 

Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is!

No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow… If God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the desires of the nations, but your Father in the heavens already knows all you want and need.

Desire the Kingdom of God above all else, and live right by God and others, and God will give you everything you need.