Matthew 5:1-9

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

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

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Are We There Yet?

I became aware of Dorothy Granada a little over six years ago, when she spoke at a church near where I was serving in New Jersey. One of the truly remarkable people I’ve encountered through interfaith peacemaking efforts, Dorothy is an American Latina who spent many years working for peace in strife-torn Nicaragua.

In a sermon at Christ Church, a federated UCC/American Baptist congregation in Summit, New Jersey, she related several stories from her experience during the Contra war — none more moving than the saga of her co-worker Gretel.

A co-founder of the Maria Luisa Ortiz Women’s Cooperative, Gretel and her husband had a farm a few miles from the town where Dorothy was helping them establish a medical clinic. In 1989, Gretel and Zefarino, the farm’s foreman, were walking in a field when a Contra guerilla (they weren’t called terrorists in those days) appeared out of the bush, wild-eyed, with a machete. Lunging toward Zefarino, he chopped his head off, and her friend’s head landed in Gretel’s arms.

I’m not sure of the whole sequence of events, but the attacker did go to prison for several years. Meanwhile Gretel, who received frequent death threats from the man during his incarceration, couldn’t erase the image of Zefarino’s head in her arms. She saw it in her dreams every night for nearly a decade.

Then one night as Gretel was walking home from the Women’s Center, she saw Zefarino’s attacker, now released from prison, coming toward her… and she did the most remarkable thing: She stopped right in front of him, looked him straight in the eye, and said, “Will you come to lunch at my house?”

At that instant, Dorothy recalled, Gretel lost her fear. She never again had that terrible nightmare; and the man stopped making threats. From that day forward, he was a peaceful member of the community, and Gretel often saw him — not in her dreams, but bringing his wife and daughters to the clinic.*

Gretel’s nightmare was transformed into a dream of peace by inviting a sworn enemy who had terrorized her and murdered her friend to come and break bread together.

Jim Wallis refers to Jesus as “the One who was willing to bear the cost of making peace in a hostile world.” That One was surely present eight years ago on the road to Mulukuku, Nicaragua. His name, that day, was Gretel, just as his name, four decades ago, was Martin; and today… perhaps he bears the name of someone sitting in this congregation.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”

Do you suppose Jesus would mind if we thought about turning that around? Last Sunday, when many of you came forward to reaffirm the vows made at your baptism, Jessie and Ann and Martha Campbell and I anointed you with a variety of prayers and blessings. One thing I remember saying to some of you is, “May you always be known as a child of God.”

At the time, I wasn’t thinking of that as a mandate, but perhaps it was: “Blessed are you, the children of God, for you shall be known as peacemakers.”

We don’t have to do anything to be children of God — we’re incorporated into the covenant, accepted into God’s family, by grace alone. But to be known as a “peacemaker” — that takes courage, determination, self-control, and faith.

I don’t know if we could do it without a lot of help and some strong examples to follow… and fortunately, we’re blessed with both. God’s help is never withheld; and for examples, we don’t have to look beyond this morning’s worship service. Jesus is and always will be the world’s greatest hope for peace and justice; and Martin Luther King, Jr., showed us in the 20th Century that American society could and would be transformed.

What I’d like to suggest this morning is that the transformation stimulated by Dr. King’s words and actions in the 1960s has not been completed. It’s still underway today — and each one of us has a role to play in finishing the work of Dr. King and continuing the work of Jesus.

We love to say that Jesus was a peacemaker, and we know he always acted out of love; but we must not forget that he never took the easy road. “Let sleeping dogs lie” was never part of his vocabulary. In fact, sometimes it seemed like he was actively looking for trouble!

Wasn’t it Jesus who crossed the great divides of his society, befriending Samaritans, tax collectors, lepers and even the poorest of the poor? Wasn’t it Jesus who proclaimed the Word of God in the Nazareth synagogue, only to be run out of town by the local establishment? They would have killed him then and there if they’d had their way.

And wasn’t it Jesus who drove the vendors and money-changers out of the Temple, incurring the wrath of religious leaders and no doubt risking life and limb in the fray? Yet this was the very same Jesus who said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”

I’m not accusing Jesus of a “Do as I say, not as I do” style of leadership. On the contrary, I believe his actions were entirely consistent with his words. But can the same be said for us?

Being meek and merciful shouldn’t prevent us from speaking out. Turning the other cheek doesn’t mean we ought to look the other way. Being a peacemaker is about resolving conflict, not avoiding it — and resolution often requires a lot of hard work.

Jesus demonstrated that throughout his ministry, and so did Martin Luther King. Lives cut short by violent means prevented neither of them from making a lasting difference. With the love of God, Jesus changed the world forever. Empowered by faith in Jesus and confidence in his own identity as a child of God, Martin King rewrote the history of civil rights and race relations in the U.S. Thanks to King and his legacy, “nonviolence” has become a watchword of American life.

As we pay tribute to Dr. King today, there is a lot to celebrate. But I think he would be the first to remind us that we aren’t here to worship him — and he wouldn’t be happy to hear us extolling him unless our praise reflects a deep, sincere commitment to the cause to which he devoted his life. In spite of remarkable progress, much remains to be done.

With the passage of time, it’s easy to forget that neither Martin Luther King nor any of his colleagues in the civil rights movement had a magic “cure” for racism, prejudice or injustice. For years after King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, beatings and tauntings and large-scale riots continued to plague American cities.

I remember flying from Newark to Detroit in July, 1967, and seeing fires and devastation at both ends of that trip. Then, as late as 1992, twenty-seven years after Dr. King helped quell the rioting in the Watts neighborhood of L.A., we literally saw the smoke of the Rodney King uprising from our home in Pasadena. (“Why can’t we all just get along?”)

I’m sure Dr. King would be proud of a country where a woman and an African-American man are counted among the leading candidates for the presidency… but I’m quite sure he’d warn us that subtle racism still abounds, and powerful ethnic prejudices have woven their way into the fabric of American life.

During yesterday’s Nevada caucuses, it was reported that hundreds of voters received automated phone calls asking if they really wanted to support Barack Hussein Obama’s presidential bid. Sadly, the simple recitation of the candidate’s full name three or four times in a 90-second message betrays the power of racial-ethnic fear in our society.

Friends, I am absolutely certain that God is creating “new heavens and a new earth” in our time, and we are called to be God’s instruments in that work. How we respond is a critical choice for each one of us.

Martin Luther King’s dynamic rhetoric moved the hearts of friend and foe alike; but it was his action — the leadership he demonstrated with patience, perseverance, and nonviolent protest — for which he will be remembered through the ages.

What kind of leadership are Christians bringing to the public arena today? The late Kurt Vonnegut observed that “Christians have often demanded that the Ten Commandments be posted on public buildings, but never the Beatitudes. ‘Blessed are the merciful’ in a courtroom? ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ in the Pentagon? Give me a break!”

You don’t have to be a Vonnegut fan to identify with the challenge he poses. Have we been reduced to a “symbolic” faction in the shaping of American society, or could a prophetic voice like King’s be heard, and have an impact, in 2008? Or could Jesus?

Sometimes I wonder. Even within the church, the noise of discord and disputes can drown out the voices of peace and love. But whenever I get discouraged, a sign appears to restore my hope.

This week, as I sought to discern the right way to honor Dr. King without resorting to platitudes, my heart was troubled.

As a prophet of peace, Dr. King would surely have taken a stand on the issues confronting our nation today. I’m certain he would have spoken out against the war in Iraq, just as he risked long-standing friendships and political support by opposing the Vietnam conflict in 1967.

But in the fickle flow of American politics, a dip in the economy has diverted the attention of candidates and media alike, and suddenly Iraq and the so-called “war on terror” have been relegated to background noise.

On the brink of complete discouragement, God intervened with signs of hope. Tuesday night, the Presbytery of Scioto Valley approved our Session’s overture to encourage the PC(USA) to stay on course with its efforts to restore peace and unity in the church. The overture can now be considered by our denomination’s General Assembly when it meets in San Jose, California, this June. (That may not seem like a big deal, but I go nuts over these things.)

The same night, on the West Coast, San Francisco Presbytery opened the door for Lisa Larges, an openly gay candidate for ministry, to be examined for ordination — an amazing joy for all of us who know Lisa and have followed her remarkable journey of faith.

Then the next day, at a forum in my old home town of Pasadena, two church leaders whom I admire greatly — Barbara Wheeler of Auburn Seminary and Rich Mouw of Fuller Theological Seminary — engaged in an extremely constructive dialog about the ongoing tension between the evangelical and liberal wings of the church. Barbara and Rich come from very different perspectives; but as they’ve done in previous forums, they modeled an exceptional degree of mutual respect and appreciation.

So this morning my heart is filled with hope. I have been reminded that God is indeed creating “new heavens and a new earth” in our time. So let us boldly live the legacy of Martin Luther King, and see what miracles God has in store for us.

Amen.

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