This was the backside of pulpit I preached from for 18 years in Charleston—always filled with lots of stuff that was never seen—sorta like the sermons!
Several years ago, when I was pastoring in Charleston, SC I wrote an occasional blog entitled “Didn’t Make the Sermon.” It was a blog about exactly what the name suggests—stuff that didn’t make the sermon! Each week preachers act like little gospel writers, reading, researching gathering material. But at some point you realize that not all of it is going to make the sermon. Some of it just doesn’t fit the flow, the feel, the theology of the sermon.
And so you toss it!
That doesn’t mean it isn’t good, even great, maybe even better than some of the stuff you have in the sermon. It just doesn’t make it!
That happened again this week for me! I am in the midst of a series of sermons on the Sermon on the Mount and started looking at the Beatitudes. You know, “blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are those that mourn.” (How many can you name off the top of your head? You can cheat and read them in Matthew 5. Go ahead. I’ll wait.)
After worship we had a Sermon Talkback where we did exactly that, talked back, reflected, asked questions about the sermon. You are invited to join us next Sunday too! Anyway, as a part of that time I mentioned that I had found, read, loved some new Beatitudes written by Nadia Bolz-Weber. They aren’t in the Bible, but made me wonder if perhaps they could be, maybe we could just add them in the appendix. i told the group I would share them, so here they are.
Blessed are the agnostics. Blessed are they who doubt. Those who aren’t sure, who can still be surprised.
Blessed are they who are spiritually impoverished and therefore not so certain about everything that they no longer take in new information.
Blessed are those who have nothing to offer. Blessed are they for whom nothing seems to be working.
Blessed are the pre-schoolers who cut in line at communion.
Blessed are the poor in spirit. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are they for whom death is not an abstraction. |Blessed are they who have buried their loved ones, for whom tears are as real as an ocean.
Blessed are they who have loved enough to know what loss feels like.
Blessed are the mothers of the miscarried.
Blessed are they who don’t have the luxury of taking things for granted any more.
Blessed are they who can’t fall apart because they have to keep it together for everyone else.
Blessed are the motherless, the alone, the ones from whom so much has been taken.
Blessed are those who “still aren’t over it yet.”
Blessed are they who laughed again when for so long they thought they never would. Blessed are those who mourn.
You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.
If you were to write your Beatitudes (you can you know!) what might you include? It might be a good exercise. Who does God “bless?”
Who might we bless this week?