The Sermon on the Mount | Part I
By: Pastor Melinda Sparks
This Sunday begins our summer series on the Sermon on the Mount and we begin with the Beatitudes.
Verse 9, from the Voice translation reads, “Blessed are the peacemakers—they will be called children of God.”
Sometimes I believe that coincidences are just that, a coincidence. Other times, I believe that God just might be up to something and we should take some time to hear the still, quiet voice of God - to know, as best that we can tell, that this is the way that we should walk in.
There is a verse from Isaiah 30:21 that I have memorized over the years, and recite it out loud when I need to know what to do or where to go, “Your ears will hear sweet words behind you: “Go this way. There is your path; this is how you should go” whenever you must decide whether to turn to the right or the left.” (Voice translation)
While in France for my honeymoon the past two weeks, the Uvalde school shooting became worldwide, headline news, and Tari and I grieved with you for the senseless act. I just wanted to be with all of you, to share this grief in person, together. I felt fear for my own child still in school and profound fear for your children who are close in age to the children in Uvalde - I just hurt from all of it. My heart ached for those parents and the partners of the teachers and their own children. I felt fear for the school personnel who serve our children in so many different ways - particularly for those who are also a part of Imago Dei. My heart hurt for all of you in those positions. I begged God to never allow that to happen to any of you or any more children, period.
Just ache.
Our teaching team planned this Sermon on the Mount series in January of this year. We planned that I would open up the series on June 5 with the Beatitudes. We had no inkling of an idea that Uvalde would happen at the same time. How could we?
“Blessed are the peacemakers.”
No coincidence there. All God. It’s okay if you don’t believe that, I respect it and understand it.
From the Message translation, verse 9 reads, “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are and your place in God’s family.”
There is a boat load of fighting right now on social media. Gun control. Second Amendment. One entrance into a school building. Thoughts and Prayers. NRA. And on and on and on….
How do we work for peace in the middle of a country that cannot see this horror with the same lens?
How do we work to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven on earth, to live the way Jesus showed us how to live, when we can’t even agree that humanity is worth more than our guns?
This Sunday we will have a time during the service to honor the children and teachers who lost their lives in Uvalde. And we will also honor and pray for our school personnel. From there? I have no idea. But this is what I do know…
21 Your ears will hear sweet words behind you: “Go this way. There is your path; this is how you should go” whenever you must decide whether to turn to the right or the left.
I will pray to hear sweet words of direction. And I will pray to see my path, a path that leads to peacemaking.