Contributor: Mark Gates
Today’s readings all concentrate on humility, meekness, searching for truth and goodness. Aren’t all of these traits and more the sign of faith filled people?? US?
Our first reading from the prophet Zephaniah, 2:3 & 3:12-13 encourages us with 4 facets of humility in Our Lord and the eventual reward. CHOOSE: “Seek the Lord all you humble of the earth who observed his law. Seek ‘Justice’, seek ‘Humility’, perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger!” **Being CHOSEN: “But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people both humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord: the remnant of Israel.” **OBEDIENCE: “They shall do no wrong and speak no lies, nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue.” **PEACE: “They shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.”
**Considering for a moment the dry arid desert environment that is Zephaniah’s ‘world’. To find a pasture to rest on for yourself would be great, but enough for your flock, Whoa Baby, that’s great living. This scene is being held up as the reward for allowing the word of God to rest in your mouth and living a Godly life.
***Our scripture from 1Corinthians 1:26-31 is one of my personally comfortable & familiar texts. “Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.”
***Now, I have no intention of slipping into a fake humility, “Woe is me”, or “I’m so Lowly, boo-hoo”. But as far as the smart, wise, strong, proud, arrogant, good-looking people go, I’m NOT!! Well, I may have to rethink good looking 🙂 , ha-ha. I think my dad said I was on the ‘space program’, I’m just taking up space. Anyway, many of us are just doing our very best to get along, survive, for ourselves, our families, our faith. Very few of us will actually earn worldwide praise. But we, the children of God, keep pushing our faith forward, sometimes unknowingly, love for all, respect for all, we keep pushing ourselves toward salvation. Our God has promised it! My friends in true humility, may I never boast of any gift from God before man… May I only boast of my cross, and the daily grace God lends to me, to pick it up!
Our Gospel today is the treasured, Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5:1-12. The first words my Lady Wisdom gave me were, “Less is More”! That seems simple enough. A person could relate this to almost any situation or environment that you may find yourself. “BLESSED are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” **Eventually we’ll get to my favorite: “BLESSED are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be satisfied.” I, during my lifetime have been mostly committed to finding some sense of righteousness, I’m saying, fairness or justice. There’s too often scant supply. Folks, in the quiet times of our prayer, or our mornings, or evenings, don’t we all want righteousness. Don’t we all wish our little personal worlds were more fair? Don’t we wish, when we can lift our heads a little, that the global world had more justice? **If there were 100 people, in person, listening to this sermon, This is the Joy filled news that Jesus was preaching. Each person affects each family, which affects each community, and… the world has changed. “As for me and my house, I choose the Lord!” I choose less me, and more JOY!! Thank you, my friends, Mark “G”.
