The Sunday Sermon: Blessing and Pressing for Change

Rev. Richard Hogue Jr.
St. Paul’s Cathedral, San Diego
2/13/2022

          There is an immediacy to this gospel that extends from the promise of God’s love into our present moment. It penetrates the mundane with a pronouncement that defies what we perceive to the be the “natural order of things.” Jesus is upending what we consider normal, it is not the wealthy and powerful who have access to God’s blessing, in fact, they shall anticipate woe. But the people who are poor now, the people who are hungry now, the people who weep now, and those who are excluded, reviled, and defamed now are blessed by God now. It was true when Jesus read it in the Torah and the prophets, it was true when he spoke it anew, and it is true right here and now.[1]

This radical theology of total liberation and the upending of our perceived order to things is something that Jesus breathes new life into as he delivers this sermon on the plain. It’s in the scripture of his people, but likely, many had forgotten the substance of this truth as the Roman Empire occupied and control the shape of daily life for the colonized. Instead, the hope for a new kingdom of David, established on justice and executed by a Messiah leading army had taken root in the folklore of the day, including Jesus’ own disciples. That’s what empires of extraction do, taking resources and reshaping communities to be oriented towards the power of the state or the oligarch, to divide, conquer, and confuse the colonized. And certainly, the Hebrew people of Jesus’ were not invulnerable to this colonial reshaping, as the structural burdens of extractive empire warped their own perception of reality and what freedom and faithfulness meant.

Jesus reorients the conversation away from power as the world understands it but towards the self-sacrificing powerlessness that ultimately reveals God’s love.

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.

“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.”

This is the goal, that God’s grace spills over so much that those suffering are blessed by God’s grace. Grace, not power, money, or military might, is the way God will establish a new reign in this world, not later, but right now. God’s grace isn’t reserved for those who have material wellbeing well in hand, instead, those experiencing the emptiness, of loss, of their stomachs, or other suffering are the ones to whom God’s reign belongs to now, imminently. The woe is equally imminent:

“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.

“Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.

“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.

“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.”

So, what is the follower of Jesus to do knowing all this? If all of this is so imminent, what do we do NOW?

            “Jesus shows ethical grace in action: love and generosity in community, care for all people who have need, healing the sick, appreciation for life, confrontation with powers of injustice and exploitation, and advocacy for freedom of the imprisoned.”[2] The example we are given is of a seemingly powerless rabbi doing these things in a society that had no notion of democracy. How much more is possible if we live into this ethical-grace-in-action in our time? Most of us watching live in a democratic republic, in California, in the city or county of San Diego. What does it look like for us to participate in God’s blessing the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and the excluded? Yes, it looks like Showers of Blessings, and food pantries, and other charitable works. But what might it mean to extend our understanding of blessing as beyond exclusively the charitable, and pivot to local systemic issues? To be clear, it is necessary for us to do charitable works as Christians, there is no substitution for it.  And it’s true that while feeding someone today is a gift, making a world in which anyone may find necessary resources and dignified, well-paid work requires a revolution. Make no mistake, Jesus was a revolutionary, and his self-emptying love gets him killed by the state.

            Hopefully we can empty our lives by sacrificing wealth and privilege, working towards a more just and equitable future for all. In a country where generational wealth has been stolen through enslavement, ethnic genocide, racial discrimination, false dealing, segregation, environmental degradation, and full-scale invasion, we are in some ways not much further along from the Roman Empire with which Jesus contended. What would it look like for us to be peaceful revolutionaries in this nation, and bless those who God blesses?

            Sacred Ground in Action and the Peace & Justice committees of this congregation will begin asking those questions in earnest in the coming months. Part of what I hope we do in my time here at St. Paul’s further integrate us in interfaith and ecumenical conversations around policy change in our local, regional, and state level relationships. For me, the San Diego Organizing Project has been the best vector and hope for substantive and tangible change in the health and well-being of all people in San Diego. It is a nonpartisan network of 29 and counting multi-faith congregations that uniquely bridges racial, cultural, and economic divides. They want to empower, one may even say they want to bless, congregations to bring justice, equality, and greater opportunity to our neighbors.

            A brief example of this comes from St. Andrew’s in Encinitas, where we established a community organizing ministry named “Faith in Action.” Through a couple of years of discernment, research, and relationship building, in collaboration with an assigned organizer from SDOP, we chose to work on areas concerning housing and mental health. The latest county budget reflects the efforts of the Faith in Action ministers at St. Andrew’s, as there is a $100k line item to examine the possibility of environmental cleanup and eventual use of a former dumping spot in Encinitas as site of new affordable housing units and a mental health clinic. There is probably no way this would have come about as even a remote possibility without the voice of faithful people piping up in the public square, lobbying city council members and county supervisors. And to be clear, it will likely take at least another decade of those faithful voices continuing to pipe up in public for tangible good to happen in Encinitas, but at least the movement has begun.

            When I imagine what is possible with similar work here at St. Paul’s, I become more and more excited to see what may come. The possibilities are seemingly endless, and we could play a transformational role in our local and regional communities, engaging in empowering and ever deepening relationships with those whom God is blessing. Whether St. Paul’s will join in this movement, we will decide together in time. Who knows, maybe we help make justice reform, issues of housing, immigrant rights, county government accountability or other forms of civic engagement possible and live as a tangible blessing.

            But that’s not the only way we can all participate in blessings others, as we will have the opportunity to transform our building so that more people can access and benefit from it, as Penny demonstrated at the 9AM Forum. And we can volunteer for the outreach ministries we are already doing as previously mentioned, or dream of services yet to come. We can participate in the breaking of the bread and the prayers, in person again starting next week, and countless other ways at St, Paul’s, not to mention the diocese, the wider church, and the vast universe of ways to bless beyond even these.

We can do this in relationship with our neighbors, rich and poor alike, announcing God’s reign, empowering and blessings others through the power of the Holy Spirit. In this, we too shall be blessed. May we speak prophetically, work collaboratively, and act accordingly so that we can be the blessing. Amen.

[1] Deuteronomy 15.11; Isaiah 49.10; Jeremiah 34.25; Ezekiel 34.29; The Jewish Annotated New Testament, p113.

[2] Saving Paradise: How Christianity Traded Love of This World for Crucifixion and Empire, Rita Brock & Rebecca Parker, p 29.