Hell House

So tonight we are traveling to Temple, Texas to go to a. . . Hell House.

What's a hell house?

At this time of year, many churches around the country host Hell Houses. A Hell House is like a Haunted House, but it simulates a particular theological perspective on hell. For the last three weeks, our Bible Study has been asking questions about the concept of hell and how it is articulated in our culture. The conversations have been fascinating and I think many would say, liberating! Many of these churches are motivated to use Hell Houses to scare people into making a profession of faith. And so. . . we want to go see one in action for ourselves. Would you like to come? We’ll meet at UPC at 6pm. We’ll drive up there and have an interesting experience for sure. The cost is $10. I’m sure we’ll learn a lot!

Scripture For Sunday

Matthew 5:38-48

‘You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be children of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax-collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

University Interfaith Council Progressive Dinner!

Here are some pictures for the University Interfaith Council Progressive Dinner! We had a wonderful evening of fellowship, conversation, and learning. Thank you to everyone who participated!

A Note From Tim Pierce:

Hi, my name is Tim Pierce and I have been forever changed and moved by the UPC and its Austin Agape group. Both my brother and I are from Ohio but he was working in Austin for a Co-Op (work study). I flew down to Austin to help my brother move back to Ohio right before school started. I arrived on Saturday with no idea or expectation do much of anything social aside from hanging out and helping my brother. I remembered my brother telling me that he had found a church but i didn't think much of it. On Sunday, my brother and I went to UPC and just walking in it seemed as if it had life and vibrant... even though some of the people were older that college students.

Later that day, my brother took me to the college dinner and service. There, I was where the movement began. For nearly the first time in my life, someone initiated a conversation with me; not because they were forced to but because they wanted to get to know me. The service was very up beat and the dinner before hand added to the feeling of being in a family even more.

After leaving I was filled with a renewed excitement for meeting new people and i could tell that coming down was a "God moment" where i felt that I was meant to be there. The following day (Monday) there was a social gathering where the family and fellowship grew even more. Some found out for the first time that we were leaving that Saturday, but they didn't stifle their love that they gave to us. My brother had been a part of the group for about 4-6 months, so they knew him better, but i still felt a lot of love by many members of the group. Later that evening was the Bible study. I was bracing myself for a Bible beating where it would be scripture after scripture; fact of the matter, we opened and closed with a scripture and prayer, but the rest was just filled with us: students that don't know who we fully are and we're trying to find our way. The bible was a guiding path but not the sole thing of the bible study. Sadly, it was mentioned to the group that my brother and I were leaving soon. It was then that if felt that i was leaving a place that I had been for a very long time, yet i had been there for only a few days.

In the coming days, several of the members of the Agape group contacted me and we arranged ways to see each other. The final day that I spent with many people of the group was Wednesday when I was invited to a function called Wednesday at Wendy's. Prior to that engagement, I had an intimate discussion with the Youth Pastor, Renee Roederer. We just talked; not God or how I can be saved... just talked one on one. I feel that she knew that God was present in that conversation even though He wasn't called by name. He was ever present in many of my encounters in Texas. There, some of the people from the group were there, but I also met more people arranging meetings with people around the UT campus.

Thursday was my last day in contact with this wonderful group when I was invited to a fun night at a person's house. We played game, ate, and just bonded with each other. Very rarely in my life have i been so welcomed into a group AND loved.

I know for fact that tears were shed with both myself, my brother, and members of the Agape group with our leaving. Tears filled with sadness, mourning, change, but most of all, love. I know in the great words, "God is love" (which funny enough was the theme of the message that Sunday). This group certainly showed me some bit of God's love. While there and still here, it baffles me that so many people could love someone who they barely knew. I was encouraged to find a church group here in Ohio, but from more than a month, I have yet to find anything even close to the UPC group. Many times I have thought back and meditated upon the time that I spent in Texas and I can certainly say that I am filled with sadness because of the love and caring that pours out from that group. I will NEVER forget what was seen, felt, experienced. I have been forever changed by this group. I don't know when I/we will return but I am counting down that days until I am able to return to a place where I felt welcomed and loved. Know that my brother and I dearly miss the group, the congregation, and the family that we had to leave.

God is Love,

Timothy Pierce

Sermon: Gehenna and the Kingdom

Matthew 5:21-37

A member of this congregation once told a story that’s endearing and powerful at the same time. She knew a teacher who lived in Colorado. The teacher taught 4th grade, and she had just finished a unit on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. How many of you have read that book? It’s a classic children’s book by C.S. Lewis - the most popular and well-known one in his Narnia series. Lewis wrote a series of seven books about a mythical land called Narnia, and the books that have become famous as allegories for the Christian life. The teacher had just finished the unit on the book, and the kids loved it. And to top it off, the movie of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe was just coming out. So now it was time to give the kids a chance to enter the story for themselves. . .

The 4th grade teacher created a world for her young students. She found a refrigerator box and decorated it to look like a wardrobe. She was setting up the scene for Narnia. She placed the “wardrobe” in a classroom that was connected to the school library. When the children arrived, she told them that she had a surprise for them: “I’m going to take you to Narnia today,” she said. She took them from their classroom, down the hallway, through the library, and into the adjoining room which would become their world for a while. It was empty, except for that special box.

Little by little, a few kids at a time entered that cardboard wardrobe, and they were transformed. It didn’t take long for them to lose themselves in their wonderful world of play. Now they were Lucy and Peter and centaurs and elves. . .

It didn’t take long for the world of play to become fully alive, and along with fully alive, it became fully loud too! The librarian was next door and was gradually becoming more and more irritated at the noise. Eventually, she couldn’t take it any more. She marched into that room and disciplined the kids. “The noise level in this room is inappropriate! I want it quiet in here! Don’t you know where you are?!?”

She was looking for the obvious answer. She wanted to hear, “We’re in a library,” and obviously libraries are meant to be quiet places. But instead, a sweet 4th grade girl, poked her head around the refrigerator-box-turned-wardrobe and innocently replied, “We’re in Narnia.”

It was so matter of fact. We’re in Narnia! Of course, we’re going to act differently! Of course, we’re going to feel differently! Of course, we’re going to play differently! Narnia – this is a different world – a world of dreams, and myths, and joys, and transformation. And that world – Narnia - was breaking into their world – into a simple library. These kids were in a refrigerator box. But they were also in Narnia.

And as we study the Sermon on the Mount this semester, we have an opportunity to enter a world too. And we won’t be leaving this world to get there. In fact, we’ll be entering this world more deeply – more richly. We’ll sit at Jesus’ feet on that holy mountain, listening to him, and we’ll learn that God’s kingdom is continuously breaking into this world – right here! And we’ll live differently as a result. Some may begin to ask us, “Don’t you know where you are?!?” And from this church and those classrooms and those dorm halls and those streets surrounding this campus, we will peek around and joyfully proclaim with our very lives, “We’re in the Kingdom of God!”

And maybe that framework will help us enter this scripture passage tonight. As Jesus continues in this Sermon on the Mount, he shows us that he’s not talking about another world “out there somewhere,” but he’s talking about this reality. His feet are firmly planted on the ground; he’s living fully in this world – in this world where he teaches that a Kingdom reality is breaking forth, calling us to live differently.

He’s living fully in his context. And this may seem obvious, but it’s an important and wonderful thing to mention: Jesus was a particular human being. He lived in 1st century Palestine. He lived under the occupation of the Roman Empire. He was Jewish through and through. So when we hear him saying, “You have heard such and such, but I say to you. . .” Jesus isn’t being non-Jewish - as in “Well, the law says this but I am standing over-and-against the law telling you something else. . .” No, Jesus is being fully Jewish. He’s living and acting as a Rabbi. He is teaching what he believes to be the true spirit of the law, and he’s calling us to act in particular ways – again, calling us to enter this world more deeply by living according to God’s reign which is breaking into this world. That’s quite a call. That’s quite an opportunity.

And what sort of things does he have to say? Well they aren’t easy. But sometimes, the most difficult teachings are the most profound opportunities, aren’t they? Jesus teaches about anger. Jesus teaches about lust. Jesus teaches about marriage and divorce. And Jesus teaches about vows.

All of these are human experiences that were swirling about in Jesus’ day just as they’re swirling about in our day. As God made flesh – as a particular human being - Jesus had witnessed anger. I don’t think this passage is telling us that we should never be angry. Anger is very real human emotion, and at times, our scriptures tell us we should be angry; there is such a thing as righteous indignation when we witness or experience injustice. And Jesus felt anger too. It made him angry when he saw human suffering. He was angry when he overturned those tables in the temple, watching people abuse a house of worship for personal gain. Jesus felt anger just like we did. He was human like us.

But I imagine this passage shows us that Jesus had also observed others using anger differently. Maybe he had personally witnessed how anger can eat a person alive. It can also cut people down. When we’re angry to the point that we hold grudges – when we’re angry to the point that we wish horrible things for others, we often find ways to dehumanize them. We don’t recognize them for the children of God they are; and in our anger, we murder their spirits. That’s strong language, but it can happen in so many ways. We gossip. Oh wow, do we gossip! We say horrible things about people sometimes. And when we do that in our anger, in a certain sense, we’re kind of murdering in a way – we’re cutting people down in the eyes of others. And when those people hear about it, they feel often dehumanized. And maybe we’ve felt that way before too when we’ve been gossiped about. Perhaps we could say that reputations have been murdered.
And think about what ongoing, unhealthy anger does to us! When we wish bad things upon other people or when we hold grudges, we sometimes mull over it so much and get frustrated by it so much, that we destroy ourselves! We dehumanize ourselves with our own anger! Anger is a healthy and human emotion, but when it’s used for evil, it seems to destroy everyone involved. I’m sure that Jesus had witnessed this in his own context.

And there’s more. I imagine that Jesus had watched how people were objectified in his culture. And he had something to say about that: Adultery? You might let yourself off the hook if you haven’t gone that far. But where does adultery begin? And if even lust doesn’t lead to all-out adultery, how much do you harm another person by objectifying her for your own purposes? How do you harm a person by objectifying him for your own purposes? Our objectifying lusts can be so much like adultery. With our eyes, we begin to think we own people as property or our own possessions.

Jesus saw this happening to the women around him. It seems that he observed how lust can destroy the both the person being objectified and the person doing the objectifying. In both cases, people are not being treated as the children of God they are. One is being reduced to a sexual possession, and the other is hurting himself or hurting herself by living outside the call to love our neighbors for who they really are – people of infinite worth who cannot be reduced to sex objects. I’m sure that Jesus witnessed this in his own context.

And the same is true with marriage. Now want to approach the topic of divorce with care. Some of our parents are divorced. Mine are too. Sometimes divorce is a sad necessity, and I firmly believe that God’s grace continues with those who have experienced divorce and also with those who have remarried. It’s important to say that. And maybe it helps to continue to look at Jesus’ context. In 1st century Palestine, Jesus was watching how frivolously men were divorcing their wives. The Mosaic Law said that they could do this, but often men were doing it simply because they were displeased with their wives or simply tired of them. And in a patriarchal culture, women had little access to financial resources apart from their relationships to men - their husbands or their male family members. To send a wife away for any reason – simply because it was legal – was to send a woman out into the world with no financial protection. Her options were to remarry, to return to family (if they would have her), or to live as a prostitute. Just because something is legal doesn’t make it ethical. I’m sure Jesus witnessed this in his own context.

And finally, the same is true with vows. I’m sure Jesus witnessed the damage people can do when they make promises they can’t keep – or sometimes, promises they don’t intend to keep. And then, they invoke God’s name in the process. Jesus tells us to simply let our ‘yes be yes’ and our ‘no be no’ – to be someone who can be counted on. Don’t make promises that you can’t keep, and certainly don’t run God’s name through the muck in the process. You can’t even make your hairs white or black. Why do you make extravagant promises when you don’t know if you even have the power to keep them? Just because we make promises, doesn’t mean that you and I are consistent or trustworthy. I’m sure Jesus witnessed this in his own context.

So as we hear about Jesus’ context, it’s not hard to see how all of these teachings apply to us too. And as our own Teacher, how is Jesus calling us away from these realities into the deeper reality that is right here breaking into our world – a reality that doesn’t dehumanize people but showers them with love, a reality that sweeps them up into the very life of God? How is Jesus calling us away from objectification toward recognizing the infinite worth of others? How is Jesus teaching us to uphold the needs of others? How is Jesus calling us into this Kingdom?

Well as we’ve been saying tonight, the Kingdom is right here breaking into our world. And we can pray that God gives us eyes to see it. Jesus says something pretty difficult tonight in our passage: If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. Better to lose one part of yourself than to fully land in hell. Wow. When we hear that, we might start to picture flamey lakes of fire and brimstone. We might start to imagine devilish pitchforks. And maybe we feel afraid. Actually, what Jesus says is this: It is better to lose one of your members to be thrown into Gehenna. That’s the Greek word that’s used there.

Well what’s Gehenna? It’s an interesting word because Gehenna is the Valley of Hinnom – a real place, an earthly place. This valley was just on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It had a sordid history and a real foulness in Jesus’ time. During the time of the Israelite kings, Gehenna was a place where Israelites worshipped a foreign god named Molech by sacrificing their own children in the fires that were burned there. And because of this sordid history, Gehenna became the garbage heap of Jerusalem and everything unclean. It was a horrible place filled with all kinds of rot and decay – not only garbage but also the bodies of criminals and the carcasses of animals. Can you imagine that sight? Can you imagine the smell? This was a literal place - an earthly, visible reminder of everything that was unclean, rotting, and decaying. Gehenna was not a reality you wanted.

And so Jesus tells his disciples, when we don’t love – when we don’t value humanity – when we don’t treat others with respect as the claimed children of God, we are creating hell – not only for those we hurt but also for ourselves! So often, we create and participate in earthly forms of hell. We might as well be throwing ourselves right into the depths of Gehenna – that garbage heap on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

And so we have choices about the reality we choose to see. We have choices about the reality we live in. Like Narnia breaking into a school library, God’s Kingdom is breaking into this world – perhaps like scripture, we could call it the new, holy Jerusalem – and we can live into its fullness! Or. . . we can live our lives in Gehenna, a garbage heap.

And we often find ourselves living toward one reality or the other. I know that I do. My life is often sadly divided between Kingdom-living and Gehenna-living. I’m sure the same is true for you.

But here is some good news: When we find ourselves in that burning heap of trash-like living, we are not lost! We have been claimed. We are loved with a love that we can’t throw into the trash heap if we tried. There’s nothing we can do to un-do that love and that claim upon our lives! But the question is this: Will we open our eyes to it and let it affect us? Will we let it sweep up our reality in our daily lives? Let’s continue to practice saying yes – to practice living yes. We’ll keep doing that in response to this Sermon on the Mount. Amen.

Renee Roederer, Campus Minister

University Interfaith Council Progressive Dinner!

Hey everyone.

Just a reminder that we’re having a very special event tonight – and we are one of the hosts!!! The University Interfaith Council is an organization of particular faith groups on campus. Tonight the UIC is having a progressive dinner. That means we’re going to travel around to three different places to eat! The event is from 6:30pm-8. If you’re hoping to go to the torch rally tonight you can come to the first couple of locations and head to the rally afterwards.

We will meet at 6:15 at the church and walk over together. Or you can simply meet us at the first place:

We will begin at 6:30 at the Latter Day-Saints Institute. It’s down the street on San Antonio Street (same place where we're located!)

Then we will head over to UPC for the main course.

Finally, we’ll finish at Texas Hillel for dessert.

You don’t want to miss this! This will be a great opportunity to meet people from other faith traditions. And while we’re there, we’ll be talking about an incredible opportunity to form a student group – representatives from the various faith groups who would like to meet regularly to learn from one another and plan meaningful events for dialogue.

I invite you to take a look at the Facebook Group which was just created for that student group: University Interfaith Council at the University of Texas.

Have fun! Hope to see some of you here at 6:15!

Scripture For Sunday

Matthew 5:17-37:

‘Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfil. 18For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not one letter, not one stroke of a letter, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

‘You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgement; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, “You fool”, you will be liable to the hell of fire. So when you are offering your gift at the altar, if you remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift. Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are on the way to court with him, or your accuser may hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Truly I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.

‘You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away; it is better for you to lose one of your members than for your whole body to go into hell.

‘It was also said, “Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.” But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

‘Again, you have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, “You shall not swear falsely, but carry out the vows you have made to the Lord.” But I say to you, Do not swear at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. Let your word be “Yes, Yes” or “No, No”; anything more than this comes from the evil one.

Women's Fall Study

Austin Agape has many wonderful opportunities to study as a community at University Presbyterian Church! In addition to our Monday Night Bible Study, our associate pastor Judy Skaggs is going to lead a Women's Bible Study on Tuesday nights - beginning tonight! If you're interested in joining this study, please contact Judy at assoc@upcaustin.org.

Hope to see you soon!

Sermon: From This Place

Matthew 5:1-16

Tonight I would like to tell you the story of this book. It looks like any other book really. It has a plain tan and gray cover. It has 147 pages. It has a nice title (though you can’t see it from the front). But like some other books, this book has a characteristic that we don’t often think about when we read. This book is peopled.

Peopled: What does that mean? It means that this book wasn’t written in a vacuum. Behind all the pages, there is a community. Even though they might not be explicitly named, there are specific individuals in the author’s mind from cover to cover. This book is called Life Together, and it was written by a man named Dietrich Bonhoeffer in 1939. Dietrich Bonhoeffer – a very German sounding name. (Well yes, he was German). And when we read this book – and maybe some of you have -- it’s amazing how a community can create meaning and influence for others by simply living as the community it’s called to be. That’s the case with this book.

Some of you may have heard of Dietich Bonhoeffer before. He’s a very influential theologian in a lot of circles today, and he was an important figure in Germany when the Nazis came to power. He was a professor, a pastor, and a writer. And when Hitler came to power, Bonhoeffer publicly opposed his leadership from the beginning. That was only the first step though. He would eventually go down a road that he couldn’t have anticipated. His brother-in-law worked for the Abwehr, the German intelligence agency, and that intelligence agency knew a great deal of what Hitler was actually doing behind the scenes – including his forced exodus and slaughter of the Jewish people. The Abwehr responded. The agency began forming a plot to overthrow Hitler, and this plot involved an assassination attempt. Diectich Bonhoeffer’s brother-in-law asked him to get involved – to use his connections with ecumenical churches around the world, particularly in England, to see if his clergy contacts could approach their governments and ask them to help in the Abwehr plot.

Eventually, Bonhoeffer and his brother-in-law were arrested when it was discovered that they were helping Jews escape to Switzerland, and while they were in prison, the plots of the Abwehr were discovered. Three different assassination attempts had failed. Bonhoeffer was sent to a concentration camp and hanged in April 1945. He was only 39 years old.

But he left behind some important works, and his theology has been incredibly influential. And part of that theology lies within this very popular book. So let’s set the scene for Life Together.

Hitler came to power on January 30th, 1933. Two days later – on the day Hitler was installed as Chancellor - Bonhoeffer delivered a radio address against Hitler’s leadership and against the ways that people were granting so much power to him. Bonhoeffer believed that Hitler was setting himself up as an idol to be worshipped and that the people were giving him that power. It’s probably no surprise to us that his radio address was cut off mid-sentence. In July – six months later - tensions began to develop in the national church. At that time, there was only one Protestant church in Germany. But that church quickly began to align itself with the German Christian movement, a strong anti-Semitic theology that looked to Hitler to be the supreme leader of the nation and the church. Bonhoeffer and others believed this to be heretical and profoundly destructive. So the Confessing Church was born – an illegal church that broke away from the national church, a church that taught quite the opposite of what the German Christian Church was teaching. The ministers and leaders of the Confessing Church were putting themselves in danger on a regular basis.

And so, a number of them did just that in a little German town called Finkenwalde. Bonhoeffer was called to move there and to set up an illegal seminary in the town. Ministers came from across the country to study there but in an underground sort of way. Can you imagine studying like that? What if your studies became illegal? They knew that they would stay at the seminary to learn, grow, and become equipped to do a difficult job – to serve the church in a time of crisis, to serve at a time when they knew that they wouldn’t be paid (German ministers were paid by the state), and to serve at a time when they knew they could be drafted, arrested, or murdered at any time. But they did it anyway because they knew they were called to live as a community in faith toward God and one another. They believed that they were called to preserve a way of Christian life when it was becoming increasingly difficult to live as a Christian. This is the community behind this book – Life Together. That illegal seminary gave us a theology and practice of prayer and a concrete way to live in Christian community. This book is peopled. It was actually lived. It was practiced and written down, and preserved for us and others.

And thousands of years before it, another community was forming, and even though these communities were distanced in time, we could definitely say that they were connected. “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.”

Let’s try to imagine the scene for a moment. Jesus -teacher, healer, one who called the Son of God – is gaining not only a reputation but a following. Large crowds are following behind him. It’s like Jesus is leading a procession of people who are hoping to change their lives – who are hoping to step into a reality that is deeper than the mundane, a reality of God’s Kingdom here on this earth. They’re following the one who is leading them into this new reality – a new reality that isn’t simply “out there somewhere” like a giant carrot on a stick in front of them. No, this new reality is right here, breaking forth into this world, into this mundane life. This is a procession I imagine that many would want to find themselves caught up in. I bet it’s one we want to find ourselves caught up in as well.

Jesus steps up that mountain. All eyes are on him. He sits – the stance of a teacher. And then, his disciples climb. They join him on that mountain. And in the midst of the crowd that is listening, we really have two crowds. Picture that. There are those at the foot of the mountain listening – perhaps that mountain served as an amphitheatre of sorts – and then there are those at his feet, his disciples, those who have joined this procession. And Jesus seems to put this community of procession-followers on display.

Jesus turns everything upside down on a mountain. The Kingdom of heaven belongs to those who are poor in spirit – those who know that they depend on God for everything. Comfort belongs to those who mourn – those who grieve for the wrongs and pains of this world, those who hope for the new reality to bring a lasting comfort right in front of their eyes. The earth will be inherited by the meek – those who have strength in gentleness and self-control. A fullness beyond our imagination belongs to those who hunger and thirst for righteousness – those who chase after it with their very lives. We could go on and on. . .Mercy will be given to the merciful . .God’s face will be shown to the pure in heart. . .God’s adoption will belong to those who work for peace. . .And the Kingdom of Heaven will always belong to those who are persecuted for righteousness – those who are maligned unjustly. Even in the midst of injustice, God stands tall in the presence of those who suffer. God will call and equip disciples to live in Christian community – to serve the suffering - even when a Christian life seems to be difficult. Jesus turns everything upside down on that mountain.

And he puts his community of procession-followers on display. Here he is speaking to his disciples in front of that large crowd at the foot of that mountain. Here he is calling them blessed – though they are simple people. As procession-followers, God chooses to usher in that new reality in and through them. Though they are but poor in spirit, the Kingdom of Heaven is realized in and through them. Astounding.

And Jesus has some other ways to bless them and call them to action. And we need to hear them too. He says, “You are the salt of the earth.” That may sound like a simple metaphor to our ears, but it’s a profound statement of confidence from Jesus and it’s a vital call as well. Salt preserves. It’s hard for us to imagine this with our modern refrigerators, freezers, and ice makers, but for the majority of history – until the 20th century – there was no way for people to freeze their food – particularly their meat. Instead, they used salt to preserve it. Jesus is putting his procession-followers on display, telling them that they are called to preserve truth, love, justice, and goodness in this world; they’re called to act upon them in a world that is so easily prone to decay at times.

And salt also gives flavor. These followers aren’t called to abandon this world in their procession. Instead, they are called to delve into it more deeply and richly. They are to bring flavor to this all-too-easy-decaying world. I like how Eugene Peterson translates this passage in The Message, “You’re here to be the salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors in this earth.”

And salt also brings thirst. These disciples – these procession-followers – are called to live in such a way that they invite others to thirst for God. Their lives are called to point to the One who created them to fully live and live abundantly.

And Jesus continues to give such confidence and blessing to these disciples at his feet. He addresses them, “You are the light of the world.” Here they are, these rag-tag disciples, sitting on a hill – on display before others on a mountain. Jesus calls them the light of the world! Think about that! He seems to be saying that from here, from a simple mountain, these rag-tag followers who have made their way into a procession of the kingdom, will change the world! It all seems to start from here, from this place on a mountain.

And community after community after community has begun. And community after community after community has sat at Jesus’ feet. And community after community after community as followed, joining the procession. Community after community after community will continue to live toward that Kingdom – that realization of what is most true, lovely, just, and life-giving. And it has all been done in and through Jesus Christ, who embodies in the flesh what is most true, lovely, just, and life-giving.

And so, where are we in that? We’re also a community that is joining that procession. We’re also rag-tag disciples who fall and make mistakes and yet who are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be salt and light in this world. What does that look like? How can you simply live as the ones you are created to be – the ones we’re created to be together? The University of Texas has that saying – I’m sure some of you have heard it: What starts here changes the world.

Maybe it’s a pithy saying, but have you ever wondered if that’s what’s happening right here at Austin Agape – right here at University Presbyterian Church? How is this place like that old mountain? How do we sit at Jesus’ feet right now – even tonight? How is it that God looks at you and names you “Salt of the earth” and “light of the world” tonight? How is it? Do you sense that? Is that true for us right now: What starts here changes the world? I believe it’s true in ways that we can’t even imagine, and I bet that you believe it too.

Life Together – a simple book – began in the life of a community. That book is peopled. It was written in a time of adversity. But beyond that time – this book about prayer, song, and Christian living – has sold more copies than we can count. That community made a mark on the world as it sat at Jesus’ feet together.

I wonder, if our community became a book, what would it look like? If we left a testimony to the others what would it be? Twenty years from now or a hundred years from now, how will our message be peopled?

For the rest of the semester, we will continue to discover bits and pieces of that as we study the Sermon on the Mount.

Let’s sit on that mountain.
Let’s sit at Jesus’ feet.
Let’s discover who we are and Whose we are and Where we are called.
Amen.