Year A, Ordinary 4, 2020 – Blessed are You
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Hi, everyone! Welcome back! We’re heading into the last month of Ordinary Time before Lent begins in March. The Lectionary will have us looking at the Sermon on the Mount for the next three weeks. We start this week with the Beatitudes. Also included in this week’s readings is Paul’s proclamation that God’s wisdom and strength don’t look like what we expect. The Psalm and Micah have some expectations for how worshipers are to come before the Lord and live their lives.
Check out our episode from three years ago! David had a lot of fun with our theme and flip-flops featured prominently! We located Shittim and Gilgal on a map and in history for the Micah passage. We suggested using the Vitruvian man and the Butterfly Effect for Corinthians, and we mapped the power of the world in relation to the Power of God in Matthew.
Matthew 5:1-12 – [01:59]
It’s the Beatitudes! “Happy” or “Blessed” or “to be envied” – hmm. We have commentary for WORD smart that suggests Jesus’ sermon was a beacon of hope for those whose daily living was a struggle. For EYE smart, take a walk around your neighborhood in your imagination and see the people Jesus would call blessed. Later in this sermon, Jesus will offer a new interpretation of law; he is setting it up here in these verses. For MATH smart, we have an article about how to interpret statutes. In BODY smart, think of the ways we attempt to keep our biological hearts clean; how much effort do we put into keeping our spiritual hearts healthy? We have a brief illustration for NATURE smart and while we did not use MUSIC smart in the show, we have a link to a hymn below.
- WORD smart – [03:02]
- commentary by Scott Hoezee, Center for Excellence in Preaching
- EYE smart – [5:50]
- MATH smart -[06:41]
- commentary by Kat Banakis, The Christian Century
- Georgetown University Law Center has some basic guidelines for reading, interpreting, and applying statutes
- BODY smart – [9:10]
- NATURE smart – [11:00]
- MUSIC smart – not used in the podcast
- Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette
1 Corinthians 1:18-31 – [11:40]
We start out with WORD smart with a famous first line in literature illustrating how Paul wants the Corinthians to “know” Jesus through his words. Paul insists that God through Jesus turned the world upside down, so we suggest an EYE smart illustration with Stranger Things. Is Paul using irony or paradox? We discuss this in MATH smart. For BODY smart, we think about stumbling blocks and stubbing your toe. The initial shock is sudden, but then waves of sensation flood over you – much like God’s foolish use of the cross! We have a rare special effect for MUSIC smart! Have fun with this one! This new world of God will require some transformations; much like the transformation of deep sea creatures we link to in NATURE smart.
- WORD smart – [12:49]
- EYE smart – [14:48]
- MATH smart – [16:21]
- Here’s a link to an article describing the difference between the irony and paradox.
- Here’s another.
- BODY smart – [18:27]
- You have nerves on your extremities called “nociceptors” that send waves of signals to your brain.
- MUSIC smart – [20:16]
- NATURE smart – [21:08]
- life in the deep waters in the ocean
- PEOPLE and SELF smart – not used in the podcast
- commentary by Mary Hinkle Shore, Working Preacher
- commentary by Scott Hoezee, Center for Excellence in Preaching
Psalm 15 – [21:58]
We illustrate some engineering principles and practices for MATH smart! Are you up to making a dock? Give it a try! We found a lot of MUSIC smart illustrations and have a suggestion for using popular music genres. The Psalmist paints a negative picture of gossip, but did we evolve language in order to talk about each other? We have an interesting link in PEOPLE smart.
- MATH smart – [23:00]
- Here is an article about three methods of installing pilings for a dock.
- stress vs. strain diagrams for different kinds of materials
- MUSIC smart – [27:18]
- That’s How We Walk, Richard Bruxvoort Colligan
- I’m Gonna Live So (God Can Use Me)
- Lord, Who Are They That May Dwell, James Seddon
- Lord, Who Shall Dwell, Psalm chant, King’s College Choir, Cambridge
- And an acoustic version
- PEOPLE smart – [28:31]
- Evolutionary psychologists suggest gossip “is a form of social grooming”
Micah 6:1-8 – [30:31]
We begin with BODY smart; invite people to demonstrate in their own bodies what “walking humbly” might look and feel like? Discuss the emotions surrounding this, and contrast it with the way they normally walk. How does walking humbly with God make a difference? We have the same worship song from three years ago, but have added other songs for MUSIC smart. For PEOPLE smart, we have an essay and a sermon that show how learned kindness can change someone’s life. In SELF smart, how often do we think of our offering as sacrificial? Can we make that big a step? Consider those grand gestures in contrast with what God requires of us. Which is more difficult?
- BODY smart – [32:13]
- MUSIC smart – [33:37]
- What Does the Lord Require of You? Jim Strathdee
- Every Step of the Way, Christopher Grundy
- Let Justice Roll Like a River, Marty Haugen
- Sizohamba Naye (We Will Walk with God)
- PEOPLE smart – [35:09]
- a sermon by Paul Nuechterlein
- SELF smart – [39:00]
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