Homily: Quinquagesima Sunday (2007)

Matthew 5:1-12

1. When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
2. He began to teach them, saying:
3. "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
6. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
7. for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
9. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me.
12. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

How many of you have been to Disney World? In the “Honey I Think I Shrunk The Kids” pavilion there’s an upside down waterfall. The teachings of Christ are a lot like that. They’re upside down by comparison to our worldly standards.

Jesus could be looked at as the Sage, or Teacher of Wisdom. The wisdom of Jesus is so very radically different from the wisdom of our world.

What is a “Sage”? Quite simply, a Sage is a very wise person, one to whom others go for guidance and direction. Often they were teachers, sometimes simply people whom others would go to for advice and counsel when facing difficult decisions.

Books such as Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and even Song of Songs are known to us as “Wisdom Literature,” and are typical examples of the kind of teaching that would come from a Sage.

Franklin Graham tells the following story:

Sami Dagher had been a maitre’d at the world famous Phoenicia Hotel in Beirut before Lebanon’s terrible civil war. Just before the war broke out he left the hotel to plant a small church in one of the poorest areas of the city. When he approached the hotel manager to inform him that he was resigning, the following dialog occurred:

"God has called me to preach," Sami told the manager. "I’m leaving the hotel."

"Leaving? You’re a fool! You’re crazy! A man in your position making good money, and you quit?"

"I leave for something more important than money. I’m going to preach the name of Jesus Christ."

"You’re going to give up this good position to preach for some god? You must be crazy. No! I’ll tell you the right thing to do. You stay here and make money, Sami. I need you."

"No, I can’t stay any longer. I’ve prayed and this is what I must do."

Then the hotel manager grew angry and shouted, "I curse you! One day, Sami Dagher, you will come to the threshold of my door, and you will beg for a crust of bread, and I won’t give it to you. I will let you starve! Do you hear my words? Not a crust!"

Quite sometime later, during some of the heaviest fighting since World War II, Sami heard a knock at his door. It was late at night, so Sami told his wife and children to stay in bed. He answered the door himself. When he opened the door, the hotel manager stood before him.

"I couldn’t sleep," the man said. "I wanted to see how you are doing and talk."

Sami made coffee and they discussed the old days they enjoyed at the Phoenicia. Sami sensed the man had come for another reason, but the man wouldn’t say. Finally Sami said, "My friend, it is late. Why have you come to me?"

"Oh, nothing, Sami. I just wanted to talk of old times."

The man walked to the door and opened it. As he stood in the doorway with his head hung low, he turned to Sami and said, "I have no food. I have not eaten for two days. Do you have anything you could spare?"