This morning Jesus, along with the twelve men who made up Jesus inner circle ...climb down from the mountain to the plain below ... they come down to the awaiting crowd of disciples. A sea of women and children ... and other men. They come for various reasons. Mainly the text says they come to touch him and be freed of troubling unclean spirits. They know that he has a power that can not be found elsewhere. They come seeking life through listening to and following Jesus. And today we hear him say;

"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."

It's short as sermons go, but a lot is said by Jesus that's key for us who are disciples. How might we find a life of blessing through following Jesus? That is the central question in Jesus sermon, "How to live lives of blessing, rather than lives of woe."

We don't talking about blessing much these days. Oh yes, we do have a hold over from days gone by; its when you sneeze "God bless you ..." Someone said once that people said that because they feared when you sneezed that your soul left your body for a second and the blessing was help so that you did not lose it. It is ironic that in these days we don't talk much about blessings.

In the OT blessings were a big thing. The Father would pass on the special blessing to the oldest son. When someone travelled people would say a blessing. As a child passed into adulthood there would be a special blessing for the child. It was a culture that knew what blessing was about. When was the last time someone placed hands on your head or shoulders and gave you a blessing? I suspect for many it might have been when you we baptized. For many that may have been when we were a baby. My intuition says that even though we are unsure of what this blessing is about ... we want it. This is why I encourage us to bless people when God calls them to leave Shiloh. It is Bibilical, it is good, and to bless, and be blessed is how we understand our lives as followers of Jesus.

Blessings are important. I remember being at a prayer meeting and I mentioned I was facing a difficult situation in my life. One of the vineyard pastors said, "We'll pray a blessing on you, if you want." I didn't know what they meant by "Pray a blessing.", but it sounded harmless.

And for the next 10 minutes they prayed and laid hands on my head and asked God to bless me. Not in a quiet United Church way, but with strong confident voices, they called upon God to protect and bless me. It was really weird and strange ... and wonderful. I left knowing that I had received a blessing. But more than that, I had learned that amid what life throws at us God is there blessing us, these other pastors blessing reminded me of that fact.

It is a humbling experience to have to call upon God and call upon Christian friends in difficult times. To allow others to ask God to bless you, it to be, well, real vulnerable. We human beings don't like being vulnerable to others. We know why, of course. It is because many of us have been hurt deeply. Had shame heaped upon us. Or know the soul scarring feeling of betrayal. We learn early in childhood, that in this world there is a "pecking order", a "food chain". Survival of the so called fittest, as Darwin called it. And yet, the one whom we call Lord, it not playing that game. In fact, today, this whole world is reversed.

Did you hear that in the text. Jesus is not on the mountain preaching down to the disciples ... he's not even preaching to them as an equal. He's preaching up to them! The Lord of the Universe ... the Son of Man ... the Son of God .... is preaching from below.

This is why it feels strange for me to be preaching down to you from this pulpit. It can be a place of power and authority, not weakness and vulnerability. The power of the pulpit can often be a dangerous temptation, especialy for men.

You see we men get socialized quite early to avoid being seen as weak. There are penalties if your not strong ... baby ... wimp ... or other names tell us me that we had better be strong and in charge lest we become a "whipping boy". Its gotten a little better over the years but those of you with boys know bullying happens. But it is more than this. Not only do we men get socialized into avoiding being at the bottom of the pecking order; Let's be honest, we get taught to think that men are really the most important. Just look at the movies! Who is hero often ... the man. And the women are there to cheerlead or to save or to tell him he is wonderful. We live in a culture that still says men are central and women secondary.

You see this especially in troubled relationships. It is most clear where there is violence in relationship. Someone once asked me about men who beat up their wives, "Jim, these men do this because they are insecure, right?" No, they do it because they think they are central and superior. They think they should get their way because they are more important They deserve to be treated as the most important. Remember these words, "central", "superior" and "deserving" They spell harm for those around men who think this way. Yes I know, not only men are caught up in this kind of thinking but it does seem to be a woe we men struggle with and we do pay for it in so many ways; much more mental health problems, shorter lives, poorer relationships with kids, and almost no friends. Did you know that most men don't have friends? We have buddies ... if most of us are asked to name a close friend we name someone from long past. Others pay, but we men also pay with this "being at the top thinking". And yet, this man Jesus today preaches a "role reversal".

You see, all throughout Jesus life, this continual movement in the wrong direction. Instead of seeking out the so called good people, he goes to the rotten people. The sinners. Instead of seeking out the healthy people, he looks for the sick people. Instead of looking for those who supposedly know all about God, he goes to those who appear to know the least. Instead of entering Jerusalem on a war horse with shouts of revolution against the enemy, he comes on a young donkey calling the people to fight evil with love. And ultimately, instead of destroying his enemies, he dies on a cross for them. The God we see reflected in Jesus is all upside down.

Maybe that is what Jesus is trying to tell us. Maybe the God of life that we look for is not mostly found among the places that make sense to us. Not in the places of power. Not away on a mountain or even in some fancy church building or among the theologians or with the clergy and their special clothes proper prayers. These may not be the best places to see where God is at work in the world but rather look amid those who are vulnerable. Amid those who are struggling to find life, the poor, the hungry, the grieving, the outcast, the stranger, the sinner. And of course the lonely. Hooke and some others were talking about the need to provide Christian community to foreign students at SFU and at Douglas College. They certainly need such a blessing.

And this morning, we discover that this blessing is found in the most paradoxical way. Not in seeking blessing, but in seeking to give it. Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it."

Scriptures
Luke 6:17-26

Hymns
VU #226 For the beauty of the earth
VU #896 Blest Are They
VU #263 A mighty fortress is our God

Call to Worship
Come apart from the world.
Enter into this company of saints.
Join with us, together as we praise the living God.

Confession
We gather again in your presence, seeking to be blessed. We know that you are a God of Blessing because of the witness of Israel, and through the witness of the Church to the life of Jesus Christ. You have a plan for your world, and in your time, you will restore this fallen Creation. Not on the worlds terms through violence, destruction and war, but through your Crucified power. Indeed, through the cross you have already redeemed the world, and been victorious over the forces of death and destruction.

And yet, we are not as patient as you are. We are tempted to despair when we seek holocausts, ethnic cleansing, and terrorism. We are tempted to choose the world's ways and wipe out those whom we fear. You know full well, the vulnerability of humanity, in body, mind and spirit. We are easily broken, and quick to break the lives of those we fear. Free us from this web of oppression and set of free that we might share in your holy mission of blessing the world. O Risen Christ, come quickly and complete the restoration of the world you love. AMEN.

Assurance
The Good News about our hope in Christ, is that it is not an empty hope. Our cross hangs empty not because God has failed, but rather that God was victorious in Jesus Christ. Our hope faded, and he became hope for us, rising on the third day. And so too, we are caught up as witnesses and participants in this hope. Naming the places where God's power is at work in our broken world, and seeking to be agents of God's mission of blessing in the world.

Offering
We offer these gifts as a sign of our willingness to risk being agents of holy mission. We trust that you can use our lives for purposes far greater than we could ever imagine. In Jesus name, AMEN.