February 12, 2017

SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER THE EPIPHANY

The Rev. J.D. McQueen, II - All Saints’ Episcopal Church, San Diego, CA

Any time we go out into the world we have to make decisions about how to interact with the people around us.

It’s natural that we would interact with different people in different ways

- Stranger, acquaintance/coworker, neighbor, friend/family, best friend/spouse/child

- Have higher expectations based on degree of intimacy

Essentially what we’re doing is determining the level of sacrifice we’re willing to make to enter someone’s life.

- Of course some of this is just prudence

o If we don’t know someone, there’s only so much of an impact that we can have based on how much access they give us.

o Sometimes it’s just not our place or within our jurisdiction, like in the case of someone else’s children.

- Some of it is based on our limitations

o Can’t right every wrong, don’t have resources; time, energy, knowledge/discernment

o May not be close enough to see what needs to be changed, addressed, strengthened, etc.

But when it comes to the people closest to us, we tend to feel a natural obligation to help them and love them.

What Jesus is revealing in his sermon on the mount is that their relationship with God is changing.

- No longer just about what we do; like being a good coworker, neighbor, or even friend

- Deeds as just the outward expression of who we are

- Going to enter their lives in a deeper way, giving us the power to become all that we were created to be

Going from the promise of blessings to the promise of God himself, and his own divine life