1 00:00:01,090 --> 00:00:04,500 Hey friends, welcome back to another episode of the podcast. 2 00:00:04,510 --> 00:00:08,700 We're grateful to have you with us and we're excited to be into 3 00:00:08,710 --> 00:00:12,360 the sermon on the Plane, which I've always found just to have a 4 00:00:12,370 --> 00:00:14,920 little bit less of an exciting name than Sermon on the. 5 00:00:14,930 --> 00:00:19,920 Mount little less gravitas. Feels that way, but in some ways 6 00:00:19,930 --> 00:00:24,650 like Luke is doing some really, really specific theological 7 00:00:24,890 --> 00:00:29,020 intentional moves here with how he lays out this teaching. 8 00:00:29,690 --> 00:00:33,150 And at some point, probably not today, but in one of these 9 00:00:33,160 --> 00:00:37,110 podcasts or maybe an extra podcast, we will talk about 10 00:00:37,180 --> 00:00:40,450 whether these two sermons are even the same like as Matthew 11 00:00:40,460 --> 00:00:43,340 and Luke. Are they are they recounting for 12 00:00:43,350 --> 00:00:46,280 us the exact same moment? Are these collections of Jesus 13 00:00:46,290 --> 00:00:49,690 teachings that both have incorporated into one event? 14 00:00:49,780 --> 00:00:52,510 Are they teachings that were common to Jesus? 15 00:00:52,560 --> 00:00:55,590 Sort of catalog of teachings that he gave many different 16 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,940 places in similar fashion? Like how do you understand plain 17 00:01:00,950 --> 00:01:03,220 flat place versus mount, all of that? 18 00:01:03,230 --> 00:01:06,220 Those are all great. Questions a plane on amount 19 00:01:06,230 --> 00:01:09,110 exactly. Like those are all great 20 00:01:09,120 --> 00:01:11,580 questions that we're not going to get to today, so sorry to 21 00:01:11,590 --> 00:01:15,560 just throw those all out there. Talk later, come back for 22 00:01:15,570 --> 00:01:16,480 another episode. What? 23 00:01:16,490 --> 00:01:21,100 What we are going to get to today is, is Luke's iteration of 24 00:01:21,110 --> 00:01:25,900 the Beatitudes and Jesus is teaching on the good life, 25 00:01:25,950 --> 00:01:29,340 Kingdom, Kingdom life, life inside the Kingdom. 26 00:01:29,690 --> 00:01:33,580 And we've got questions from our community Bible study which 27 00:01:33,590 --> 00:01:35,980 launched this past week on Wednesday. 28 00:01:36,050 --> 00:01:38,690 We've got questions that you know, you and I have been 29 00:01:38,700 --> 00:01:41,720 thinking through and some questions from Sunday. 30 00:01:41,730 --> 00:01:44,000 So there's lots of questions, might be more rapid fire. 31 00:01:44,060 --> 00:01:46,960 Yes, yeah, we'll try to be keep them brief so that we can touch 32 00:01:46,970 --> 00:01:49,420 on a bunch of them. But yeah, I mean, this is a hard 33 00:01:49,430 --> 00:01:52,700 passage. Like it, it is difficult. 34 00:01:52,790 --> 00:01:55,800 And I and I actually left Sunday morning. 35 00:01:55,870 --> 00:01:59,870 It was it was Mother's Day and so I had to run and just do a 36 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:04,120 bunch of stuff for for our moms between my mom and my wife's 37 00:02:04,130 --> 00:02:06,580 mom. So it was like busy. 38 00:02:06,590 --> 00:02:11,560 But as I, as I was leaving the church service, I, I felt like a 39 00:02:11,570 --> 00:02:20,130 weightiness to this passage as it relates to how we as modern 40 00:02:20,220 --> 00:02:26,570 Western generally wealthy people live. 41 00:02:26,650 --> 00:02:31,110 And and that, yeah, that's been sitting with me even this 42 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:32,580 morning. Hmm. 43 00:02:33,260 --> 00:02:35,810 But there's other, there's other parts of the passages as well 44 00:02:35,820 --> 00:02:38,890 that I think are worth, that are not relating to necessarily 45 00:02:39,460 --> 00:02:42,720 wealth possessions that are, that are worth exploring. 46 00:02:42,730 --> 00:02:46,610 And we're going to get to that. But maybe the the first question 47 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:51,640 is as it relates to being very rich or very poor. 48 00:02:52,340 --> 00:02:56,330 So Jesus highlights, you know, he says blessed are you who are 49 00:02:56,340 --> 00:02:58,340 poor for yours is the Kingdom of God. 50 00:02:58,430 --> 00:03:01,430 Blessed are you who hunger now for you'll be satisfied. 51 00:03:01,490 --> 00:03:06,520 So those two are very tangible and then they kind of the turn 52 00:03:06,530 --> 00:03:09,710 around for the woes. Woe to you who are rich for you 53 00:03:09,720 --> 00:03:11,140 have already received your comfort. 54 00:03:11,210 --> 00:03:14,500 Woe to you who are well fed now for you will go hungry. 55 00:03:14,570 --> 00:03:21,990 So there's a clear, a clear kind of have and have not kind of 56 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:25,800 situation going on here. And the question, I think this 57 00:03:25,810 --> 00:03:30,200 was a question relating from community Bible study from last 58 00:03:30,210 --> 00:03:32,790 Wednesday nights. And it's like, OK, let's talk 59 00:03:32,800 --> 00:03:37,430 about middle ground here. These are fairly extreme 60 00:03:37,440 --> 00:03:40,310 positions. And at least the, the, you know, 61 00:03:40,520 --> 00:03:44,190 Jesus calling a blessed, a person blessed because they are 62 00:03:44,200 --> 00:03:45,810 poor and because they are hungry. 63 00:03:48,170 --> 00:03:51,030 It's it's challenging to like to sit with that and grapple with 64 00:03:51,040 --> 00:03:54,260 that and be like, OK, is there, is there a happy medium here? 65 00:03:54,310 --> 00:03:57,830 And, and even the question feels a little silly in some ways, 66 00:03:57,840 --> 00:04:01,020 because I'm like, Jesus isn't always about happy mediums, 67 00:04:01,470 --> 00:04:04,340 right? So so, but just like for as 68 00:04:04,350 --> 00:04:07,060 fodder for discussion. Is there a happy medium here? 69 00:04:07,110 --> 00:04:09,480 Yeah, I, I mean, I think this is a great question. 70 00:04:09,490 --> 00:04:13,020 I agree with you. It, it feels a little bit like, 71 00:04:14,050 --> 00:04:18,640 yeah, silly maybe. Like you already almost know, 72 00:04:18,649 --> 00:04:22,330 even as you're asking it, you're like, like, why are we even 73 00:04:22,340 --> 00:04:24,090 here? But like, I do think there's, 74 00:04:24,140 --> 00:04:26,700 there's like a functional reality, yeah. 75 00:04:26,740 --> 00:04:34,890 To living in Canada in 2025 that, you know, there's a 76 00:04:34,900 --> 00:04:40,090 responsibility, I think like you and I are part of families with, 77 00:04:40,160 --> 00:04:44,560 with kids. And so there's a weightiness to 78 00:04:44,570 --> 00:04:47,870 being a parent and wanting to put a roof over your kids head. 79 00:04:47,880 --> 00:04:49,970 And you know, like there's, there are financial 80 00:04:49,980 --> 00:04:53,250 responsibilities and requirements to living like I 81 00:04:53,260 --> 00:05:01,610 said in Canada in 2025 that are just make it difficult to enter 82 00:05:01,620 --> 00:05:08,170 into this kind of passage, right. 3 I think that I wonder. 83 00:05:08,280 --> 00:05:17,320 I wonder if we wrestled that tension out right, like the the 84 00:05:18,250 --> 00:05:21,600 IT less so. Like is there a happy medium or 85 00:05:21,610 --> 00:05:24,540 middle ground? Because I think as soon as we, 86 00:05:24,610 --> 00:05:28,160 at least I speak for myself, as soon as I want to look for the 87 00:05:28,170 --> 00:05:31,940 happy medium, I know I'm gonna air in the wrong direction. 88 00:05:32,010 --> 00:05:35,860 Yes. Like, you know, if financially 89 00:05:35,870 --> 00:05:42,540 it's just I happy, what is happy medium for me is exceptionally 90 00:05:42,550 --> 00:05:49,140 more wealthy than, you know, vast numbers of people on this 91 00:05:49,150 --> 00:05:52,240 planet. And that's a hard reality to sit 92 00:05:52,250 --> 00:05:56,220 with while also feeling like the price of groceries are going up 93 00:05:56,270 --> 00:06:00,640 and the cost of living like of rent or mortgage is increasing 94 00:06:00,650 --> 00:06:06,160 and people's ability to get into a house is, is becoming, you 95 00:06:06,170 --> 00:06:07,940 know, less. It's harder to do that. 96 00:06:07,950 --> 00:06:16,040 So we live in this tension of, um, life costs a certain amount 97 00:06:16,090 --> 00:06:20,760 to live where we live and add to that risk the weight of 98 00:06:20,770 --> 00:06:27,230 responsibility together, you know, if, if you have a family 99 00:06:27,240 --> 00:06:30,410 or if you're caring for someone, if you're taking care of a 100 00:06:30,420 --> 00:06:34,010 parent, Yeah, like all of that adds financial weight and 101 00:06:34,020 --> 00:06:38,430 responsibility. So we're not saying sell 102 00:06:38,440 --> 00:06:41,870 everything and move to the desert. 103 00:06:41,920 --> 00:06:45,070 Like we're not, that's not, I don't think that's the logical 104 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,270 sort of implication or that's not, I don't think even what 105 00:06:48,280 --> 00:06:51,780 Jesus is advocating for here. Some of the language that I've 106 00:06:51,790 --> 00:06:56,240 tried to, and I didn't use this in the sermon specifically, but 107 00:06:56,250 --> 00:07:01,100 in our community Bible study teaching team prep, I said like 108 00:07:01,110 --> 00:07:06,570 in no uncertain terms, I want people wrestling with the 109 00:07:06,580 --> 00:07:10,350 question, should I take that second vacation? 110 00:07:11,700 --> 00:07:18,960 Do I need that second car? Like how much are we gonna spend 111 00:07:19,210 --> 00:07:24,880 on luxury or leisure? Yep, I want people asking those 112 00:07:24,890 --> 00:07:30,610 difficult questions because I think that's the place where, 113 00:07:30,620 --> 00:07:34,380 you know, I, I did say this in, in, in the sermon that like if 114 00:07:34,390 --> 00:07:37,310 you have two vehicles in your driveway, if you can, if you can 115 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,500 wake up in the morning and choose one vehicle over another, 116 00:07:41,560 --> 00:07:46,770 or if you can choose to have one vehicle or two vehicles. 117 00:07:46,920 --> 00:07:50,410 So like we have one vehicle, but it's a choice, but that's a 118 00:07:50,420 --> 00:07:51,790 conscious. Choice that we've made. 119 00:07:52,180 --> 00:07:57,230 To have one vehicle, not, not, it's not because we like, like, 120 00:07:57,500 --> 00:07:59,950 how do you like that's, that's not, it's not good for us. 121 00:07:59,960 --> 00:08:01,640 We have one vehicle. It's a choice. 122 00:08:01,650 --> 00:08:06,210 We've made that choice. If you've made that choice like 123 00:08:06,220 --> 00:08:08,280 that just puts you in a different economic bracket. 124 00:08:08,290 --> 00:08:11,580 And and I want people wrestling those choices at what is 125 00:08:11,590 --> 00:08:15,440 financial need, What is financial want? 126 00:08:15,570 --> 00:08:21,620 What is what is what is a needed expense and what is a desired 127 00:08:21,630 --> 00:08:24,960 expense because I like, I stink at this. 128 00:08:25,010 --> 00:08:28,500 Yeah, right. And even in my language, I need 129 00:08:28,510 --> 00:08:31,420 to be challenged by this one. What is what is an A legitimate 130 00:08:31,430 --> 00:08:37,179 need and what is a desire? What would be nice but is not 131 00:08:37,190 --> 00:08:40,520 necessarily needed and then what's just straight up I want 132 00:08:40,530 --> 00:08:44,200 this because it's nice or cool or new Oregon, etcetera. 133 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:47,020 We are, we are wrestling with this huge. 134 00:08:47,030 --> 00:08:49,420 And so I think it's, I think it's good. 135 00:08:49,470 --> 00:08:52,020 It feels vulnerable a little bit to share like personal examples, 136 00:08:52,210 --> 00:08:55,820 but I think it's actually what we ought to do because otherwise 137 00:08:55,830 --> 00:08:59,040 we like, we can sort of tend toward, as you talked about, 138 00:08:59,050 --> 00:09:03,620 kind of over spiritualizing this and, and almost like using that 139 00:09:03,630 --> 00:09:07,680 as a way to sort of placate our own, like our own stuff, right. 140 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:12,360 So like, I wanna like maybe unpack the, a way that, that my 141 00:09:12,370 --> 00:09:16,070 wife and I are, are working this through right now is that we 142 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:18,790 have a home. We've been there 11 years. 143 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:23,730 It's it's not a big home, but for the three of us and our cat, 144 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:28,930 it, it suits our, our needs and many, many ways and less so in 145 00:09:28,940 --> 00:09:31,540 some other ways. And so we've been wrestling for 146 00:09:31,550 --> 00:09:34,610 the past kind of couple years of like, OK, do we want to maybe do 147 00:09:34,620 --> 00:09:38,370 a little renovation to make it, you know, to make it a bit more 148 00:09:38,380 --> 00:09:40,720 what want, or do we look elsewhere? 149 00:09:40,730 --> 00:09:44,320 And, and it would probably mean a little increase in our, in our 150 00:09:44,330 --> 00:09:49,660 mortgage or whatever, which, you know, like we bought home at, we 151 00:09:49,670 --> 00:09:52,340 bought a home at the right time before things went crazy. 152 00:09:52,350 --> 00:09:57,040 And we feel very fortunate we didn't do anything like that was 153 00:09:57,050 --> 00:09:59,440 just like the, the market at the time, right? 154 00:10:00,010 --> 00:10:03,340 But like where we are, we are actively wrestling with these 155 00:10:03,350 --> 00:10:08,500 needs and wants. And, and it's, it's hard because 156 00:10:08,510 --> 00:10:11,770 they can get very confused, you know, cause it often boils down 157 00:10:11,780 --> 00:10:14,830 to we need more room for our stuff, right? 158 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:19,040 Like, which which then I think for me, so it makes me feel, you 159 00:10:19,050 --> 00:10:25,290 know, I end up feeling like conflicted, but also just 160 00:10:25,300 --> 00:10:28,580 genuinely, our room is so small, it's hard to fit like even a 161 00:10:28,590 --> 00:10:31,690 closet, you know, like an extra closet for clothing, right? 162 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,300 So it's it's, yeah, it's this tension and we're just wrestling 163 00:10:35,310 --> 00:10:38,460 out in real time. So like I say, thank you for 164 00:10:38,470 --> 00:10:41,130 sharing that because I think that's the like, you're right. 165 00:10:41,140 --> 00:10:46,400 That is the real life that we ought to be living shoulder to 166 00:10:46,410 --> 00:10:48,360 shoulder where you, just like you're bumping into people, 167 00:10:48,450 --> 00:10:50,280 you're wrestling this stuff out together. 168 00:10:50,330 --> 00:10:53,600 Or because we could use, you know, a lot of that extra money 169 00:10:53,610 --> 00:10:56,460 that would go into our innovation or increasing the 170 00:10:56,470 --> 00:10:59,190 mortgage, we could be exceptionally generous with that 171 00:10:59,200 --> 00:11:03,180 money and do other things with it for, you know, others other 172 00:11:03,190 --> 00:11:04,210 than ourselves. Right. 173 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:07,790 So I think the thing that I want people taking away from this is 174 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:11,340 exactly what you're doing. So a couple of things you said 175 00:11:11,350 --> 00:11:15,170 you've been wrestling this out, thinking, praying through it for 176 00:11:15,220 --> 00:11:18,200 a couple of years. So I just want to name that like 177 00:11:18,210 --> 00:11:24,030 I think that in and of itself is a slowed down Kingdom. 178 00:11:25,000 --> 00:11:32,210 What would, what does love require of us kind of method to 179 00:11:32,220 --> 00:11:35,050 making a decision? So it's not rash. 180 00:11:35,100 --> 00:11:37,550 You've been wrestling with it for a number of years. 181 00:11:37,600 --> 00:11:40,890 You're not, you know, to my knowledge at this point, you've 182 00:11:40,900 --> 00:11:44,920 not made a decision. So this is like, this isn't, 183 00:11:44,930 --> 00:11:49,770 this isn't like you felt. You felt a perceived need and 184 00:11:49,780 --> 00:11:54,310 then immediately looked for a way to to meet that need and 185 00:11:54,320 --> 00:12:00,390 then made the decision in fairly rapid succession based on your 186 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:04,770 felt need without taking time to separate those things. 187 00:12:04,780 --> 00:12:08,310 So you're feeling a need and wrestling through genuinely 188 00:12:08,320 --> 00:12:09,750 like, is this a need? Is this a want? 189 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:11,740 Is this wise? Is this unwise? 190 00:12:11,750 --> 00:12:14,930 What is the better part of wisdom if we're going to like 191 00:12:15,010 --> 00:12:20,240 ABC or options praying through all of that that like that. 192 00:12:20,250 --> 00:12:23,980 I think that's actually a good demonstration of what this 193 00:12:23,990 --> 00:12:29,200 passage calls us to do, which is to lay that decision down and 194 00:12:29,210 --> 00:12:32,020 say, all right, just like, what would you have us do? 195 00:12:32,290 --> 00:12:36,330 And then to be honest and vulnerable enough to bring 196 00:12:36,340 --> 00:12:41,210 others in and start saying, like, does this make sense? 197 00:12:41,220 --> 00:12:43,990 Like help us make this decision and. 198 00:12:44,040 --> 00:12:50,000 Listener, what do we do? Yeah, less that, no less that 199 00:12:50,120 --> 00:12:54,810 look at the camera. But like what I would love for 200 00:12:54,880 --> 00:13:01,420 everybody to have is that sort of community based decision 201 00:13:01,430 --> 00:13:08,390 making mindset so that it would be natural to go to like another 202 00:13:08,400 --> 00:13:11,930 couple who are maybe 10 years down the road, be like, hey, 203 00:13:11,980 --> 00:13:15,410 this, these are our options. Like input into that for us, 204 00:13:15,420 --> 00:13:17,970 help us with it, help us think through it and pray through it. 205 00:13:17,980 --> 00:13:19,390 And here's what we're wrestling with. 206 00:13:19,440 --> 00:13:24,330 Like that's the piece. So Jesus calls us to abandon the 207 00:13:24,340 --> 00:13:30,630 pursuit of wealth and money and success and applause and like 208 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:32,120 all of the things. But now we're talking about 209 00:13:32,130 --> 00:13:34,970 money. So to abandon the pursuit of 210 00:13:34,980 --> 00:13:40,600 money for pursuit of the Kingdom, yeah, you can use money 211 00:13:40,670 --> 00:13:45,180 inside of the Kingdom, right? It's just it's a lot harder. 212 00:13:45,230 --> 00:13:48,720 There's something about it. And like, I know a lot of people 213 00:13:48,730 --> 00:13:50,380 say like, well, money is neutral. 214 00:13:51,580 --> 00:13:57,260 It's just a tool. And I go maybe in a vacuum 215 00:13:57,790 --> 00:14:02,640 theologically I would agree, but not inside of the course of 216 00:14:02,650 --> 00:14:05,740 human history because it's never just about money. 217 00:14:06,150 --> 00:14:11,490 It's about our it's about what it plays on our desire and want 218 00:14:11,500 --> 00:14:14,660 and greed and wealth, success and fame and like all of these 219 00:14:14,670 --> 00:14:18,620 things. So yes, maybe it is a neutral 220 00:14:18,630 --> 00:14:24,390 tool in a vacuum, but I don't think that that's the way Jesus 221 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,380 actually talks about it as being in a vacuum. 222 00:14:26,390 --> 00:14:27,920 He's harder. He says it's harder. 223 00:14:28,010 --> 00:14:30,160 It's harder to deal with that and live life inside the 224 00:14:30,170 --> 00:14:31,760 Kingdom. Yeah, it's hard to be wealthy 225 00:14:31,890 --> 00:14:34,760 and also live fully inside the Kingdom because it requires 226 00:14:34,770 --> 00:14:37,160 surrender and even surrendering our money. 227 00:14:37,170 --> 00:14:44,010 So I just, I think it's worth naming that like, I like, take 228 00:14:44,020 --> 00:14:48,430 the vacation, build that into your rhythm of rest as a family, 229 00:14:50,240 --> 00:14:52,670 but wrestle it out. Yeah, where do you need to go? 230 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:54,060 How far? What are you going to spend? 231 00:14:54,070 --> 00:14:57,170 What percentage, all of that? Have that honest conversation 232 00:14:57,180 --> 00:15:01,210 and say, all right, does this fit with how we want to live 233 00:15:01,220 --> 00:15:03,550 inside the Kingdom? And if it does, great. 234 00:15:04,950 --> 00:15:08,830 But the only other thing I would say is include some other people 235 00:15:08,840 --> 00:15:09,780 in there. Yeah. 236 00:15:09,790 --> 00:15:15,090 Because again, like I, I mean, I can start to convince myself if 237 00:15:15,100 --> 00:15:17,990 I buy this, I could use it this way, like inside, but use it for 238 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:18,900 ministry. Do this. 239 00:15:18,910 --> 00:15:22,350 And like you can, you can start to justify things pretty quickly 240 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:26,410 when you play that game just with yourself in your own mind. 241 00:15:27,040 --> 00:15:32,090 So that's where accountability is really, really short story. 242 00:15:32,420 --> 00:15:36,070 My first church, long before we got there, they were building a 243 00:15:36,080 --> 00:15:38,090 building, new building. They were falling out of their 244 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,160 old building. And maybe I've told this story 245 00:15:41,170 --> 00:15:43,160 on here before. I think I've told it to you, but 246 00:15:44,580 --> 00:15:46,970 if I have, sorry. It's a good story to hear twice. 247 00:15:47,620 --> 00:15:50,110 They're falling out of the old building and there was a family 248 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:55,430 who came and they had sold their cottage to help fund the build 249 00:15:55,470 --> 00:15:58,770 on the new building. Dang, Yep. 250 00:15:58,840 --> 00:16:04,490 Like, and I mean, that is a that is a big, that is a big. 251 00:16:06,440 --> 00:16:09,530 I don't want to say the word sacrifice because if they're 252 00:16:09,540 --> 00:16:11,670 selling a cottage, that means they have a home. 253 00:16:11,920 --> 00:16:14,130 Yeah, they're not selling their home, right. 254 00:16:14,180 --> 00:16:17,230 It is, that is, I mean, very generous. 255 00:16:18,740 --> 00:16:22,850 And also it it came out of it came out of their wealth and 256 00:16:22,860 --> 00:16:26,430 it's significant. And and yeah, I know it's one of 257 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:29,090 the things you don't want to undermine it, but man, like 258 00:16:29,100 --> 00:16:30,820 those are the decisions we should be asking. 259 00:16:30,830 --> 00:16:34,000 That's a that's a sacrifice that I think people can feel, be 260 00:16:34,010 --> 00:16:37,000 like, Oh yeah, yeah. It comes from asking this 261 00:16:37,010 --> 00:16:39,880 question, what is enough? Yeah, what is enough? 262 00:16:39,930 --> 00:16:43,010 And genuinely being able to wrestle that out in terms of 263 00:16:43,020 --> 00:16:46,700 your life and lifestyle and the lifestyle Jesus calls us to 264 00:16:46,710 --> 00:16:50,560 live, what is enough? What is enough for me and for my 265 00:16:50,570 --> 00:16:52,690 family? And what am I going to do beyond 266 00:16:52,700 --> 00:16:54,280 that? How am I going to be generous 267 00:16:54,290 --> 00:16:56,460 and abundantly so. Yeah. 268 00:16:56,890 --> 00:17:01,560 So I think too few of us have that honest conversation to 269 00:17:01,570 --> 00:17:03,560 really wrestle out what is enough. 270 00:17:03,850 --> 00:17:08,900 And gets uncomfortable. That's an uncomfortable thing to 271 00:17:08,910 --> 00:17:10,510 ask of yourself. Yeah. 272 00:17:11,060 --> 00:17:12,829 But I think that's the question, right? 273 00:17:13,500 --> 00:17:20,040 So is there a middle ground? I I think maybe if I could sum 274 00:17:20,050 --> 00:17:27,150 up, I, I almost feel like it's a interesting question to ask, but 275 00:17:27,160 --> 00:17:29,890 it's the wrong question. It's the wrong approach. 276 00:17:29,940 --> 00:17:35,980 Yeah, because it's not, it's there's not, it's not a middle 277 00:17:35,990 --> 00:17:40,350 ground between my pursuit of wealth and my pursuit of the 278 00:17:40,360 --> 00:17:42,460 Kingdom. Those are Those are mutually. 279 00:17:42,470 --> 00:17:45,300 They're mutually exclusive, so there can't be a middle ground. 280 00:17:45,370 --> 00:17:47,510 Is there a middle ground between rich and poor? 281 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:54,060 Uh, again, I think Jesus says it's harder to be rich and enter 282 00:17:54,070 --> 00:17:58,860 the Kingdom. And so, you know, for many of 283 00:17:58,870 --> 00:18:01,860 us, and, and I won't say for everybody because I don't know 284 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:06,280 the financial realities of everybody, if I say for many of 285 00:18:06,290 --> 00:18:15,100 us, uh, in Canada in 2025, we tip more toward wealthy. 286 00:18:15,450 --> 00:18:16,720 Yeah. So I think. 287 00:18:16,730 --> 00:18:20,140 We need to be despite of the some of the economical 288 00:18:20,150 --> 00:18:23,880 challenges that are, yes. So I just think it's it's 289 00:18:23,890 --> 00:18:27,860 important to start knowing globally where we tip. 290 00:18:28,380 --> 00:18:32,140 And then it has everything to do with surrender. 291 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:39,220 Jesus says leave everything, follow me, abandon all, forsake 292 00:18:39,230 --> 00:18:42,400 all and follow me. And so you gotta be willing to 293 00:18:42,410 --> 00:18:46,510 leave like the the fisherman left there catch of a lifetime 294 00:18:46,580 --> 00:18:48,700 of fish. Hopefully it went to good use, 295 00:18:48,710 --> 00:18:49,850 right? We talked about that on the 296 00:18:49,860 --> 00:18:50,800 week. Like, hopefully it wasn't 297 00:18:50,810 --> 00:18:51,900 wasted. Yeah. 298 00:18:51,940 --> 00:18:58,470 But they left what was perceived to be abundance for life inside 299 00:18:58,480 --> 00:19:01,930 the Kingdom. Yes. 300 00:19:02,240 --> 00:19:07,860 So that maybe rather than a middle ground between very rich 301 00:19:07,870 --> 00:19:13,130 and very poor, we need to be looking at like the no, we need, 302 00:19:13,140 --> 00:19:16,690 we need this is 1/3 path. The the and the third path is 303 00:19:16,740 --> 00:19:23,420 that we bring everything at the feet of Jesus and and say it's 304 00:19:23,430 --> 00:19:26,380 all it's all yours. What? 305 00:19:26,790 --> 00:19:31,380 What does that require of us? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 306 00:19:31,390 --> 00:19:34,380 And to recognize that the more we have, the harder it is to 307 00:19:34,390 --> 00:19:38,550 open our hands and say, yeah, here's the more, yeah. 308 00:19:38,590 --> 00:19:41,720 But I think that's that's the call. 309 00:19:41,730 --> 00:19:46,640 It's surrender and it's open handedness, not being willing to 310 00:19:47,350 --> 00:19:51,870 move slowly. So you got a question in our 311 00:19:52,300 --> 00:19:54,970 questions at courtrightchurch.org? 312 00:19:56,360 --> 00:20:03,110 Yep, this is a good one. OK so later on in I think is 313 00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:06,080 verse 22, it says blessed are you and people hate you when 314 00:20:06,090 --> 00:20:08,930 they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil 315 00:20:08,940 --> 00:20:15,930 because of the Son of man. And the person asks, what do we 316 00:20:15,940 --> 00:20:20,270 do when people use that particular passage as a way to 317 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,370 defend themselves when people call them out on behaving 318 00:20:24,380 --> 00:20:27,080 poorly? Persecuting me. 319 00:20:27,090 --> 00:20:30,620 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, and we've seen, we've, 320 00:20:30,870 --> 00:20:33,380 we've seen a lot of that over the years. 321 00:20:33,490 --> 00:20:40,860 I would, I would say especially in kind of the, the Western 322 00:20:42,050 --> 00:20:48,580 North American Church, which has historically had very little, if 323 00:20:48,590 --> 00:20:54,340 any persecution of any kind. But also, I think it goes deeper 324 00:20:54,350 --> 00:20:56,420 than that because I think that there are some genuinely 325 00:20:56,430 --> 00:20:58,600 concerning things that we could and should talk about. 326 00:20:58,650 --> 00:21:01,590 But, but I think more on an individual level, on an 327 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,500 individual level, someone in a, you know, in a church or a 328 00:21:05,510 --> 00:21:11,110 pastor or a, you know, a leader of some kind behaves poorly. 329 00:21:12,070 --> 00:21:16,560 And then when they're getting Flack for it, they receive it as 330 00:21:16,630 --> 00:21:18,340 well. I'm blessed because people are 331 00:21:18,350 --> 00:21:25,690 are hating me which. Yeah, Yeah, it, yeah, I, I like 332 00:21:25,700 --> 00:21:32,500 another way to put it, I think, is to say that we can, we can 333 00:21:32,690 --> 00:21:37,180 play the hating, reviling, persecuting, whatever language 334 00:21:37,190 --> 00:21:41,360 you want to use, like the card to avoid accountability. 335 00:21:41,410 --> 00:21:44,000 Yes, that is uncomfortable. Yeah. 336 00:21:44,050 --> 00:21:49,160 So you don't want to deal with your stuff or you don't like how 337 00:21:49,170 --> 00:21:52,420 this is going. You don't want to be confronted. 338 00:21:52,550 --> 00:21:54,830 And so you say no, you're persecuting me. 339 00:21:55,690 --> 00:22:04,000 And instead of honestly saying what do I need to learn in this 340 00:22:04,010 --> 00:22:09,790 moment, we say no. Blanket statement. 341 00:22:09,840 --> 00:22:13,870 That is persecution, that is hatred. 342 00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:18,870 I don't need to listen to it and I'm gonna continue on my merry 343 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:25,700 way. So, yeah, I think we are not 344 00:22:25,710 --> 00:22:31,880 good at be it, you know, confronting our own stuff or 345 00:22:31,890 --> 00:22:35,820 being honest or being held accountable feels particularly 346 00:22:38,070 --> 00:22:39,740 uncomfortable. Yeah. 347 00:22:40,150 --> 00:22:45,580 And so we can do that. Now here's here's my, I think we 348 00:22:45,590 --> 00:22:50,580 all, we all have this tendency to do it a little bit. 349 00:22:50,590 --> 00:22:57,280 So I think, you know, I'd be careful in yeah. 350 00:22:57,290 --> 00:23:01,340 I just think we need to see this tendency in ourselves as well as 351 00:23:01,350 --> 00:23:03,720 in others. And it's, it's just another 352 00:23:03,730 --> 00:23:08,090 instance where we can see somebody else doing it and not, 353 00:23:08,140 --> 00:23:09,960 you know, yeah. Not be willing to confront our 354 00:23:09,970 --> 00:23:11,590 own. Like, why does this bother me so 355 00:23:11,600 --> 00:23:12,860 much that you're. Anyways. 356 00:23:12,870 --> 00:23:14,790 Yeah, you can. There's an endless cycle there 357 00:23:14,800 --> 00:23:18,170 that you can kind of go into. But for me, it's blessed. 358 00:23:18,180 --> 00:23:20,640 Are you when people hate you and when they exclude you, revile 359 00:23:20,650 --> 00:23:23,800 you and defame you? There's no period there. 360 00:23:23,810 --> 00:23:28,170 It's on account of the Son of Man and and. 361 00:23:28,350 --> 00:23:29,560 Yeah, the sentence isn't. Finished. 362 00:23:29,570 --> 00:23:32,710 The sentence isn't finished. It's not just it's not just, you 363 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:35,100 know, blessed are you when people hate you and when they 364 00:23:35,110 --> 00:23:38,780 exclude you in a volume, defame you because you are a Christian. 365 00:23:39,610 --> 00:23:43,110 It's like on account of the Son of man. 366 00:23:43,120 --> 00:23:47,000 It's on account of who Jesus is and what Jesus does and how 367 00:23:47,010 --> 00:23:51,460 Jesus lives and the message. So what, what? 368 00:23:51,470 --> 00:23:55,390 Sorry, sorry to cut you off. What Jesus has just said to the 369 00:23:55,400 --> 00:23:59,550 disciples is you are now he's named them apostles. 370 00:23:59,720 --> 00:24:03,570 So you will be sent out as my messengers on my behalf with my 371 00:24:03,580 --> 00:24:07,310 authority to proclaim this gospel, right? 372 00:24:07,400 --> 00:24:13,560 And as you go proclaiming that gospel, living it out, like in 373 00:24:13,570 --> 00:24:18,720 real, tangible, practical ways, people are going to hate you 374 00:24:18,730 --> 00:24:22,110 because of it. Yeah, it's not because of you. 375 00:24:22,190 --> 00:24:25,600 It's because of me. So blessed are you? 376 00:24:25,670 --> 00:24:27,940 This isn't like, you know, blessed are you? 377 00:24:27,950 --> 00:24:31,260 Because you're a Christian and you made a bad decision or you 378 00:24:31,270 --> 00:24:32,560 made it. You know, you're a Christian, 379 00:24:32,570 --> 00:24:36,720 but actually like you, like you're really judgmental and 380 00:24:36,730 --> 00:24:39,980 you're like, well, I'm just speaking the truth in love. 381 00:24:39,990 --> 00:24:41,850 No, you're speaking the truth rudely. 382 00:24:43,240 --> 00:24:46,590 Like, you know, like. Is this seen this so much? 383 00:24:46,700 --> 00:24:50,810 This isn't, this isn't, it's not a catch all that we can just, 384 00:24:50,820 --> 00:24:52,960 well, I'm a Christian and it must be because I'm a Christian 385 00:24:52,970 --> 00:24:55,330 that you don't like me. No, like there's a chance 386 00:24:55,340 --> 00:24:58,150 actually that there's something that needs to change in my life, 387 00:24:58,160 --> 00:25:01,310 like I did something wrong and need to own that. 388 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:11,270 So say, you know, I am hesitant. I'm really hesitant when 389 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:16,240 Christians play the persecuted card, and I'll just keep it to 390 00:25:16,250 --> 00:25:19,650 our own context, OK? Our city, our province, our 391 00:25:19,660 --> 00:25:28,370 country, um, I, I, I see a lot of division based on religion 392 00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:35,210 and certainly, yeah, you know, hatred and like vile things 393 00:25:35,220 --> 00:25:39,010 being thrown all over the place. So between Christian and non 394 00:25:39,020 --> 00:25:42,350 Christian going both ways, yes, Christian and Christian, 395 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:44,770 different denominations, different flavors of whatever. 396 00:25:44,780 --> 00:25:49,390 Like, you know, yes, there's a lot of that, but the, you know, 397 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:53,920 the persecution, persecution piece, I think if your default 398 00:25:54,780 --> 00:25:59,200 is to jump to that place when you're confronted by something, 399 00:26:00,240 --> 00:26:04,170 then that's saying more about you than it is about them, and 400 00:26:04,180 --> 00:26:07,460 you need to listen to that. There, there's a little bit of A 401 00:26:08,670 --> 00:26:10,720 and I'm OK. I'm going to say this gently but 402 00:26:10,730 --> 00:26:15,600 firmly. I think some of it is like a 403 00:26:15,610 --> 00:26:19,440 little bit of thin skin like like and I and I say that as 404 00:26:19,450 --> 00:26:22,950 someone who has is thin skinned in other ways. 405 00:26:23,030 --> 00:26:26,280 I will let things get to me. But yeah, when it comes when it 406 00:26:26,290 --> 00:26:30,400 comes to persecution and when it comes to that being our our 407 00:26:30,410 --> 00:26:33,700 default mode when when someone is expressing hatred toward us, 408 00:26:33,710 --> 00:26:35,780 it's because, you know, it's just because I'm a Christian, 409 00:26:35,790 --> 00:26:37,670 right. Rather than reflecting 410 00:26:37,680 --> 00:26:43,560 internally that that may be, that there is some inner work to 411 00:26:43,570 --> 00:26:49,710 do in your soul to to know that that I am, I am secure in who I 412 00:26:49,720 --> 00:26:53,540 am in Jesus, and I don't need to let that rattle me and I don't 413 00:26:53,550 --> 00:27:00,370 need to let that get to me. However, there is, I could 414 00:27:00,380 --> 00:27:04,840 imagine a situation where someone is actually genuinely 415 00:27:04,850 --> 00:27:08,380 reflecting and they're looking at like, you know, a situation 416 00:27:08,590 --> 00:27:15,230 where they're experiencing hatred or experiencing A 417 00:27:15,240 --> 00:27:17,720 challenging situation and they're genuinely being like, I, 418 00:27:17,790 --> 00:27:19,940 I don't know if I've done anything wrong here. 419 00:27:20,790 --> 00:27:23,860 I don't know if, if you know, is this just because they, they 420 00:27:23,870 --> 00:27:26,820 dislike me as a Christian for what I believe? 421 00:27:27,030 --> 00:27:28,620 I've never been in that situation. 422 00:27:28,690 --> 00:27:32,110 I, I've always tried to, you know, I interact with the folks, 423 00:27:32,120 --> 00:27:35,150 you know, at my, my child's school and people that from very 424 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:39,240 different walks of life know my pastor, Norma Christian, They, 425 00:27:39,250 --> 00:27:42,200 they would deeply disagree with me on a number of things. 426 00:27:42,520 --> 00:27:45,950 I've never experienced hatred from them because I try not to 427 00:27:45,960 --> 00:27:49,020 be a jerk. And I and I try to be loving and 428 00:27:49,030 --> 00:27:54,250 I try to be, you know, as as gracious as I can that they are 429 00:27:54,310 --> 00:27:58,970 not Christians. But there could be someone who 430 00:27:58,980 --> 00:28:01,080 is really wrestling with it. They're wrestling it out. 431 00:28:01,090 --> 00:28:03,650 They're trying to figure out, OK, am I? 432 00:28:04,030 --> 00:28:08,800 Am I being, you know, targeted in some way maybe. 433 00:28:09,690 --> 00:28:13,020 And is there something going on in inside me that I need to 434 00:28:13,110 --> 00:28:17,160 wrestle with? And I think the danger is 435 00:28:18,170 --> 00:28:21,200 allowing yourself to do that in a silo, in isolation. 436 00:28:21,270 --> 00:28:25,670 And, and, and so bringing, as we've said for for the the first 437 00:28:25,680 --> 00:28:29,910 piece, bringing community into this and saying like, and don't 438 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:32,450 just like go to your people that are going to, you know, tell you 439 00:28:32,460 --> 00:28:35,620 everything you want to hear. Like go to, go to people that 440 00:28:35,630 --> 00:28:38,180 you know are going to be truthful with you and say like, 441 00:28:38,190 --> 00:28:42,030 hey, I'm encountering this. Am I being the jerk? 442 00:28:42,420 --> 00:28:45,370 Or like, do is there something else going on here? 443 00:28:45,380 --> 00:28:47,190 Am I being targeted? Yeah, yeah. 444 00:28:47,240 --> 00:28:55,720 I I think even just to to learn to have a curious spirit is and 445 00:28:55,730 --> 00:28:58,590 will be one of the greatest gifts of your life. 446 00:28:58,640 --> 00:29:01,490 About about ourselves and looking inwardly and. 447 00:29:01,530 --> 00:29:04,800 Yeah, I, I mean, I like, I think in general, right. 448 00:29:04,810 --> 00:29:10,590 Like, you know where when I'm at my worst is when I'm defensive. 449 00:29:11,620 --> 00:29:14,930 Yeah, right. Like if I'm if I'm defend, if, 450 00:29:14,940 --> 00:29:21,400 if I take, if I choose to take or and finding myself taking a 451 00:29:21,410 --> 00:29:25,890 defensive posture in relationship, that is when I 452 00:29:25,900 --> 00:29:28,450 know like I that's when I'm at my worst and that's me. 453 00:29:28,520 --> 00:29:34,840 Like that's not necessarily everybody, but you know, I, I 454 00:29:34,850 --> 00:29:43,310 think in those moments when, when my, my brain and my body is 455 00:29:43,320 --> 00:29:46,810 saying like batten down the hatches and like, right, like 456 00:29:46,820 --> 00:29:52,240 put the walls up. The the task for me in in 457 00:29:52,250 --> 00:29:58,010 relationship is to learn to ask more questions and to remain 458 00:29:58,020 --> 00:30:01,430 curious. Tell me more. 459 00:30:02,240 --> 00:30:04,930 Help like help me understand where you're coming from. 460 00:30:04,980 --> 00:30:06,970 Help me see me through your eyes. 461 00:30:07,180 --> 00:30:14,820 Help me to to, Yeah, to understand more Now, you know, 462 00:30:14,830 --> 00:30:18,760 obviously there are situations where, you know, I don't need to 463 00:30:18,770 --> 00:30:22,100 be curious. Like if somebody walks up, you 464 00:30:22,110 --> 00:30:25,480 know, the street and, and takes a swing at me with a hockey 465 00:30:25,490 --> 00:30:27,960 stick for some reason, I probably don't need to be 466 00:30:27,970 --> 00:30:29,690 curious. That's never happened, by the 467 00:30:29,700 --> 00:30:32,800 way. Panthers fan, Yeah. 468 00:30:32,870 --> 00:30:38,280 I just was trying to pick a obvious, but also weird enough, 469 00:30:38,350 --> 00:30:41,660 you know, situation that you know, and I'm not making anybody 470 00:30:41,670 --> 00:30:45,320 have have, Yeah. Yeah, as they're swinging, 471 00:30:45,330 --> 00:30:47,380 you're not going to be like. Tell me more about. 472 00:30:47,390 --> 00:30:49,450 What's what's brought you to? This moment I should probably be 473 00:30:49,460 --> 00:30:50,940 defensive. Yeah, like arms up here we go. 474 00:30:50,950 --> 00:30:53,930 Like I'm gonna actually try to like block the the like there's 475 00:30:53,940 --> 00:30:56,040 a little bit of defensiveness. That is good, right? 476 00:30:56,050 --> 00:30:59,900 Yes, yes. But I think in relationship, I 477 00:30:59,950 --> 00:31:07,100 know that for me, the the antidote to the defensiveness is 478 00:31:07,110 --> 00:31:10,420 curiosity. And I think curiosity is an 479 00:31:10,430 --> 00:31:14,960 antidote to so many cynicism and bitterness and these things that 480 00:31:15,030 --> 00:31:18,140 I think we naturally just wall ourselves with. 481 00:31:18,470 --> 00:31:22,220 And so curious if you can be curious, it's great because 482 00:31:22,290 --> 00:31:29,370 it'll help you see yourself differently when when you don't 483 00:31:29,380 --> 00:31:31,900 need to. And then you got confirmation 484 00:31:32,220 --> 00:31:36,150 and when you do need to. But that only happens inside of 485 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:38,250 good community. You gotta have your people like 486 00:31:38,260 --> 00:31:44,010 you said you can walk to and say help help me see this in the way 487 00:31:44,020 --> 00:31:48,380 I need to. That would in my estimation, and 488 00:31:48,390 --> 00:31:51,650 I'm speaking very much to myself because I can be very quick to 489 00:31:51,660 --> 00:31:55,010 jump to judgment and accusation in my heart. 490 00:31:55,020 --> 00:31:59,610 I don't always verbalize that, but in my heart So but I I think 491 00:31:59,620 --> 00:32:02,290 that would this that would solve if we could approach life that 492 00:32:02,300 --> 00:32:05,430 way and even see Jesus. You know, Jesus asks a lot of 493 00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:10,240 questions, right? Masterful in that way, but you 494 00:32:10,250 --> 00:32:15,840 could, you know, I think some of our, our political divide, our 495 00:32:15,850 --> 00:32:19,530 religious divide, it's, it's not all going to be solved by being, 496 00:32:19,540 --> 00:32:24,010 you know, by asking questions and, and, but, but it's, I think 497 00:32:24,020 --> 00:32:31,090 a lot of the, the intensity and the, and the, the extreme 498 00:32:31,100 --> 00:32:33,350 tensions that we're facing these days. 499 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:37,810 I think a lot of that would dissipate if we all sought to 500 00:32:37,820 --> 00:32:40,370 understand one another. Again, does not work in every 501 00:32:40,380 --> 00:32:42,910 circumstance. There are sometimes where 502 00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:45,450 someone is just doing a bad thing and we just need to call 503 00:32:45,460 --> 00:32:48,810 it out. That is not what I'm talking 504 00:32:48,820 --> 00:32:50,630 about here. I'm talking about your average 505 00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:54,830 Joe who leans one way or the other on a political spectrum or 506 00:32:54,900 --> 00:32:58,650 theological perspective perspective or whatever, right? 507 00:32:58,840 --> 00:33:04,180 Yeah, yeah. So yeah, I think like anything 508 00:33:06,990 --> 00:33:10,320 on this question, like the the quicker we are to rule something 509 00:33:10,330 --> 00:33:15,690 out and dismiss it, the worse off will be, hmm, there's 510 00:33:15,700 --> 00:33:19,280 certain things. Just absolutely, somebody might 511 00:33:20,300 --> 00:33:25,750 level and accusation that is completely unfounded and needs 512 00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:27,120 to be dismissed. Yeah. 513 00:33:27,170 --> 00:33:31,540 But even to do that rashly and just with a kind of almost like 514 00:33:31,550 --> 00:33:35,720 the wave of a hand, like that's persecution, like if it feels 515 00:33:35,730 --> 00:33:43,090 like dismissing things, it at the end of the day does more 516 00:33:43,100 --> 00:33:48,760 harm to ourselves and then by virtue of that to others long 517 00:33:48,770 --> 00:33:53,690 term than it would to at least consider. 518 00:33:55,580 --> 00:33:59,430 Yeah. So, no, I think yeah, there's a, 519 00:34:01,330 --> 00:34:03,180 there's a right way to approach that. 520 00:34:04,310 --> 00:34:10,040 Obviously in community is going to be one of the continuous 521 00:34:10,590 --> 00:34:13,520 curiosity. Community, we need another C 522 00:34:15,340 --> 00:34:17,850 That could be a Baptist sermon. Contemplation. 523 00:34:18,100 --> 00:34:20,030 Contemplation. Yes, that's perfect. 524 00:34:20,080 --> 00:34:22,230 I mean, like, I think that's a good, I think that's a good 525 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:23,469 approach to it. Yeah, yeah. 526 00:34:25,179 --> 00:34:27,030 That's great. So one other one other thought 527 00:34:27,040 --> 00:34:35,110 that came out as we look at this passage when you go to the the 528 00:34:35,120 --> 00:34:39,050 latter. So I guess we verse 21 and then 529 00:34:39,060 --> 00:34:45,420 the corresponding verse verse. Where is it in the woes? 530 00:34:45,500 --> 00:34:47,320 Maybe, maybe he's not mentioned in the woes. 531 00:34:47,330 --> 00:34:54,060 The the part about laughter. So blessed are you who weep now, 532 00:34:54,130 --> 00:34:57,960 for you will laugh. Oh yeah, sorry, that is an end 533 00:34:57,970 --> 00:35:01,200 of 25. Woe to you who laugh now, for 534 00:35:01,210 --> 00:35:08,540 you will mourn and weep so laughter. 535 00:35:09,070 --> 00:35:11,640 I like to laugh. Laughter's good. 536 00:35:11,850 --> 00:35:14,260 Yeah. Generally speaking, yeah. 537 00:35:16,360 --> 00:35:18,530 What's going on here? Why? 538 00:35:18,700 --> 00:35:24,850 Why is laughter seen as bad? Hmm, there are a number of 539 00:35:24,860 --> 00:35:30,520 different ways to answer this. Let me, let me just take two, 540 00:35:30,570 --> 00:35:39,750 hopefully briefly #1 I think that there is, there's some 541 00:35:39,800 --> 00:35:47,130 truth to what we experience inside of life, which is, um, 542 00:35:48,050 --> 00:35:51,520 all of life. The fullness of life does 543 00:35:52,860 --> 00:36:02,450 include grief and mourning, and learning to do that really does 544 00:36:02,460 --> 00:36:08,330 change your approach to to life. Learning to mourn well, learning 545 00:36:08,340 --> 00:36:12,470 to grieve well, learning to do that as an individual and inside 546 00:36:12,480 --> 00:36:14,890 of community. That matters. 547 00:36:15,140 --> 00:36:25,090 And there is a wisdom and even just gravitas to someone who has 548 00:36:25,140 --> 00:36:32,930 sat in the depths of sadness and sorrow and moved through it to 549 00:36:32,940 --> 00:36:35,720 experience joy on the other side. 550 00:36:35,860 --> 00:36:39,770 So there there is. There's nothing worse than, I 551 00:36:39,780 --> 00:36:46,710 think than than a funeral that doesn't name death and doesn't 552 00:36:46,720 --> 00:36:51,630 name sadness and grief and mourning. 553 00:36:52,260 --> 00:36:55,280 There, there are, you know, the Samus writes like the shadow of 554 00:36:55,290 --> 00:37:01,230 the valley of death, like deepest darkest valleys, moments 555 00:37:01,240 --> 00:37:05,830 of life. So I think there's just to some 556 00:37:05,840 --> 00:37:13,170 degree truth to this statement that that there is there is a 557 00:37:13,970 --> 00:37:19,760 blessedness to moving through seasons of mourning and sadness 558 00:37:19,830 --> 00:37:25,000 and sorrow toward what I would call joy on the other side. 559 00:37:25,010 --> 00:37:27,600 And, and to be very clear, not just happiness. 560 00:37:29,570 --> 00:37:34,420 I I had a, I had a quote and I think I cut it from the sermon. 561 00:37:35,910 --> 00:37:39,000 But Agustin said crying is a requirement. 562 00:37:39,370 --> 00:37:43,520 Laughter the reward of wisdom. That feels like it's like right 563 00:37:43,530 --> 00:37:46,800 lined up with this passage. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 564 00:37:46,850 --> 00:37:51,460 So crying is a requirement. Laughter is the reward of 565 00:37:51,470 --> 00:37:53,710 wisdom. And then he continues. 566 00:37:53,780 --> 00:37:58,580 Luke wrote Laughter to mean joy, so that's his take on it. 567 00:37:58,590 --> 00:38:02,480 Yeah, that that makes sense. It is is that those who mourn 568 00:38:02,550 --> 00:38:07,040 will receive and know and experience joy and you will move 569 00:38:07,050 --> 00:38:10,480 through that. There's there's a gift of God to 570 00:38:10,490 --> 00:38:13,700 do that and you won't feel it. You certainly won't feel in the 571 00:38:13,710 --> 00:38:15,920 moment. It's going to take time. 572 00:38:15,930 --> 00:38:17,800 It's not going to be easy. It's not going to look like what 573 00:38:17,810 --> 00:38:19,760 you want it to look like. It's not going to feel great, 574 00:38:21,320 --> 00:38:26,610 certainly immediately like, hmm, but there is there's just a 575 00:38:26,620 --> 00:38:29,450 movement here that that that God walks us through. 576 00:38:29,500 --> 00:38:31,840 So that's one way to answer this question. 577 00:38:32,910 --> 00:38:38,650 The other way, and I think more so in on the woe side where he 578 00:38:38,660 --> 00:38:40,960 says woe to you who laugh now for you're gonna mourn. 579 00:38:40,970 --> 00:38:43,570 You're like, well, that sounds a little vindictive. 580 00:38:45,110 --> 00:38:48,420 I think there's another approach to this that says the type of 581 00:38:48,430 --> 00:38:50,240 laughter matters also. Yeah. 582 00:38:50,330 --> 00:38:54,480 And so those who grieve now are going to be moved toward joy. 583 00:38:54,610 --> 00:38:59,820 The laughing now is almost, if we consider it the inverse of 584 00:38:59,830 --> 00:39:03,970 that. It's like those who laugh when 585 00:39:03,980 --> 00:39:09,970 others mourn, those who laugh in seasons where it is right to 586 00:39:09,980 --> 00:39:14,810 mourn, those who don't grieve but instead laugh. 587 00:39:14,820 --> 00:39:20,460 And I would even maybe extend it to say poke fun at or even 588 00:39:20,470 --> 00:39:26,600 celebrate or laugh at other peoples misfortune. 589 00:39:26,910 --> 00:39:29,840 You are going to grieve in the long run that's going to lead 590 00:39:29,850 --> 00:39:33,400 away from life. So the type of laughter matters. 591 00:39:33,410 --> 00:39:37,540 The reward laughter is not the same as the woe laughter, the 592 00:39:37,550 --> 00:39:40,200 blessing laughter. I don't it's not the same 593 00:39:40,370 --> 00:39:44,740 qualitatively as the the woe laughter is. 594 00:39:44,750 --> 00:39:50,990 The woe laughter is like vengeful and it is mean and evil 595 00:39:51,000 --> 00:39:54,570 and driven against the other. I'm going to laugh at your 596 00:39:54,580 --> 00:39:56,770 misfortune. I'm going to enjoy it. 597 00:39:56,840 --> 00:39:59,310 I'm going to sit here and watch this all unfold. 598 00:39:59,320 --> 00:40:01,750 I got to watch like the whole thing burn. 599 00:40:01,760 --> 00:40:07,310 And I'm going to, you know, sip my coffee or eat my popcorn and 600 00:40:07,320 --> 00:40:09,320 just watch it right you. Get those like sort of. 601 00:40:09,330 --> 00:40:11,250 Crimes and. There's a pride element. 602 00:40:11,320 --> 00:40:13,460 Yeah. The, the thing that I think I 603 00:40:13,470 --> 00:40:18,760 compared it with you last week is it makes me think about this 604 00:40:18,770 --> 00:40:22,760 is so for those who use Facebook, which is often the bad 605 00:40:22,770 --> 00:40:27,480 place, you see on like lots of posts that are not meant to be 606 00:40:27,490 --> 00:40:30,870 funny. Um, people using like the laugh 607 00:40:30,880 --> 00:40:35,430 react and, and on posts that are maybe, you know, from, you know, 608 00:40:35,440 --> 00:40:39,990 a particular theological or political persuasion or even 609 00:40:40,000 --> 00:40:43,050 just someone talking about some misfortune they face in their 610 00:40:43,060 --> 00:40:44,450 life. And you see someone laugh 611 00:40:44,460 --> 00:40:47,620 reacting and it's like, man, why are you doing that? 612 00:40:47,820 --> 00:40:52,010 That's kind of rude. You know, like and and that was 613 00:40:52,020 --> 00:40:53,610 just a very a very like practical. 614 00:40:53,620 --> 00:40:57,050 I'm like, man, people have weaponized the laugh react. 615 00:40:58,170 --> 00:41:00,940 Listen, apparently the thumbs up that doesn't actually mean like 616 00:41:00,950 --> 00:41:01,950 thumbs up either. Like. 617 00:41:01,960 --> 00:41:04,520 Hey, good job, Sarcastic. Got like a sarcastic undertone 618 00:41:04,530 --> 00:41:05,020 to it. Yeah. 619 00:41:05,030 --> 00:41:07,260 So this is just what we do, it seems. 620 00:41:07,890 --> 00:41:10,800 But I think that's a great. That's a great illustration of 621 00:41:10,810 --> 00:41:12,360 it. It is. 622 00:41:12,370 --> 00:41:18,310 It is qualitatively different. The reward laughter is joy and 623 00:41:18,320 --> 00:41:23,000 the woe. Laughter is vengeful, mean, mean 624 00:41:23,010 --> 00:41:26,720 spirited. I'm going to enjoy watching you 625 00:41:26,730 --> 00:41:29,840 suffer. And Jesus says 1 is going to 626 00:41:29,850 --> 00:41:31,710 lead to life and 1 is going to lead to death. 627 00:41:31,780 --> 00:41:35,300 Yeah. And and that I think is is is 628 00:41:35,310 --> 00:41:39,640 pretty clear on it. So yeah, it's certainly an area 629 00:41:39,650 --> 00:41:46,220 where it's helpful to not always rely just on strict parallelism. 630 00:41:47,100 --> 00:41:48,790 He's playing with the words. He is. 631 00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:52,030 Yeah, totally. And and that the the initial one 632 00:41:52,040 --> 00:41:56,650 about about, you know, blessed are those who weep for they will 633 00:41:56,660 --> 00:41:59,350 laugh there. There are, I think, parallels 634 00:41:59,360 --> 00:42:00,750 you could draw with other parts of Scripture. 635 00:42:00,760 --> 00:42:05,670 I was just I just pulled this up from Psalm 30, which says you 636 00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:10,290 turned my mourning into dancing. You peeled off my sack cloth and 637 00:42:10,300 --> 00:42:15,590 clothed me with joy. Exactly that parallel of that in 638 00:42:15,600 --> 00:42:22,060 our places of mourning and sadness and grief, God meets us 639 00:42:22,070 --> 00:42:27,320 in that place and he doesn't abandon us and will we, we 640 00:42:27,330 --> 00:42:32,040 believe and trust, restore us to a place of, of joy, to a place 641 00:42:32,050 --> 00:42:36,900 where we can laugh again, right. Like there's, there's nothing. 642 00:42:36,910 --> 00:42:41,020 You know, you've seen people go through a grief where, where 643 00:42:41,030 --> 00:42:44,620 they are just in a season that is, is awful, where laughter 644 00:42:44,630 --> 00:42:48,620 feels impossible. And then, you know, maybe a year 645 00:42:48,630 --> 00:42:51,140 later or whatever they, you know, God has brought them back 646 00:42:51,150 --> 00:42:54,490 to a place where they can be filled with joy, where they can 647 00:42:54,500 --> 00:42:56,050 laugh, where they can enjoy life. 648 00:42:56,060 --> 00:42:58,030 And it's like, that's an amazing thing. 649 00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:00,290 It is. Yeah. 1 requires the other. 650 00:43:00,400 --> 00:43:01,340 Yes. Right. 651 00:43:01,460 --> 00:43:06,690 And so my very first preaching professor in seminary, at the 652 00:43:06,700 --> 00:43:09,860 beginning of one of his books, tells the story of a funeral for 653 00:43:09,870 --> 00:43:14,900 I think it was his niece. Like just devastating this child 654 00:43:14,910 --> 00:43:20,560 who's died and he he tells the story of going to the grave side 655 00:43:21,580 --> 00:43:26,210 and the minister preaching the graveside sermon didn't 656 00:43:26,220 --> 00:43:31,850 reference the death of Jesus, the deep sadness at the death of 657 00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:37,910 his niece and the grief and mourning the lament that was 658 00:43:37,920 --> 00:43:41,770 required in that moment to enter into collectively. 659 00:43:41,820 --> 00:43:47,990 It was only resurrection, joy, heaven, all that's before us for 660 00:43:48,000 --> 00:43:49,770 what is waiting on the other side. 661 00:43:49,780 --> 00:43:55,210 It was, it was entirely dismissive in the way my Prof 662 00:43:55,220 --> 00:43:59,460 would recount it, dismissive of the lament and so. 663 00:43:59,470 --> 00:44:01,880 Disembodied of the reality. Exactly. 664 00:44:01,890 --> 00:44:05,020 So you can't skip. It's like why on Easter, we will 665 00:44:05,030 --> 00:44:10,600 never, as long as I'm a pastor, I will never do like the whole 666 00:44:10,650 --> 00:44:14,280 Easter Sunday services on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, 667 00:44:14,750 --> 00:44:19,560 because Easter Sunday doesn't happen without the waiting of 668 00:44:19,570 --> 00:44:21,900 Saturday and the death of Friday. 669 00:44:22,560 --> 00:44:25,440 And so you have to move through those moments, those those those 670 00:44:25,450 --> 00:44:29,580 movements and the reason why we do it year after year after 671 00:44:29,590 --> 00:44:30,960 year. Even though we know the. 672 00:44:30,970 --> 00:44:33,180 Outcome, even though we know where it's going to go, is 673 00:44:33,190 --> 00:44:36,380 because we are, we are practicing the discipline of 674 00:44:36,390 --> 00:44:37,780 lament. Yes. 675 00:44:38,410 --> 00:44:41,040 And then we are practicing the discipline of waiting. 676 00:44:41,760 --> 00:44:45,110 And then we are practicing the discipline of celebration. 677 00:44:45,420 --> 00:44:50,640 And that movement is what's gonna pop back up when you're in 678 00:44:50,650 --> 00:44:52,690 seasons of grief. You're like, oh, I know how to 679 00:44:52,700 --> 00:44:55,230 do this. It feels more real now, maybe 680 00:44:55,240 --> 00:44:58,130 like immediately pressing because this is a death that 681 00:44:58,140 --> 00:45:01,520 affects like, emotionally, physically, mentally, 682 00:45:01,530 --> 00:45:03,700 spiritually, all of it. You're like, you're confronted 683 00:45:03,710 --> 00:45:06,680 by it. But my hope is that you know 684 00:45:06,920 --> 00:45:10,090 that those disciplines, the discipline of lament, the 685 00:45:10,100 --> 00:45:12,610 discipline of waiting, and then the discipline of celebration. 686 00:45:12,680 --> 00:45:16,840 I've got the steps, I've got the map, I've got the path forward. 687 00:45:17,010 --> 00:45:21,570 And I don't like it, but at least I have some reference for 688 00:45:21,580 --> 00:45:26,830 this, so it's necessary. That's good, that's good. 689 00:45:26,900 --> 00:45:31,650 There are so many questions that are, you know, community Bible 690 00:45:31,660 --> 00:45:35,190 study came up with and so many questions that we had and so 691 00:45:35,200 --> 00:45:37,670 many questions that didn't make its way into your sermon. 692 00:45:37,760 --> 00:45:40,400 But that's kind of the beauty of this is that, you know, 10 years 693 00:45:40,410 --> 00:45:44,050 from now when this passage comes up again in another in another 694 00:45:44,060 --> 00:45:48,890 time for you, like there is an endless amount that of paths we 695 00:45:48,900 --> 00:45:52,170 could go down. But for now, probably feels like 696 00:45:52,180 --> 00:45:58,860 a good place to to close out and just to remind you that we are 697 00:45:58,870 --> 00:46:01,420 doing this community Bible study on Wednesday nights if you're 698 00:46:01,430 --> 00:46:06,020 watching this in real time. And so this is a fun, a fun 699 00:46:06,070 --> 00:46:09,990 month where we get to have this, you know, 100 people talk about 700 00:46:10,000 --> 00:46:14,180 the passage and then preach on it and then kind of do any 701 00:46:14,190 --> 00:46:17,620 little cleanup on, you know, on the next day or the next week 702 00:46:17,630 --> 00:46:21,380 for the podcast. So we get to really entrench 703 00:46:21,390 --> 00:46:24,500 ourselves in the text, which is a lot of fun. 704 00:46:24,780 --> 00:46:28,540 But if you do have more questions relating to the 705 00:46:28,650 --> 00:46:31,540 upcoming passage in this upcoming week is gonna be a lot 706 00:46:31,550 --> 00:46:35,290 of fun as we talk about Jesus called to love our enemies. 707 00:46:35,370 --> 00:46:39,030 So I have a feeling there's gonna be some hardball 708 00:46:39,040 --> 00:46:40,830 questions, which is gonna be great. 709 00:46:41,490 --> 00:46:45,470 But for now, we'll leave it there and we'll see you next 710 00:46:45,480 --> 00:46:45,640 time.