Worship Helps for Epiphany 4

Artwork: Jesus preaching on the mount

Artist: Gustave Dore

Today begins something extra added to the weekly Worship Helps. Every week, in addition to a piece of art that depicts one of the Scripture lessons, we will examine the artist and the art more in depth.

We begin with one of the most popular artist that you have probably never heard of. Gustave Dore (1832-1883) was a child prodigy from Strasbourg, France. His first illustrated story was published at the age of 15. Within a year, Dore was the highest paid illustrator in France.

Gustave Dore never had an art lesson. Yet he was the illustrator for some of the most famous authors in history – Milton, Dante, Lord Byron, and Edgar Allen Poe, among them. He also illustrated the English Bible by John Wycliffe in 1866. Dore created 238 illustrations for the Bible.

But he wasn’t just an illustrator of books. He also engraved in both wood and metal. He was also famous as a painter and sculptor. But his lasting legacy is in his engravings and illustrations. More than 4,000 books have used the engravings of Gustave Dore. His illustrations have been used over 10,000 times in books.

Dore’s painting of “Jesus preaching on the mount” is a beautiful depiction of the event recorded in Matthew 5-7, which will be the focus of our worship for the rest of the Epiphany season. The majority of Jesus’ ministry was conducted around the Sea of Galilee, which is seen in the background of the painting. His base of operations was the small fishing village of Capernaum. The people came out to listen to Jesus from Capernaum and the other small towns and villages in Galilee. As a rabbi, Jesus would have probably have sat in order to teach the people who were gathered on the mount listening to Jesus’ sermon.

Worship Theme: Trust in God’s strength! The Beatitudes are hard for us to swallow. Jesus seems to be espousing a Christianity imbued with fatalism at best or defeatism at worst. Look closer, however, and see what he says. The weaker you are, the stronger God is in your life. The weaker you are now, the more ready you are to trust in a future reward. Look at the past acts of God’s grace and you will find many reasons to trust his strength in the face of adversity, persecution or sorrow.

Old Testament: Daniel 3:13 Furious with rage, Nebuchadnezzar summoned Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king, ¹⁴ and Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the image of gold I have set up? ¹⁵ Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good. But if you do not worship it, you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. ¹⁷ If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up." ¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was furious with Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and his attitude toward them changed. He ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual ²⁰ and commanded some of the strongest soldiers in his army to tie up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. ²² The king's command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, ²³ and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. ²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O king." ²⁵ He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." ²⁶ Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, ²⁷ and the satraps, prefects, governors and royal advisers crowded around them. They saw that the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.

1. How does the story of Shadroch, Meshach, and Abednego help you understand the promises of Jesus in the Beatitudes?

Epistle: 1 Corinthians 1:26 Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-- and the things that are not-- to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-- that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

2. Why does God often choose the lowly and despised to be his children?

3. What three things does Paul call Jesus? What does he mean?

Gospel: Matthew 5:1 Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, ² and he began to teach them, saying: ³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. ⁵ Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. ⁶ Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

4. What word does Jesus used to describe those who trust in him? What does he mean?

5. Where does Jesus even promise to reward us?

6. What did Jesus do to help him in his job of preaching the good news of the kingdom?

Answers:

1. Rejoice and be glad, Jesus said, because great is your reward in heaven. He does not promise to keep us from a martyr’s death or Christian persecution on earth. He promises to reward us in spite of them. That we might trust his promises of future reward, however, he shows us his righteous acts of the past. The God of the three men in the fiery furnace can be trusted! As they stood before great Nebuchadnezzar, these men looked weak. As they chose the path of righteousness rather than accommodation, they seemed stupid. As they spoke about a powerful God, their words and actions seemed powerless. At the weakest moment of their lives—despised, condemned, bound hand and foot and falling into an inferno—they trusted that God was their strength, and he did not fail them.

2. He chooses the seemingly foolish to shame those who think themselves wise. He chooses what seems weak to shame those who think themselves strong. He wants no one to boast before him.

3. Paul calls Jesus “our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” Without us doing anything he makes us right with God by his blood, holy in God’s sight. He paid to set us free from Satan and hell.

4. Jesus calls us “blessed.” He doesn’t mean we are happy, necessarily. He means we have it good, even if we do not feel good. All God’s blessings definitely come to us by grace alone. But surely Jesus means what he says.

Does Jesus really mean that if we obey God, good things will come our way?

God should not bless us for doing what we are told, but he says he will. For people who never obey him fully— what grace!

5. Jesus promises to reward us greatly in heaven.

In the Beatitudes, our Savior turns the world upside down. He calls blessed the people this world never would. He calls blessed people that the world would use as doormats! The world praises the brash, the strong, and the self-sufficient. Jesus calls blessed what others see as weak or stupid. To live this kind of blessedness requires a deep trust in the Lord’s strength and a long-term view of life. Jesus calls us blessed even in circumstances like mourning and persecution, because he is looking beyond the troubles of this world to the reward that is waiting for the people of God. Like reading the last chapter of a book, Jesus takes the mystery out of a life filled with sorrow by showing us the end, the outcome of life lived trusting in God’s strength. All the weak children of God can rejoice and be glad—even now—because our reward will be great!

Putting your faith into action

God’s stewardship of blessings runs counter to man’s expectations—or, let’s be realistic: man’s expectations try to swim against the current of God’s values. While man would assume honor and power go to the strong and famous, God’s normal is to choose the lowly, the weak, the despised as objects of his mercy, recipients of his grace. When it comes to our own stewardship of his gifts, it flows with his wisdom when we share them liberally and pour out our efforts in making sure his grace reaches those on the fringes and those who don’t have anything to give back to us.

A reading from the Book of Concord for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany

1] Also they teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruits, and that it is necessary to do good works commanded by God, because of God's will, but that we should not rely on those works to merit justification 2] before God. For remission of sins and justification is apprehended by faith, as also the voice of Christ attests: When ye shall have done all these things, say: We are unprofitable servants. Luke 17:10. The same is also taught by 3] the Fathers. For Ambrose says: It is ordained of God that he who believes in Christ is saved, freely receiving remission of sins, without works, by faith alone. – Augsburg Confession, Article IV: Of New Obedience (paragraphs 1-3)