The Dignity Trap: When Good Works Replace the Gospel

[00:07:58] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:07:58] Welcome to worship here at North Wilkesboro Presbyterian Church. Whether you are here in person or joining us from the safety of your own home, we are glad to be together for worship this day. And thanks be to God for technology that helps us to connect safely.
[00:08:17] I have a few worship service so approximately at noon and this meeting can be joined it's offered in a hybrid style so if you're here and you're a member of the congregation you can stay right
[00:08:45] where you are if you're joining us online you will have gotten a zoom link in your email box so look for that and plan to join us via zoom at around noon today that purpose of that meeting
[00:09:00] is to prove the pastor's terms of call and to report about our 2026 mission priorities.
[00:09:07] Today is a first Sunday of the month, and that means that we are collecting items for our free food pantry. What we particularly need for that pantry is canned meals. You can look in our newsletter for more details of the kind of things that we collect,
[00:09:27] but we do that really throughout the year, but we make an added push on the first Sunday of the month.
[00:09:32] If you're not here in person, we will still take them when you can get here later in the week.
[00:09:38] This week, we are packaging up our Valentine's Day boxes that we send out to our college kids so that we can surround them with our love, even though they are far away.
[00:09:50] You can bring in some items to be added to those boxes.
[00:09:55] Those will be accepted up until Tuesday the 3rd at around noon, I believe, or 1 p.m.
[00:10:04] And then you could join us to package those at 515 in the library.
[00:10:12] Next Sunday, we hope you join us for Teddy Bear football, the big game of the year, what everyone has been waiting for.
[00:10:20] Children and teens and adults are welcome to play.
[00:10:24] everyone, players or just spectators, are welcome to join us for a meal following worship. We'll meet in the fellowship hall for that. So come and join us for good fun and fellowship. What am I
[00:10:41] missing? Any more announcements? All right. Friends, we have come to this time and this place. We have created a space of worship wherever we are, carrying many things. We carry our joys and our gratitude, but we also carry our weariness. The good news is that Jesus welcomes us all, whatever
[00:11:07] we carry. So let us take a moment now to take a deep breath in and to focus ourselves on the one who calls us here. Let us worship God together. Lord, we come into your sanctuary with eagerness.
[00:11:29] May we hear your call and speak your truth. Lord, we have come to abide with you in love.
[00:11:38] Kindle in us courage to live as brave and faithful disciples. Let us worship our God

[00:11:46] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_03]
[00:11:46] together in this holy place. Hallelujah. Amen. Well, friends, let us take a moment to confess

[00:14:55] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:14:55] our sin to God and to one another. For the Holy One delights in blessing those who seek to walk with God. We'll do so first and foremost by joining our voices in our prayer of confession,
[00:15:10] one that's printed in your bulletins. And after that, we will have a space of silence so that we might offer those things in the quiet and depths of our hearts so let us join our voices in prayer saying merciful God we come before you in confession you
[00:15:30] have showered us with blessings but we hoard those gifts refusing to share with our neighbors in need you have given us freedom to live justly but we choose to oppress and judge others you have called us to live in peaceful community but we
[00:15:53] sow discord and breed fear among ourselves forgive us soften our hearts and open our minds to hear your call inspire us to act justly love fiercely and walk in your way each and every day.
[00:16:15] Lord, hear our prayer.
[00:16:52] My siblings in Christ, God's mercy is great.
[00:16:57] God's mercy is from everlasting to everlasting.
[00:17:02] God's mercy is poured out upon each and every one of us each and every day.
[00:17:08] So let us give thanks by reassuring one another of our forgiveness.
[00:17:14] The mercy of the Lord is deeper than the depths of the sea and wider than the whole of the earth.
[00:17:22] In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven, healed, and made whole.
[00:17:29] Alleluia. Amen.
[00:17:32] Alleluia indeed.
[00:17:33] We have been given a gift.
[00:17:35] We have been given the gift of God's goodness and grace.
[00:17:39] We have been given the gift of God's mercy and love.
[00:17:42] we have been given the gift of the peace of christ and these are gifts that aren't meant to be hoarded they are meant to be shared extended to anyone and everyone around so let us take a
[00:17:54] moment to do just that let us take a moment to share with one another a sign of christ peace you can you can do so knowing that it's a germy world you can do so by shaking hands if you'd like
[00:18:07] but maybe a fist bump or an elbow tap or if you'd prefer not to have human contact with those around you putting your hands in front of you and extending a kind word would would be well as
[00:18:19] would be good as well so let us take a moment to share the peace of christ with one another saying may the peace of our lord jesus christ be with you all peace be with you
[00:18:34] peace be with you good morning peace to you peace with you ricky hey hey peace be with you john good good hey andrew peace all right all right all right yeah how is it back where you
[00:19:16] all are may be seated well as we prepare our hearts our minds for the hearing of god's word both read and proclaim, I'll invite you to sing our prayer for illumination today. Hymn number 456,
[00:20:52] Listen, God is Calling. Well, our first scripture lesson for the day comes from the book of the prophet Micah, chapter 6, verses 1 through 8. So listen. Listen now for the word of God.
[00:21:43] Hear what the Lord says.
[00:21:49] Rise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
[00:21:57] Hear, you mountains, the case of the Lord and your enduring foundations of the earth, for the Lord has a cause against his people, and he will contend with Israel.
[00:22:09] O my people, what have I done to you?
[00:22:13] in what have I wearied you answer me for I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery and I sent before you Moses Aaron and Miriam oh my people remember now
[00:22:31] what King Balak of Moab devised what Balaam son of Beor answered him and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal, that you may know the saving acts of the Lord. With what shall I come before the Lord
[00:22:49] and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
[00:23:06] Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
[00:23:15] He has told you, O mortal, what is good and what the Lord requires of you, but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God.
[00:23:34] Holy wisdom, holy word.
[00:23:37] Thanks be to God.

[00:24:08] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_01]
[00:24:08] Sunday, no pressure, it's sea raced with the water.
[00:25:01] If you're following along in your bulletin, you will recognize that there has been a change due to the weather.

[00:26:51] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:26:51] Just to make sure that those who did not feel comfortable coming felt free not to do so, Jim just offered to play our anthem today, and that is always a special treat. Thank you, Jim.
[00:27:04] Our second reading for today comes from Matthew 5 verses 1 through 12. If you were able to join us virtually or in person yesterday for the service held here for Mary Frances Galifianakis, you will recognize that this is the passage the family chose to read in her memory,
[00:27:26] which seems very appropriate as she was a woman who was committed to working for justice in the world, and that was reflected in the reading of this passage. So let's read it together.
[00:27:39] This morning, we get a glimpse of the first part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. This is his first big public act of ministry. After Jesus is baptized by John, he's tested in the wilderness,
[00:27:55] and then he begins his public ministry in Galilee. He proclaims that the kingdom of God has come near. Jesus calls his first disciples. That's what we heard last week. And then he begins to heal
[00:28:09] and to teach. And as he does, word gets out about him and crowds gather around. That's where we find Jesus this morning. So let's listen for what the Holy Spirit is telling God's people in the reading
[00:28:22] of Matthew chapter 5, verses 1 through 12. When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up to the mountain.
[00:28:31] And after he sat down, his disciples came to him, and he began to speak and taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
[00:28:45] Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
[00:28:50] Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
[00:28:56] Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
[00:29:03] Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
[00:29:08] Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
[00:29:14] Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
[00:29:19] Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
[00:29:40] is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
[00:29:48] holy wisdom holy word thanks be to God in 1967 just six months before he was assassinated the Reverend dr. Martin Luther King jr. gave a speech at Barrett junior high school in Philadelphia Pennsylvania in the speech Reverend dr.
[00:30:12] King challenged his young audience to be to think about the future to think about their future. King asked the students at Barrett Junior High School the question, what is your life's blueprint? A life's blueprint, much like an architect's blueprint,
[00:30:35] King explained, is the plan by which one builds his or her life. King suggested some important values or principles that the students should add to their blueprints. The first of them was a deep belief in your own dignity, your own worth, and your own somebody-ness. He told the students,
[00:31:03] don't allow anyone to make you feel that you are nobody. Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth and always feel that your life has ultimate significance. King encouraged the young, mostly African-American audience to hold fast to the belief that their lives
[00:31:26] are important. In a nation where both individuals and systems worked to dehumanize African-American citizens, Reverend Dr. King believed that these young people needed to be able to hold fast to their own somebody-ness. This sense of dignity and self-worth is what builds the foundation for
[00:31:51] strong life. King named two other principles in his speech. He wanted the students to value their work enough to do it well. And he wanted them to value beauty, love, and justice enough to work
[00:32:07] for them, even in the face of life's challenges. But I think it says something that he reminds these young people about their own somebody-ness first. It's not something that they have to earn or achieve. They are somebody already. In a way, I think Jesus does something similar in the opening
[00:32:34] of the Sermon on the Mount. This is Jesus' very first public sermon. When he sees the crowd, Jesus goes up to the mountain and he teaches those gathered just what it looks like when the
[00:32:49] kingdom of God has come near. The first words he speaks are words of blessing. Blessed itself can be a hard word to put our finger on, I think. But the weight of this word seems to mean something
[00:33:07] like happy. Not in a cheerful kind of happiness, but more like satisfied. In Psalm 1, we read happy are those who do not follow the advice of the wicked or take the path that sinners tread or
[00:33:25] sit in the seat of scoffers, but their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night. In the Greek version of that psalm, the word happy is the same word that
[00:33:39] Matthew uses here in the Beatitudes. In the psalm, the happy who delight in the law of the Lord are rooted in the life-giving presence of God.
[00:33:52] So when I think of happiness here in the Beatitudes, I often think of the kind of happiness that comes from being rooted.
[00:34:04] In this opening words of his sermon, Jesus offers a list of counterintuitive claims.
[00:34:13] Happy are the poor in spirit.
[00:34:16] Happy are those who mourn.
[00:34:18] are the meek, are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
[00:34:25] Many of us have heard this passage so many times that I wonder if the absurdity of these statements has worn off.
[00:34:33] To be humbled by the world, to be grieving, or to feel your own weakness, to be longing for justice, these don't feel like happiness to me.
[00:34:46] And in the second half of Jesus' blessings, he seems to commend those who live virtuous lives The merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers We lift those up as principles to live by But if we're honest, I think the lot of the merciful or the pure in heart or the peacemakers
[00:35:13] is often hard and thankless in a world that feels so far removed from the kingdom of heaven.
[00:35:22] Jesus seems to acknowledge that these folks face difficult circumstances because then he goes on to say, happy are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.
[00:35:35] Jesus' list doesn't seem to be a recipe for happiness.
[00:35:39] And yet, it tells us something about the priorities of the kingdom of heaven, that Jesus opens his teaching with a word for the brokenhearted, the suffering, and the pushed aside.
[00:35:58] Matthew L. Skinner is an ordained Presbyterian minister and a New Testament professor at Luther Seminary.
[00:36:06] In his book on Matthew, the Gospel of Promised Blessings, he writes that when Jesus calls those people blessed, he announces his determination to be among them and making a difference in their lives. These verses function as a mission statement for his entire ministry. He discloses
[00:36:33] where we should expect to find him among the people who live beleaguered and hard luck lives begin your search for him and his influence there in a world where the powerful still trample the weak where every day our news reports bring us fresh things to grieve where justice feels delayed
[00:37:01] and delayed and delayed, these seem like words that we need to hear now. Because Jesus declares God is on the side of the forgotten and the pushed aside. To be clear, when Jesus points us to those
[00:37:19] who are suffering and brokenhearted, he is not telling us that suffering is good for us. It doesn't earn us grace or redeem us of our sins. Instead, Jesus makes a simple promise. God draws near to those in need. God is on the side of the vulnerable and the brokenhearted. God is on the
[00:37:44] side of the wronged and the waiting. Jesus proclaims the somebody-ness of those who are treated like nobodies. These are words by which to build a life. You who have been belittled by the world, you are somebody to God. You who struggle to get by or to make it through the day, you are
[00:38:11] somebody to God. You who long for a world in which you are seen and honored, you are somebody to God.
[00:38:23] And if Matthew Skinner is right, and I think he is, that means that when we look for Jesus, we will know where to find him.
[00:38:33] When we want to stand with Jesus, we will know where to go.
[00:38:38] When we stand beside those who mourn, when we walk with those who hunger and thirst for justice, when we work for mercy and peace in a world that profits from conflict and rewards the powerful, we draw near to God. Believe in your own dignity, my friends,
[00:39:01] your own worth, your own somebody-ness. Work for and uphold the dignity, the worth, and the somebody-ness of others. This is what it looks like when the kingdom of God draws near. May it

[00:39:19] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:39:19] be so. Amen. Well, having heard God's word read and proclaimed, with God's word sinking deeper and deeper into our hearts, I invite you to rise in body or spirit so that we might respond in
[00:39:50] faith. Our affirmation of faith today comes from the confession of 1967. So we'll join our voices in affirming our faith together, saying, In Jesus Christ, God was reconciling the world to God's self.
[00:40:09] Jesus Christ is God with us.
[00:40:13] He is the eternal Son of the Father, who became human and lived among us to fulfill the work of reconciliation.
[00:40:23] He is present in the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit to continue and complete his mission.
[00:40:32] This work of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is the foundation of all confessional statements about God, humanity, and the world.
[00:40:47] Therefore, the Church calls all people to be reconciled to God and to one another.
[00:40:54] to God be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations. Amen.

[00:41:04] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:41:04] Be seated. Let's pray. Holy God, what a world you have made. Everywhere we look we see evidence of your grace. We give you thanks for friends and family, for the warmth of home, for talents and
[00:42:20] treasures to share. What blessings you bestow upon us, O God. Yet amid the blessings, we see the hurt and the pain of our world. We can't turn away, for so many are hurting. So we turn to you,
[00:42:39] God of blessing, hear our prayer. We pray for the church, this congregation, and the church universal, all those who hear and believe in a great diversity of voices all around the world.
[00:42:55] Open our hearts and whisper words of your truth within us. Open our ears so we can hear even those truths that bewilder and challenge us. Strengthen our spirits to hear your call to stand up for
[00:43:13] justice and break open visions of the kingdom among us right here and right now god of blessings hear our prayer we praise we pray for those who are suffering comfort those who mourn who have
[00:43:31] lost the ones they love who have been forced to give up on the future they hoped would be who grieve frayed relationships clothe them with your love and fill them with your hope set your healing hand upon the upon those whose bodies ache whose minds
[00:43:53] cannot find peace who are awaiting hard diagnosis wrap them in your strong arms and fill them with your shalom.
[00:44:06] God of blessing, hear our prayer.
[00:44:10] We pray for those dear to us whom we know by name.
[00:44:13] For Anna Jo, Karen, Chris, Susan, Martha, Evelyn, Ward, Ed, Meredith, Nicholas, Angela, Cade, Richard, Michael, William, Betty, Debbie, Joelle, Barbara, Cole, and Leslie.
[00:44:44] We pray also for the families of Laura Bichon, of Lucille Johnson, and of Mary Frances Galifianakis.
[00:44:55] You draw near to the hurting and to all those in need, so lead us where you go.
[00:45:04] Guide us to offer your love and compassion.
[00:45:07] God of blessing, hear our prayer.
[00:45:12] We pray for those who are hungry in body and spirit, for those whose tables are bare, whose stomachs growl, whose bodies hunger for warmth.
[00:45:24] Give them shelter.
[00:45:26] lead them to places of plenty teach those who have much to share without fear until all are fed and nourished for those who hunger for justice send your spirit give us a holy imagination to dream about what could be and the courage to make this world more like you want it to be for
[00:45:49] us. God of blessing, hear our prayer. We pray particularly for the families of the victims of the deadly mass shooting in Mount Airy yesterday, which took the lives of two young people and injured two more. This news feels too close to home, but 25 mass shootings have taken place
[00:46:16] across our country so far so far in 2026 end our senseless violence god of blessing hear our prayer we pray for peace in our homes in our communities in our country and in our world wrestle the
[00:46:35] weapons of war out of our hands and silence the words that cut and destroy fill our leaders with wisdom and mercy. Give them eyes to see each person in their care, regardless of race, religion,
[00:46:53] or nation of origin, as you see them, beloved children of God. Make us peacemakers and community builders in every place we go. Fill us with grace and wonder that we might see the beauty of
[00:47:11] diversity and seek unity instead of uniformity. God of blessing, hear our prayer. Holy God, you are the giver of blessings. Give us eyes to see you at work among us. Move our hands and feet to be a blessing in our community. Open our hearts and our mouths to hear your word and to
[00:47:39] speak your truth, so that all can know your love. This we ask in the name of Jesus Christ, who taught us to pray boldly, saying, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
[00:47:57] Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
[00:48:17] For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

[00:48:34] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]
[00:48:34] We yesterday, as Pastor Amanda already mentioned, we, several people gathered in this space to celebrate the long and faithful life of Mary Frances Galifianakis.
[00:48:48] There was a team of people, a team of people that made that possible, because I don't know if you noticed, but it snowed like a heap yesterday.
[00:48:58] And so there was just a kind of a community effort, people pulling together to make this possible.
[00:49:06] There's a team of folks that put together a nice little meal for them, a little lunch so that they might eat before, family might eat together before we said our final goodbyes. Carolyn, John, Caroline, and Drew, and Amanda, and Polly, and surely there are
[00:49:29] others. They just created this nice little beautiful meal so that people in a particular time of need could have some sustenance. And that's not to mention the others who work behind the scene, the musicians who invested in this service of worship, the building and grounds crew
[00:49:50] who worked with our landscapers to clear our parking lot, who also worked with the towns to clear the streets around the church, all so that we could welcome people here into this space for a little bit of worship and fellowship and so that we might love and support one another.
[00:50:11] And that's what it was really all about yesterday. It was really all about the church surrounding people with this gesture of love and support. It was love and support that is only made possible from God's gift to us and our giving back to God, our giving of our resources,
[00:50:33] our giving of our time, our giving of our energy. It's why we give. We give not because we have to, not because we're expected to. We give to God. We give to one another. And we give because of
[00:50:50] the love that we have for God, for one another, even for our community around us. So I'll invite you in this time, this short time, this brief time of musical reflection, to consider what it is you
[00:51:06] love about this place, what it is you love about this people, what it is you love about this community, and consider giving in response to that. Maybe you want to give something by, if you're here,
[00:51:19] dropping something in an offering plate or in the little white church, or if you're at home, you can click the link and give online. You can mail something into the office. There's lots of ways
[00:51:29] to give money, but you have lots more to give. Lots that doesn't fit into your wallet or your bank account. Maybe you'd like to invest some of your time and energy in caring for the littlest
[00:51:42] among us in our nursery on Sunday morning or on Wednesday evening. Maybe you'd like to join us in our conversations at Kirk Night on Wednesdays. Hopefully we'll be able to meet again someday soon. Maybe you'd like to invest your time in caring for a community by making some bag lunches
[00:52:01] for Wilkes Ministry of Hope or volunteering to meet and greet and eat with the folks who come to St. Paul's Crisis Assistance Ministry. There's a whole host of things that we can give of ourselves
[00:52:14] to love and serve those around us so in this time simply invite you to consider how you will give this week and after a moment's time we will dedicate all of these gifts to god let's join
[00:57:31] our hearts in prayer as we dedicate the gifts of our lives to god gracious god thank you for the many blessings of our lives. Bless these gifts we give today. May they be used to bring about
[00:57:48] justice and joy for those who need them most. Amen. Friends, it is not quite time for us to

[00:59:57] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_04]
[00:59:57] leave this place, but as we leave this moment of worship, I pray that you go remembering that you are somebody. You are somebody to God. Go to uphold the somebody-ness of others, particularly those who are near to the heart of God. Go from this place to work for justice and mercy and peace
[01:00:24] wherever you are. And as you go, go with this blessing. May the Lord bless you and keep you.
[01:00:31] May the Lord be kind and gracious to you. May the Lord look with favor upon you and give you peace.
[01:00:38] Alleluia. Amen.