Barrett Bolton, Millie Pulliam, Cameron Mewborn
PCM Student Sunday Sermons
Feb 18, 2024
Matthew 5:1-12 (The Beatitudes)
Barrett’s sermon
Baptized and in the pulpit in one service! That’s gotta be a record.
As I read the beatitudes I came to the realization that it is hard for me to transition the Beatitudes from an idealistic Sunday school lesson, to qualities of life I can actually use. As I delved into Matthew, I found myself wrestling with the familiar church phrases that seem distant from my reality.
“Blessed are the merciful, the meek, the righteous,” I mean I am not a bad person, but those are not the first words I would use to describe myself. The beatitudes sound great for those who have it all together, but what about me? I mean, Beatitude? I have a Bad Attitude.
But it makes sense. Let them receive their blessings and reap what they sow. It is great for the people who live out these virtues to receive great things for what they have done.
People like my Mema. A Mema’s character brings tranquility at the family dinner table; she is a peacemaker; gives out of her own need to her community; she is meek; and she loves her God, with the purest of hearts. But, As I read the beatitudes over, my perception shifted, especially in the first two Beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, and blessed are those who mourn.”
You see for all the other beatitudes, there is a virtuous action or characteristic, and then a subsequent reward. But the first two don’t follow this pattern.
They aren’t achievements or virtues I can strive for and they are not the shiny, positive ideals we often associate with blessings. Rather, they speak to moments of brokenness, of feeling utterly lost, and they honor the pain in the human experience.
Mema, in her later years, struggled with dementia. As I was away here in Chapel Hill my sophomore year, her health started declining. Amongst the many health scares and hospital visits, I became accustomed to calls from my mom, updating me on her condition. One Thursday I got a call from my mom. She was telling me about how Mema was stable, but not doing so well, and I could feel something. And Something told me I needed to go home. So I skipped my next class, got my brother, and headed home. When I made it home that evening, I sat with Mema, serenaded by the twang of southern gospel and surrounded by family. I prayed a prayer. Not one of words or even thoughts, but one with a tender kiss and a tight hand squeeze. That night, I held onto Mema’s hand, as she took her last breath.
With Mema’s passing, I felt farther from God than I had at any point of my life. Loss brings so many questions, few answers, and a lot of hurt. I was resistant to the idea of God because I was mourning, but expected to proclaim the gospel and praise God at a funeral?
Thankfully, in our beatitudes, there is no requirement for the mourning to praise God, or for the poor in spirit to seek God for blessing. Instead, they are simply, but powerfully blessed in the wholeness of their condition.
I find that the first two beatitudes catch many at the point they feel furthest from God. When someone passes you question how a loving God could allow something like that. When you are in the valleys of depression, you can’t imagine a loving God letting you go that low. But, it is beautiful how Jesus takes these universally experienced pains, and declares blessings upon them. I mean he should know the grace we need. in Lazarus’s death, he wept for his lost friend; in the barren desert, he was desperate for water; and in the garden of Gethsemane, he cried out for mercy.
In our darkest times — when we’re mourning, when tragedy strikes, when God feels distant or even unwelcome — Jesus declares us blessed and loved. Comfort for the mourning, and inheritance for those at a total loss.
I mourned Mema’s passing, but I found comfort in the support from friends and pastors. I mourned, but I found comfort in Mema’s pecan pie recipe winning the PCM dessert competition the next day. I mourned, and that is all I did. I became poor in spirit, and I simply sat in that season. You see friends, our God is full of grace and provision. There is no requirement, or any virtue we have that earns us grace. The same blessings given to the martyrs, righteous, and meek, are extended to us all. The first two beatitudes set the record straight: God’s grace is for us all.
It is this grace that baptism prepares a response to. Baptism says, “God, I see your grace, the love, your vision, and I am here, and I want to be a part of that vision.” But God’s grace is not dependent on my response or my effort, the grace has always been there.
These first two beatitudes declare that the grace of our God had and always will be there, declaring us all blessed and anointing us all with the love of God. Church, only when we know that we are all covered by the grace of the first two beatitudes, can we then respond and fulfill the rest. For there is no way to start without beginning at God’s grace.
I say to you,
Blessed are you and me, for God’s grace is inevitable
Millie’s sermon
Good morning! For those of you who may not know me, my name is Millie and I have been an active member of PCM for the past four years, two of which I served on the leadership team. After witnessing the remarkable senior sermons given on past student Sundays, I knew one day I’d jump at the opportunity to give back a small portion of what all PCM and UPC have given me.
To tell the truth, even though I was excited to get the opportunity to preach, a lot of worrying was involved while preparing for this sermon. However, this type of worrying is nothing new to me. Growing up, I’ve always been a worrier–like BIG time.
For me, worrying has always coincided with self-doubt and perfectionism. Now trust me when I tell you that I hate using the word ‘perfectionism’ to describe myself. Self-describing as a perfectionist may lead others to assume I have it all figured out, when in reality that could not be further from the truth. The word often gets a bad rap because it is most commonly viewed through the lens of productivity and self-reliance. For instance, last semester I remember anxiously walking into my microbiology lab for the first time. We were randomly assigned lab partners for the entire semester so of course… a lot was at stake! Once my lab partner found her seat, she introduced herself and immediately warned me that she was a perfectionist.
I thought to myself…great. Two perfectionists in the same room? Would we spend the whole semester tirelessly striving for perfect lab results?
Though my lab partner’s unsolicited transparency caught me a bit off guard, this interaction made me rethink how I perceive my own perfectionist tendencies. Yes within an academic context, which is dominated by competition and achievement, but also within the context of my faith.
Gradually, I’ve discovered that while chasing perfection in academics and a prospective career, I’ve lost sight of what it means to be a beloved child of God. In my life, there’s always been a tension between wanting to get things right and humbly acknowledging that perfection is not always possible or necessary. Certainly, I can acknowledge that I mess up and understand that perfection is out of the question, but why do I still try relentlessly?
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, he boldly opens with, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” But what exactly does it mean to be poor in spirit? From my understanding, it simply means to be human. To be poor in spirit is not a bad thing. It’s an opportunity for growth. It’s the humble acknowledgment that being human means messing up. To be poor in spirit means accepting the imperfection in ourselves and others. In doing so, we are reminded of our God-given worth and called to remind others of theirs.
Friends, the good news is this: God blesses us because God sees us fully and deems us worthy. There is nothing in this world that will change this. Not bad grades. Not a slow day at work. Not even failing to make it to church every Sunday.
Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is God’s promise to us and if we look carefully, we might just get a glimpse of it.
When I think of what the kingdom of heaven looks like in my life, PCM comes to mind. PCM is a space that radically welcomes those who are poor in spirit. It offers a sacred place to simply be. I can confidently say that I would not be standing here in this pulpit without having experienced the radical love of PCM.
By blessing the poor in spirit, Jesus deems us worthy with no reservation. When we are at our most vulnerable and when we feel unworthy, Jesus unconditionally accepts us.
Blessed are you and me, for we are fully known and claimed by God.
Cameron’s sermon
Good Morning! My name is Cameron Mewborn, I’m a senior UNC student here at PCM and I also serve as the Moderator of PCM’s leadership team.
Being a student here at Carolina is something I’d been looking forward to for a longggg time. I’ll never forget the afternoon of January 25th, 2020. I hadn’t even gotten out of my car after arriving home from school, with my dad on the phone I opened an email that said “Congratulations! You’ve been accepted to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill!”
I was thrilled! But, this was a part of my plan! What was my plan you ask? Well, naturally as a good North Carolina girl, I would go to UNC, get a 4.0, watch the basketball team win a national championship, and get into medical school, all without breaking a sweat. (hair flip)
And now, four years later, I stand before you proud to say I accomplished all of those things!
Just kidding!
As soon as I arrived on campus, classes moved to zoom. I never saw a classroom and rarely saw another human being other than my roommate. And I certainly wasn’t allowed into the Smith Center for a basketball game.
This was NOT how it was supposed to go. This was not the plan! Truthfully, I was really disappointed. Disappointment is something that rings true for the people in our scripture today as well. The poor, those who mourn, the peacemakers and the persecuted. I couldn’t help but wonder who these people were that Jesus was speaking to… calling “bless-ed”. I, for one, have never planned to be poor, mourn, a peacemaker or persecuted. Nobody plans to experience such trials! Is Jesus saying we need to be grieving or persecuted to be closer to God?
After four years at UNC and actively participating in PCM, I’ve decided… maybe not.
This past March, 6 months prior to the eruption of war on October 7th, I found myself in Israel-Palestine to learn about the conflict that dominates our minds, hearts, and the news cycle. I’d been learning about great and holy places from the humble pews of Lillington Presbyterian Church my whole life, but when I arrived, I could not seem to find God in this holy land, only people who were displaced and in great pain. Everything seemed upside down.
Following these deep experiences in Jerusalem, we drove north to Galilee, where we found the Church of the Beatitudes. There were no ornate stained-glass windows, only a large porch and flowers overlooking the lake, designed to give you a taste of what Jesus and his followers saw when we came up on that mountain and sat down. Overlooking the crystal blue sea and bright green valley I began to understand how hopeful the followers of Jesus felt listening to these surprising, upside-down blessings.
Maybe I too am blessed by God. Maybe you are too – not when you avoid suffering but in the midst of it. Maybe the sorrow and pain that we all experience in life is not a curse or God’s absence, but an opportunity for God to love us with God’s own hands. Nobody can will the kingdom of God to show up when someone is mourning, poor in spirit, or being persecuted.
But, I do know of a pretty good place to look for the kingdom of God, and it isn’t on a mountain top across an ocean or On the other side of the world. When I am mourning, or poor in spirit, PCM is the best place to be. And I’m pretty sure these first few rows would agree.
PCM takes the beatitudes from a scripture spoken 2000 years ago to blessings that are ALIVE with the Holy Spirit. PCMers are meek first-years… shell shocked from the isolating and the scary experience that college can be,,,,,, but are Blessed- turning into confident individuals empowered by belonging. PCMers are poor in spirit from a bad test grade,,,,, blessed by personal tutoring by a pcmer who had taken the class before!
PCMers mourn …. (make eye contact with people here sad!)
I mourn my Mother everyday, but I am blessed by the comfort PCMers who understand such loss and find comfort in hugs, jokes, music, and even a batch of homemade collard greens.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Life is full of unexpected trials that are not in your plan. And yet…PCM practices peacemaking. We stand up for our friends when families are complicated and roommates get crazy. PCM hungers and thirsts for righteousness. We advocate for all God’s people out in the world and in our campus student body president elections. PCM endeavors to be pure in heart. I see the love of God in every single one of you, and the way you love one another.
It has been a joy being the moderator of this amazing student-led ministry that finds a home here thanks to this Church’s amazing generosity and love. Being moderator requires lots of planning: leadership team meetings, programs, events, and of course Berry wrangling.
Yet despite all of the planning that I’ve put into PCM … It has been an even greater joy walking with a Christ-like community in the unexpected sadness and unexpected joy of life.
While sometimes we don’t get those grades, we find belonging in God’s community.
While we haven’t seen the basketball team win a national championship (yet), we did experience a certain retirement party that was an even greater celebration. So as I wait patiently for my reward in heaven, I rejoice and am glad knowing I can belong, believe, and become with my PCM family until then.
So Church, PCM, I tell you this: Blessed are the lonely, for we will find BELONGING only granted by the community of God.
Blessed are those who question, for we find BELIEF in God that transcends our human understanding.
Blessed is this beloved community, for we are BECOMING more and more Christ-like with every step… together.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit… AMEN!