March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Prescription for happiness offered by Lenten speaker

The annual Sermon and Soup series continued March 8 at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Bangor. The sermon was delivered by the Rev. Bob Beaumont, pastor of First Baptist Church in Bangor.

Each speaker has been asked to speak as though this were to be his last sermon — or his only sermon. Beaumont spoke on the “Search for Happiness.”

“All of us get so very busy in our daily lives,” he said. “How wonderful it is to step into God’s sanctuary and find a measure of peace.”

He asked, “Are there any truly happy people among us?” He told the story of a poll Psychology Today conducted of 52,000 readers a few years ago. One person wrote in, “I think I’m happy, but would you please verify?”

Beaumont pointed out that in the reading for the day, Matthew 5:1-12, the Jerusalem Bible version of the Beatitudes reads “Happy are they …,” rather than the “Blessed are they …” used in the King James Version.

“Jesus is always turning things upside down for us,” he said. One verse refers to the “poor in spirit,” but most people think “I don’t want to be poor in anything,” he said. “And `happy are those who mourn’ — isn’t that a contradiction?”

He went on, “And just when we’ve signed up for an assertiveness-training course, we’re reminded to be meek.”

He pointed out, “Jesus is not talking about the pursuit of pleasure — he’s not talking about what makes us feel tingly inside. … Too late we learn, happiness doesn’t come from without; happiness comes from within. … Nor does it come from avoidance of pain.”

Beaumont said, “Happiness comes, then, in three ways — first, in purposeful living. We need humble, obedient people to almighty God. We need peacemakers who are willing to threaten the established order in order to bring true peace.

“We can find happiness in being people-oriented. Jesus does implore us to lay our life down for the sake of others.” Beaumont said it always pleased him to see people coming from working “at the soup kitchen or a Habitat project,” because they showed “the joy that comes from serving others.

“Happiness comes in our passion for God — a commitment to Christ, obedience to the Master.”

He concluded, “If you find a humble person with a pure heart,” with a purpose for living and a “complete commitment to God,” such a person would show “peace that the world cannot defeat.”

The Bible reading was given by the Rev. William Winston, pastor of St. John’s Episcopal Church. Joan Phillips was the organist for the hymns, “Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah” and “Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee.”

Other speakers for the program have been the Rev. James Haddix, the Rev. Paul Pantelis, the Rev. Keith Grove and the Rev. Maurice Lebel. The last session will be held at 12:05 p.m. Friday, March 22, with sermon by Ken Graves, pastor of Calvary Christian Center in Brewer.


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