Blessed

To Be Blessed

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Matthew 5: 1-12 (Epiphany 4A)

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught 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 receive mercy. 8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

In these words, a part of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, arguably the greatest sermon ever given, Jesus was laying before us an alternate way of being, a way that God calls us to be.  It was a reversal of the usual value system.  He was calling us to expect something different than what we see around us.  It can’t have been accepted all that well.  I mean, he was telling them that the way the world was was not really working, that the society that they had built was not the way it should be.  You and I both know–people don’t like that.

Each beatitude begins in the present and moves to the future.  So, start now but expect it to result in something different.  Expect that when God finishes this new creation, justice and righteousness and peace will finally and always prevail.  And in our seemingly small way, by living in this life now, by living a life of gentleness in this time of violence, a life of pure devotion to God in this time of competing allegiances, and a life in which we truly hunger and thirst for that day of expected justice and righteousness for all, we will become the future. 

No longer can Christianity be seen as a philosophy of life that would make us healthy, wealthy, and wise.  That whole prosperity gospel thing that is so prevalent right now, where if you pray and do right and say the right things and vote the right way, God will somehow reward you with a life of ease and plenty and you will come out on top is totally and completely debunked with this Scripture.  It instead shows us a way of walking that is different from what we know.  And we are expected to do something to make that happen. 

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said this:  Humanly speaking, we could understand and interpret the Sermon on the Mount in a thousand different ways.  Jesus knows only one possibility:  simple surrender and obedience, not interpreting it or applying it, but doing and obeying it.  That is the only way to hear his word.  He does not mean that it is to be discussed as an ideal; he really means us to get on with it.

The promise is not that being blessed means that our lives will become easier.  It doesn’t have anything to do with having a nice house or a good job or living a life of ease and plenty.  Being blessed means having a bless-ed relationship with God and with God’s people who share this planet with you. It means seeing yourself not as better or nicer than others, but as one who is a part of God’s bless-ed Creation. And from that standpoint, the beatitudes are meant to be not instructive but descriptive of that relationship.   They are not meant to be a checklist of what makes us a better person.  They are a vision of a community—an alternative community than the one in which we live.  Truth be told, being “blessed” has more to do with being used by God than it does getting stuff or having your life be easier.

Christ’s coming into this world as our Messiah brought about for us the conception of what Shalom is, the vision of what God’s full and final Kingdom looks like.  And even as the world groans with pain, we get a sense that perhaps some of it are the pains of birthing God’s Reign into being.  We are in the midst of a holy labor, a holy gestation as God’s vision comes to be.  And in our expectation of what will come to be, we find our faith.  And in the meantime, what part do we play?  What is expected of us?  How are we supposed to live as people of faith in this sort of chaotic world in which we find ourselves now?

We live in a time when people tell us to live well and do well.  But Jesus says, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

We live learning ways to make our life the best we can. But Jesus says, Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 

We live in a society that tells us to stand up for ourselves, to put ourselves first.  But Jesus says, Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

We live trying to satisfy ourselves in every way. But Jesus says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

We live in a place that teaches us to hold onto what we have and protect it. But Jesus says, Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

We live in a place that calls us to fill our minds and live within the morals we know and the rules we have designed.  But Jesus says, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

And we live in a country that is trying so desperately to protect itself and its wa of life, so desperately to put itself first.  But Jesus says, Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

It’s hard because it’s not what our world looks like.  We live by expecting to be blessed not in this world but in the way that God envisions we will be.  We are blessed not because we draw close to God but because God draws close to us and because of where we are, we notice.

I won’t take no for an answer,” God began to say to me when God opened his arms each night wanting us to dance.  (St. Catherine of Sienna)

Grace and Peace,

Shelli

Blessed

shelliwilliams ADVENT, Advent 4C, Mary, Uncategorized , ,

Visitation of Mary and Elizabeth
Painting in the Church of El Sitio, Suchitoto, El Salvador

(Advent 4C)

 

39In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, 40where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit 42and exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. 43And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? 44For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. 45And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.” (Luke 1: 39-45)

Remember the story. Mary, the young maiden, betrothed to Joseph, probably planning her wedding and dreaming of her life to come, was approached by an angel. Now the Scriptures seem to lead us to believe that an angel coming was not that extraordinary but I’m thinking that angel-coming stories are grossly over-represented in the Bible because, frankly, it’s at best a little surprising and, to be honest, downright disconcerting. So, the angel, after calming her down (our clue that this was NOT an ordinary incident), asked her to do one thing—just one thing—to birth the salvation of the world. (Sure, no problem!) Just one thing. But here’s the catch, Mary: your life will never again be what it is now; your life will be one of extremes—incredible joy and the most profound grief that you can possibly imagine; your life will be nothing like what you’ve planned for it to be. Your life will be one full of moving from place to place and really never again feeling at home. There will be times when you are running from things and times when you are searching. And it may be lonely, oh so lonely. And, no hurry, except that we really need to have an answer now because, frankly, all this time that we’ve waited, all this time that we’ve hoped, all this time that we’ve prepared has now ended. Now is the time. But, other than that, no hurry. Take your time. And the world stopped, if only for a moment…

So, Mary, not really sure of what she was getting into, agreed. This young maiden who the world doesn’t even know will birth the Savior, will become part of the redemption of the world. So, the angel left and Mary stood there. What in the world have I done? I mean, I love God and all, I want to serve God, but what in the world have I done? So, she runs. She runs to a place where she knew they would take her in, where they would hold her, where they would love her. Elizabeth would have been surprised. After all, it’s not like Mary could text her and tell her she was coming! And when Mary entered, she knew. The child inside her knew. The world knew. The angels’ gossip line was going crazy! After all, the world was with child.

And then Elizabeth took Mary in her arms. After all, this was not going to be easy. The world expects so much and is sometimes incredibly unforgiving, expecting too much, No one knew the road that lay ahead for the young girl but it didn’t matter. Elizabeth would be with her, to hold her, to love her, to listen to her as she worked things through.

You know, that’s really what it means to be blessed—not to be showered with riches or surrounded by happiness or, God forbid, to have our lives turn out the way we plan, but rather to be held and loved as you walk this journey that God has laid before each of us. Mary’s journey mirrors ours. God calls us to change our lives, to sometimes let go of our plans and our dreams and trade them in for what God envisions that we can be. And it is there that we will be blessed. So, THIS Advent, may you be truly blessed!

Here is the God I want to believe in: a Father who, from the beginning of Creation, has stretched out his arms in merciful blessing, never forcing himself on anyone, but always waiting; never letting his arms drop down in despair, but always hoping that his children will return so that he can speak words of love to them and let his tired arms rest on their shoulders. His only desire is to bless. (Henri J.M. Nouwen)

 

Grace and Peace,

 

Shelli