Readings - http://www.usccb.org/nab/013011.shtml
“I think he said, ‘Blessed is the Greek”
“Did you catch a name?”
“No, he said, ‘Blessed are the meek.”
“Oh, that’s nice. You know, they don’t get much out of life”
– Monty Python’s Life of Brian
For several Sundays it has perhaps seemed that the story of the unveiling of Jesus’ ministry was starting out rather slowly
Two weeks ago, we heard John’s version of John the Baptist’s encounter with Jesus. No fireworks, no sky opening up, no voice of God thundering from above. Just a dove descending above Jesus. (And this proved enough for John the Baptist to declare Jesus to be “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”)
Last week, we heard Matthew’s description of the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry by the Sea of Galilee, about as far as one could be from the center of Israel (Jerusalem) as one could be without leaving Israel completely.
Today, the takes a more dramatic turn, taking us up the Mountain to hear the beginning of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where, in fact, Jesus’ platform, “New Law” is unveiled.
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There are parallels to the story of Moses and the unveiling of the Covenant on Sinai here.
If the story of Moses really becan story with God calling him with the Burning Bush, while he was simply doing his job tending his father-in-laws sheep out in the Desert, Jesus similarly called his first disciples inauspiciously while they were fixing their nets along the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The call of Jesus’ first apostles we heard last week.
And if the story of Moses reached its climax when the people of Israel received the 10 Commandments through Moses carrying them down on Stone Tablets from Mt Sinai, this Sunday Jesus is presented in setting down the “New Law” with the Beatitudes at the beginning of his Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew does, in fact, present Jesus as “the new Moses” in his Gospel.
Yet there are differences, and they _again_ hinge on simplicity ...
In the receiving of the 10 Commandments we are given a scene that is far more dramatic and one in which God remains separated from his people. We imagine either God dictating those Ten Commandments to Moses and Moses hammering them into the Stone Tablets, or perhaps God himself inscribing those 10 commandments into the Tablets with perhaps lightning bolts. In either case, Moses receives the Law from God and then CARRIES the HEAVY TABLETS down to the People before proclaiming their contents to them. And they are Commandments, Obligations, Rules.
In contrast, we hear today Jesus proclaiming the New Law, the Beatitudes, without lightning bolts but with his own voice. And gone are rules. Instead there are blessings.
And in those blessings there is a message – that God both understands the state of this world and God loves us, wishes to encourage us, give us hope, anyway.
And as one goes through the list of the Beatitudes, it seems quite clear that Jesus wishes to give hope to those that the world often does not give much hope to –
The downtrodden (the poor in spirit).
Those who mourn (assuring them that it will get better).
The meek (whom the world often steps over and leaves without much concern leaves behind in the dust).
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (those who see the injustices in the world) and those who suffer for seeing the injustices that are out there.
And also the _pure_ (the clean of heart), those who in our time perhaps _most clearly_ represent the “chumps of this world,” those “who don’t seem don’t get it” who don’t seem to want to “get a big bite out of this world before it’s too late” who don’t seem to want to play by the ethic “whoever dies with the most toys (or most experiences) wins.”
Jesus tells his disciples, and by extention tells the world, that it’s okay to be simple, to choose not to strive, to choose not to be important, successful, etc.
He assures us that God loves us anyway. And that by choosing to be simple, we end up living happier lives –
If we don’t strive to be rich, we don’t have to be worried about losing our wealth.
If we don’t strive to be important, we don’t have to worry about defending our prestige.
If we don’t strive to have 10,000 boyfriends or girlfriends (or otherwise be “super-knowledgeable or successful” sexually) we end up living far simpler lives because we don’t end up needlessly hurting people (or ourselves for that matter with the traumas of repeated breakups/disagreements/disappointments).
God does not care how successful we are, God loves us anyway.
But then even to the meek, the humble and the pure, Jesus also offers challenges:
He tells them “blessed are the merciful” and “blessed are the peacemakers.”
This is not because the injustices don’t exist. It’s just that a lack of mercy can actually extend conflicts and make us hostages to demands for vengeance. Letting go can actually give us more freedom and peace.
So Jesus tells us, it’s okay to be “chumps,” to be poor, to be simple, far from the centers of prominence and power. We remain God’s children in any case, and the world’s potenti (big and small) can be left then to fight things out among themselves, while we ourselves can live out our lives (and reach perhaps more easily our destinies) in peace.
It’s a simple message really. And we do often miss it. We get distracted in seeking riches and prominence, or even defending our pride.
But the message is there ... Blessed are we, even when we lose.
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