With Jesus

 

When I was a teenager, I worked for a man who was an elder in his church. His church had very strict rules about who could be a leader in the congregation. An elder had to be a man, because Jesus only picked men to be a leader. He had to be a businessman, since they needed good business sense to run their church. And he had to be a financially successful business man, because to be rich was a sign of God’s favour. When I came home from university one summer, I was surprised to learn that he had gone bankrupt because of some shady deals. I often wondered what his church would have thought of him then.

 

One of the most misunderstood messages of Jesus is the Sermon on the Mount. People are perplexed by his saying “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Why would Jesus say we are blessed when we are poor? No one wants to be poor. No one enjoys poverty. I don’t know of anyone who starves themselves into a state of spiritual ecstasy. Is Jesus really telling us it is better to be poor? I don’t think Jesus is giving us a list of perfect attributes. So many of the situations he describes in the Beatitudes go against our basic human nature. Why would someone deliberately want to be sat upon, spat upon, or ratted on? I do think Jesus is saying that when these bad or unusual things do happen to us, there should be a different response. When we step outside of the normal bounds of social behaviour, we usually find ourselves condemned or shunned. Jesus is challenging that wisdom, by saying God is with us even when we stand alone against the world.

 

We need to remember where Jesus is when he says these things. When Jesus delivers his sermon on the mountain, he is speaking to a group of people he has just spent time with. He has been praying with them. He’s been listening to their stories. He’s been healing them. He’s been feeding them. He’s been forgiving them. They have been touched by his presence in their time of need. And now he shares with them some more examples of God is with them. When he says “Blessed are you” he is not talking about some abstract theological concept. He is talking to a particular individual whom he knows is going through that difficult situation.

 

These people are called blessed because the kingdom of heaven has touched their lives. In spite of their bad situation, and in the middle of their troubles, God’s grace has been active in their lives. Jesus is the embodiment of God’s grace, and he has spent time healing, blessing and encouraging them, even though they are down and out, hurting and alone.

 

Now in our world the people that count are the rich, the powerful, the beautiful, the famous. Our sense of worthiness demands that our good fortune be earned. The fat, the sick, the weak are all treated as modern-day lepers. As invisible. As unimportant. And these are the very people who are able to witness and say “He touched me. Christ healed me. Jesus lifted me up out of the pit.” With Jesus, we are blessed. With Jesus, we are lifted up, regardless of where we are.

 

With Jesus, we are lifted up, including those times when we normally stand alone. Jesus comforts us when we mourn. Everyone else may desert us when we lose a loved one, but Jesus still comes around. So if we are Jesus’ disciples, then we should be sticking around when our friends are mourning as well.

 

Now the meek don’t try to be meek. The meek wish they were the life of the party. The meek wish they could speak up at work. The meek wish they had a voice. The meek get walked on a lot because they can’t speak up. Jesus stands with the meek. He makes an effort to hear their voice. As his disciples, who are the silent ones we need to be listening to?

 

Then there’s those pesky people who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those are the dirt disturbers who push us with calls for justice, equality, fairness. Who care about the common good even when the common good impinges on my own personal advantages. Normally we resist being pushed beyond our own rational self-interest. We resist their calls by hiding behind the rallying cry of ‘Not in my back yard’. Jesus reminds us that we worship a God who is both immanent and transcendent. A God who is with us, and who is much more than just us. God is concerned with much more than just those things which appeal to our rational self-interest. As Jesus’s apprentices, should we not be trying to copy God’s limitless justice? And should we not be supportive of those who do dare to sound the difficult call of justice?

 

In the same way, the call to be merciful often leaves us isolated from our neighbours. When something bad happens, it is a natural impulse to want to set it right. The most powerful way we seek resolution is through revenge. We want to see the perpetrator punished for what they have done. The merciful are those who forgo this base urge for revenge. The merciful seek to take the healing route to resolution through the power of forgiveness. Jesus chooses to stand with us when we dare to step away from the mob’s call for revenge. Those who dare to reject the call for revenge are often vilified by society. As his apprentices we are to follow his example of blessing those who dare to stand alone for the sake of mercy.

 

Just as the consequences of standing alone for the sake of justice and mercy seem hard to bear, the consequences of being a peacemaker are an even greater burden. When we are called to defend our nation, the act of being a peacemaker often earns the label of traitor. For peacemakers dare to talk to the other side, to negotiate with the evil enemy. Peacemakers are willing to go out on a limb in order to heal us all. Society often turns against the peacemakers, cutting off that branch which the peacemaker and the enemy are both still sitting on. Instead of cutting off the branch, Jesus asks us to join God who is supporting the risky weight of that branch.

 

These statements of God’s blessings are not a new set of rules. Jesus is not telling us to be meek, poor or spat upon. Jesus spent time healing people. Listening to them. Touching them. Feeding them. By his actions, as well as by these words, he is showing us how God’s favour extends to those who are weak, to those who stumble, and even to those who step outside of the box of self interest. Jesus is a living example of how God is working through those who dare to risk exclusion for the sake of justice, mercy and peace. Even when the world has turned against you, Jesus is with you in your difficult moments. And since we are Christ’s disciples, his apprentices who follow his teachings and examples, we are called to be there as well, offering our own blessings and support.

 

For what does God ask of us? To seek justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God wherever God is.(Micah)

 

So no matter what you face, you are not alone. God is with us. Thanks be to God. Amen.