Blessed are the Merciful

 This is the fifth of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy. We’ve already seen that the ‘poor in spirit’ are those who are humble and seek God’s way. Those who mourn, as we saw in the second Beatitude are those who God invites to come near so God can be with us in our sorrow. The ‘meek’ and those who ‘hunger and thirst for righteousness’ are inheritors of the good things of God’s bounty. This is not the grasping more, more, more attitude of Western culture but a bounty found in the fullness of all creation.

This week we consider the ‘merciful’. I think we’d all like to believe we are merciful. The Lord’s Prayer and Matthew 6:14-15 remind us that forgiveness is part of mercy. Jesus says, For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

Pulpit Commentary notes, “the mercy referred to here is not so…not dealing harshly, not inflicting punishment when due, sparing an animal or a fellow-man some unnecessary labor, as active kindness to the destitute and to any who are in trouble.”

Have you ever considered ‘mercy’ as being active kindness? The second chapter of the Letter of James warns that we can miss the mercy mark too easily with snap judgements. My brothers and sisters, do you with your acts of favoritism really believe in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ? For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in…have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts?...You do well if you really fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it…So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgement will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgement. (James 2:1-13)

In many church services we pray the Kyrie: “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy”. The mercy we are asking for is the chesed of God, the infinite loving-kindness from the One who creates all things. That is the mercy we experience when we fall short, and that is the mercy we are called to extend to one another. God has no favorites, and as the Epistle of James notes, we should not show partiality just because we like someone or because they agree with us.

The life, teaching and work of Jesus clearly calls us to step outside our personal comfort zones and sustain the hungry or thirsty, welcome the stranger, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner. Matthew 25:35-40 is a call to putting mercy into action. Offering mercy is not easy. Offering mercy is God’s way. Offering mercy is the way of hope, healing, reconciliation.  

Is there someone to whom you might offer mercy?

Blessed are the Meek

 In the third week of the season of Epiphany we are considering the third of the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5. Jesus tells the crowds Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5 NIV). Other translations say blessed are the gentle (New American Standard and others) or blessed are the humble (New Living Translation and others). The Amplified Bible expands the word even further to read, Blessed [inwardly peaceful, spiritually secure, worthy of respect] are the gentle [the kind-hearted, the sweet-spirited, the self-controlled], for they will inherit the earth.

In Matthew 11:29 Jesus refers to himself as being meek. He says, take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. Jesus also modeled meekness in the servanthood of washing his disciples' feet. Aligning our lives with the meekness of Jesus is a way to inherit and live into the Kingdom of God.

But what exactly is this ‘meekness’ or ‘humility’ or ‘gentleness’ that Jesus invites us to participate in? Is it the attitude of putting others needs ahead of our own? Is it seeing the face of God in each and every one and in all parts of creation? Is it the Golden Rule? Is it all of these and more?

In the Letter to the Romans, we are told, by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but think of yourself with sober judgment, according to the measure of faith God has given you. (Romans 12:3) That is the core of meekness. To know we aren’t the most important thing in the world and to be open to God’s leading and loving.

That is the opposite of what we are told by the world we live in. Culture insists we should be prepared and look out for ‘number one’. As the song in the musical South Pacific says we’ve “got to be carefully taught…to hate all the people our relatives hate.” Meekness is the offering of one-self to God and to others in love.

Matthew Dickerson notes, “As many have pointed out, meekness is not the same as weakness, but it does involve humility and a willingness not to use our power to dominate others. In that way, it is a type of vulnerability. Paul…is more explicit about embracing weakness. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). Paul’s teaching suggests both that we not avoid or deny our weakness, and also that we not follow the world’s so-called “wisdom” that values strength and disdains vulnerability.”  

The Good News of God tells us in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others (Romans 12:5). Instead of looking out for just ourselves we are to try to please everyone in all I do. For I am not seeking my own good, but the good of many, that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 10:33).

How can we be the counter-cultural humans we are meant to be? Desmond Tutu is quoted as saying, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Henri Nouwen offers further advice in this graphic and concludes, “I must trust that the little bit of love that I sow now will bear many fruits, here in this world and the life to come.”

In this next week choose to sow a ‘little bit of love’ in the world you inhabit.  

Blessed are those who mourn

 In the last post, we began our Epiphany-tide exploration of the Beatitudes. These are the verses in the Gospel of Matthew that promise hope to those often seen as unfortunate. Matthew 5:4 has the second of these: Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

There are many verses in the Bible about mourning and sorrow being followed by joy. Psalm 126:5-6 is one that is familiar: Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.6He who goes out weeping, bearing a trail of seed, will surely return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of grain. Isaiah 61:2 calls us to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor and the day of our God's vengeance, to comfort all who mourn. That is what Epiphany is about, manifesting or showing God’s favor and love in the face of mourning and injustice.

Some commentators link this Beatitude to the previous one, noting that we mourn when we are poor in spirit and that relationship with the Holy One brings a “sense of pardon and peace, of restored purity and freedom.” (Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers) Jesus promises his disciples you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy (John 16:20). We can rest in that promise and share it with a hurting and sorrowing world one person at a time.

I think it is interesting to look at the root of the words. In this context ‘mourn’ is from penthos, meaning to grieve. The phrase ‘will be comforted’ is from the words para and kaleo, implying to call near and invite. In other words, those who grieve are invited to come near to God. That is a wonderful promise. Whether we are mourning the loss of family member or friend, grieving a transition, weeping over injustices, lamenting over a personal failure, or simply feeling deep sorrow we are called close into the embrace of God’s love.

Amanda Gorman, the young woman who gave the moving inaugural poem a year ago released a new poem for the new year. If you haven’t listened to it, I encourage you to do so. She speaks of mourning and of the hope that comes through and after sorrow. The poem starts with the words “Mourning, we come to mend” and ends with the powerful words “wherever we come together, we will forever overcome”. 

As Gorman notes, coming together is the way to allow God to [turn] my mourning into joyful dancing…[taking] away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy (Psalm 30:11).. It is important to remember that we are not alone in our mourning. God is with us, and so are those friends that God puts in our life to share our journey. It is never a good idea to withdraw into our grief and think we are abandoned. God provides friends, counselors, church community, family members, and sometimes complete strangers to offer comfort. Occasionally, it can even be a random social media post that gives us a boost.

In these past couple years, we’ve all experienced a lot of things to mourn and grieve about. Whether it’s the loss of things we took for granted, death of family or friends, changes in circumstances, instability and turmoil or any number of other things, we are all mourning. God invites us to come—in our mourning, our grief, our lamentation. With, and by, God we are comforted, loved, and sent out.

What are you mourning? Don’t hold your sorrow in. Share it with a trusted ally and allow them to be God’s love to you. Share it with the Holy One who invites you to be loved and comforted.

Blessed: to Be

Since Easter, this blog has looked at ways we can be refreshed. The telling and hearing of the Story of God’s work is one way. Having fun, laughing and singing are others. When we tell one another what good things God has done we are also refreshed. As noted in the last post, we are now entering the Season of Pentecost or ‘Ordinary Time’ when there aren’t major feasts to celebrate. We are simply called to do God’s work.

This week starts a series on ways we are Blessed to do that work.

First we are Blessed to BE. 

Miriam McKenney in 50 Days of Fabulous said, “So as I continue to live into the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, remaining mindful of the gift of Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension, I consider God’s message about seeing as mortals see; seeing from the outside instead of looking inside into people’s hearts. We must believe that we can do this. If we are children of God, and God lives in us, then we can see into each other’s heart. Even if it’s just a glimmer. Jesus preached, taught, and lived a life of love. [and] taught us that God has something in store for each of us that we may not understand or comprehend in ourselves, or in each other.”

McKenney notes that each of us is blessed to be who we are, and each of us is blessed to bring out the best in one another. We are Blessed to Be the ones who witness to God’s love in our lives. As St. Francis is said to have urged, “Preach the Gospel, if necessary use words.” It is in the way we live who we are meant to BE that we witness.

As we live the life we are formed for we are promised that “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a warrior who gives victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” (Zephaniah 3:17) Isn’t it wonderful that God rejoices over us. No matter what happens, or what we do (or don’t do), God loves us and in fact, praises our life and work!

Sometimes we think it is only by Doing something big and important that we can Earn God’s favor and make a difference. That is not true. It is a lie produced by our world, which we too often believe. The only way we can really live as we were meant to be is to Be Held [by God]. In the Casting Crowns song Just be Held we are reminded that God is present in every moment and that we don’t have to ‘hold it all together’. Instead we can ‘just be held’. 

Jesus points to the birds and flowers saying “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? …See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin...” (Matthew 6:26-28)

Think about some ways you can BE-yourself and in Be-ing you: Be-come a witness to others:

Be Present

Be You
Be Strong
Be Filled
Be Changed
Be Open
Be-Come
Be Whole
Be New
Be Holy
Be Broken

You can probably think of other ways to BE as you live your life in Christ and as witness to the power of God. Remember you can BE-Loved and you are Beloved!

God says “I AM who I AM”. God tells us to Just BE who I created because that is enough.

For the next several weeks, we'll continue to look at ways we are Blessed! 

Blessed to be More than Conquerors

We are returning to our study of Isaiah 61 after the little 4^th of July break. In verses 8-9 we hear God’s promise of an ‘everlasting covenant’ with those on whom the Spirit of the Lord has come. We’ve already looked at promises of the Lord’s favor with joy and rebuilding of ruins. We’ve seen how we are called to be priests of God to minister and serve one another and the world.

Now Isaiah continues “For I the Lord love justice, I hate robbery and wrongdoing; I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.”

God says that those who live into the anointed life of faithful service will be recognized as “a people whom the Lord has blessed.” This can be in spite of outward circumstances. We may not always feel that we are blessed, because life often has twists and turns, and bumps and bruises.

In the Beatitudes Jesus tells us, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” He continues, ”blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather blessings came in the form of soft kitties and gentle words than in the form of persecution or being reviled. However, it is “the one who endures to the end, [who] will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matt. 24:13-14)

In the Letter of James we hear “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12)

What does all this talk about enduring through troubles and trials and tribulations have to do with Isaiah’s promise of an everlasting covenant for the ‘people the Lord has blessed’? In a time when we hear of persecution of our brothers and sisters across the world for their faith, we could retreat in fear. Or we could take heart from the promises of God and rejoice when we hear that they know and testify that ‘our Jeshua doesn’t fail’?

In our day-to-day living, we likely won’t have to face extreme persecution or death for our Lord. We can pray for those who are facing dire persecution. We can work for peace and reconciliation starting with our own relationships. We can persevere in the ministry we feel called to and live out the promises of God who heals, frees, and restores. We can remember that we are ‘in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.’ (Romans 8:37)!

We might ask ourselves do we, too, know that our Jeshua does not fail? And then live like we believe it!