Lessons: Psalms 45;
Wisdom 3:1-9; Colossians 1:15-23; Luke 6:12-26.
Back in the Dark Ages when I was a Boy Scout, I enjoyed the
enterprise of working toward a merit badge. I suspect what I liked most was the
process of a goal and working toward it under caring instruction. The manual
listed all the hands-on direct actions one was to do to earn the badge. They
were usually quite physical such as nights spent outside, building a fire
without matches, setting up a tent properly. There were mental bits: making a
menu, discussing how to choose a site, reflecting on the importance of
sanitation. I know what I most liked was an adult mentor who listened as much as
instructed. His task was to encourage and guide your maturation.
In today's Gospel Jesus has chosen the apostles from among his
disciples. Twelve out of many followers will make up his core support. They move
into a deeper place of guidance under Jesus. Just the same, what we read today,
Luke's Beatitudes, are open for all to hear, all whom have come to learn from
him and/or to be healed. The Luken author sees the Beatitudes as an address to
"his disciples" in the crowd. So it is more than the twelve yet fewer than all
who are present. It would be like speaking to the whole Scout troop, those who
were on a path to growth, but not as exclusively as the Eagle scouts nor as
broadly as all boys. This is their first group lesson. The Church has treated
these as meritorious.
"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed
are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when
people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on
account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your
reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.
Luke 6:20-23
Luke does not spiritualize these teachings as Matthew seems to. The poor are poor, not poor in heart. The hungry are the hungry, not those who hunger for righteousness. This first instruction is that there is value in being vulnerable in life, be that poverty, hunger, mourning, rejection for your following the will of God. From this place there is an openness to possibility. It is implied that this open space will be met by a deepening relationship to the Son of Man, a godly messenger.
One of the truths of life is that vulnerability either hardens or softens us. People either put up greater defenses or lower walls. I cannot generalize why various people choose which. It may have to do with how often they have allowed vulnerability in their lives or defended against it. It may have to do with how often they have allowed others to know and see their vulnerable self. I strongly suspect it has to do with discovering real care. This alone I know, many who are vulnerable receive remarkable care when they open in safe places. I have seen churches become these safe places for others. I have been instructed by churches which serve mostly with the poor as they create conversations and administer support for great care that heals hope and heart and offers help from places of shared experience and compassion. I have observed humbling generosity and been called into my better self. My heart and mind have been instructed.
Luke balances his Beatitudes with a set of woes.
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets." Luke 6:24-26
These woes are not curses but warnings. Comforts can block our empathy and thus our care. We can from the place of comfort forget that we are part of the flow of God's generous Being. We are strengthened, healed, made more alive when goodness flows through us and out to others. What Jesus taught, and will in Luke now go on to teach, is that as our hearts and creativity open to instruction, compassion and forgiveness, we grow more deeply whole. All in this life are made for the wisdom that compassionate life teaches. It is not our securities that teach us but our vulnerability, our openness to share life that makes us truly rich in deeds.
Perhaps that's what I liked about my time as a Scout working on merit badges. Grown men sat with me, listened to how I was trying to grow, patiently offered guidance, lacked the stern edge of my own father. They were there not just to instruct a set of rules but to tend to how I learned things best. They taught so it seemed we learned together. They acted as if I had earned this merit badge. In truth we earned it together. I wonder if, after my mother sewed it on my uniform, it was also sewn on their heart/minds as something we shared? Their pride in me seemed to say so.
Are we not thus sewn into God as we become compassionate?
Luke does not spiritualize these teachings as Matthew seems to. The poor are poor, not poor in heart. The hungry are the hungry, not those who hunger for righteousness. This first instruction is that there is value in being vulnerable in life, be that poverty, hunger, mourning, rejection for your following the will of God. From this place there is an openness to possibility. It is implied that this open space will be met by a deepening relationship to the Son of Man, a godly messenger.
One of the truths of life is that vulnerability either hardens or softens us. People either put up greater defenses or lower walls. I cannot generalize why various people choose which. It may have to do with how often they have allowed vulnerability in their lives or defended against it. It may have to do with how often they have allowed others to know and see their vulnerable self. I strongly suspect it has to do with discovering real care. This alone I know, many who are vulnerable receive remarkable care when they open in safe places. I have seen churches become these safe places for others. I have been instructed by churches which serve mostly with the poor as they create conversations and administer support for great care that heals hope and heart and offers help from places of shared experience and compassion. I have observed humbling generosity and been called into my better self. My heart and mind have been instructed.
Luke balances his Beatitudes with a set of woes.
"But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets." Luke 6:24-26
These woes are not curses but warnings. Comforts can block our empathy and thus our care. We can from the place of comfort forget that we are part of the flow of God's generous Being. We are strengthened, healed, made more alive when goodness flows through us and out to others. What Jesus taught, and will in Luke now go on to teach, is that as our hearts and creativity open to instruction, compassion and forgiveness, we grow more deeply whole. All in this life are made for the wisdom that compassionate life teaches. It is not our securities that teach us but our vulnerability, our openness to share life that makes us truly rich in deeds.
Perhaps that's what I liked about my time as a Scout working on merit badges. Grown men sat with me, listened to how I was trying to grow, patiently offered guidance, lacked the stern edge of my own father. They were there not just to instruct a set of rules but to tend to how I learned things best. They taught so it seemed we learned together. They acted as if I had earned this merit badge. In truth we earned it together. I wonder if, after my mother sewed it on my uniform, it was also sewn on their heart/minds as something we shared? Their pride in me seemed to say so.
Are we not thus sewn into God as we become compassionate?
No comments:
Post a Comment