This week I was thinking of the ways we have been affected by the life of one man who lived 2000 years ago. I was not so much thinking of the sociological and political changes brought about by Christ’s followers but on His teachings.
The main block of teaching that Jesus gives is something we
have called the “sermon on the mount”. He probably gave the same message in
numerous places and times but several of the gospels recall it being given to a
large crowd on a hill. The message He gave starts out with a memorable set of
values called the ‘beatitudes’. People remember them because they repeat the
phrase “blessed are” over and over.
The beatitudes have both comforted and challenged us as a
race for almost 2000 years and they seem as relevant and keen now as they ever
did. They give us goals to shoot for and push back against a culture that tells
us to put ourselves first in all things.
The first value Jesus gives is that being poor is a good
thing – “blessed are the poor” He says. At first glance it seems to be a let
down for those of us looking for life tips like “fifteen ways to make your career
exciting and successful”. I might have expected “blessed are those who schedule
their time wisely” or something like that. But there it is. Jesus is taking me
to an uncomfortable place right away. I am not poor by most standards and if
you live up here in oil country chances are that you are not either. I don’t typically see the underprivileged as
somehow fortunate and as a group of people to be imitated. Quite the contrary,
so how are they ‘blessed’?
Jesus is saying that you should aim to be as spiritually
hungry as a poor person is naturally. The poor need to rely on God. It isn’t
something they do as a hobby on Sundays. Wealth makes us feel secure and
confident, while poverty makes us feel needy. Once our needs are met we tend to
stop looking to God for help. Our lives
go on just fine without Him. Catholic writer Monika Hellwig lists several
other benefits of poverty that we should consider imitating:
1. The poor know not only their dependence on God and on
powerful people but also their interdependence with one another.
2. The poor rest their security not on things but on people.
3. The fears of the poor are more realistic and less
exaggerated, because they already know that one can survive great suffering and
want.
4. The poor can respond to the call of the Gospel with a
certain abandonment and uncomplicated totality because they have so little to
lose and are ready for anything.[1]
This might sound like a strange
value, but the poor have an enviable feeling of powerlessness. They
have a recognition of their inability to save themselves. Obviously her points do not describe every
person who is in want, yet they give insight into why this is some sort of
blessing.
I think it also helps to consider
the opposite value that our culture gives us. Perhaps the
world's beatitude would read, "Blessed are you when you are rich and
secure. When your house is paid off,
when you drive a nice car you can easily afford and can vacation in beautiful
places. Blessed are those who have cultivated a deep feeling of power and
confidence in all things.” I would not say those things are evil, but that they
take our hearts in such a different direction than Jesus does.
His words impact us differently depending on where we are in
life. The poor read them and feel that they can stop feeling bad about not
having enough and take pride that their situation is a sort of advantage. Those
who are comfortable in their faith feel called to jump over a higher bar. Even
those who do not normally care much for religion can’t help but admire the
message of this humble saviour.
Sometimes when I open the Bible I feel like I get a shock. I
am expecting to be entertained or comforted and instead I am challenged to
change my thinking. Even writing this
now I feel as though my own heart calls me after the world’s value much closer
than Christ’s. I do not expect to reach the perspective He has without the Holy
Spirit’s help, but I can’t help thinking that I have a long way to go.
By Jason
Gayoway
Published
Februar 20, 2014
[1] Monika Hellwig, “Good
News to the Poor. Do they understand it Better?” in Tracing the Spirit,
145.
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