I Believe . . .
Today’s Readings - AM Psalm 106:1-18; Ruth 1:1-14; 2 Cor. 1:1-11; Matt. 5:1-12
The Gospel for today is one version of what we have come to know as the Beatitudes. Luke’s version is known as the Sermon on the Plains and is very similar to the one we have for today from Matthew. Jesus goes through a list of ways in which various human conditions might bring a blessing. It’s hard to read this without wondering why Jesus wants us to believe that we are blessed if we mourn or are poor in spirit or persecuted. Who is he kidding? We know following Christ is challenging but this seems out of even Jesus’ realm of what might be something we can accomplish.
In Joan Chittister’s book, In Search of Belief, she takes the Apostle’s Creed and line by line she dissects what it means to say “I believe. . .” She establishes that intellectual belief and the kind of belief that comes from faith, without the need for quantifiable data, are the two sides of the equation that people struggle with when it comes to what we believe. One way to consider scripture is to look at it from at least three “senses:” Literal, historical and spiritual. I recently heard someone say, “I take the Bible too seriously to only take it literally.” To look at scripture only from a literal perspective eliminates the historical context and what the scriptures are saying to us spiritually, for our situation, in our time. According to Chittister, literalism “involves more non-thinking than it does actual genuine faith.”
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is laying out his mission, he is restating his purpose which he had alluded to earlier in the Temple when he read from the prophet Isaiah. As we read Jesus’ words it’s easy to see how he could have been misunderstood. Even now, it’s easy to become confused or to be unsure of the message that Jesus is trying to communicate. Jesus is not trying to soft pedal the awful situations of which so many people in our communities suffer, nor is he dismissing their situation by simply declaring that this is some sort of blessing. One thing we know for certain is that Jesus suffered, and he felt companionship and solidarity with others who suffered. When we suffer, illusions of our independence from God or superiority over others is erased. We all suffer, we all mourn, we all find ourselves misunderstood and persecuted at one point or another. We are all poor in spirit and we all long for the presence of God to fill our empty hollow lives. This is what I believe Jesus was trying to communicate as he delivered the beatitudes. In the end our suffering erases those barriers between us and God, and we can believe that we are blessed too. Never before have we had a greater need not only to believe the scriptures, and creeds but we also need to understand them, to be able to not only recite them in church on Sunday, but actually live them as if we believe and understand their implications. When we experience those things that bring us closer to God and to realizing the presence of God in our midst, when we live out our beliefs, not only are our lives made better, but the world is made better as well.
Faithfully,
Sally+
Questions for Reflection - What creedal statements or bible verses do you struggle to understand? To believe? How do you reconcile the “hard to believe” statements with your faith?