Live The Beatitudes, "IMPOSSIBLE"

When you hear the word simplicity what comes to mind?

When you hear the word hope what comes to mind? 

When you hear the word compassion what comes to mind?  

Feb 21 2016  Readings:1 Corinthians 1: 18-31 Psalm 15 Matthew 5: 1-12

I think most of us would agree that we live in a time when the blessings of life appear to be given to those who succeed materially.  But!! more often than not, it seems to be at the expense of the poor, the peace makers and meek of our world.  We may admire the teachings the Beatitudes offer but, underneath probably feel they are not very practical for the average Christian in today's world.     In reality if you are considered part of the poor in our society, well that usually means you must be a looser, and to be meek or weak as some would consider it, is to be a target for bulling.  Now come on Folks, tell me how there is any money to be made in peacemaking.  We all know that the real money in the world is made during war time.   All the characteristics displayed in the Beatitudes would seem to get you nowhere in our world today.   How could anyone possibly survive today while attempting to live out the call of the Beatitude, or the sermon on the mount, most would say they are just not realistic? 

I think many of us approach them as an impossible challenge for ordinary living.   Oh we may expect to see the great saints of our time up to the task.  Those like Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, or Bishop Desmond Tutu but not ordinary folk like you or I.   Unfortunately for us, well it gets no better while retaining our fulfilling pale expressions of Christian discipleship.  The truth is folks, that Jesus meant the Beatitudes for everyone.   So then, what are we missing, how can such a task be accomplished in our times by ordinary folk like me or you?

Let us take the approach of examining them as a whole rather than as individual.  Each is related to the others and they build on one another.   For instance those who are meek, {meaning humble not weak}  are more likely to hunger and thirst for righteousness.  Being humble just might give you the smarts, makes you more open to receiving the nudges and wisdom from God.   Often times I hear meek people tell me that they felt the nudge to go visit someone, to make a call or write an email of encouragement to someone whom they sense could be lonely or hurting.

If we approach the Beatitudes this way, we see they invite us into a way of being in the world that leads one to practice spiritual disciplines.  If we look closely at their teachings we can see that there are three particular practices that we all truly long for in our own lives and therefore are very practical and not impossible to achieve.   Living simply, Living with hope, Living with compassion.   All three we discussed in our question time this morning.  Here they are again.  

1.     Living with simplicity:    The directors of a church board are presented with a problem.   A new family has moved into the community and it has been reported that the father does not have work and they do not have enough food.  One of the elders suggests the family approach the local food bank and the welfare office in town, problem solved!!    A Sunday school teacher presents the same problem to her class, “what should we do” she asks?  A child replies, “we have more than we can eat, we can share some of our excess with the family.    Jesus commands us to live simply with a child like attitude.    Living with simplicity 

2. Living with Hope:   There is little disagreement with the lack of hopefulness in our world today.  Cynicism is a major disease in many churches and in people’s lives.  Cynicism causes us to accept whatever is, regardless of the consequences, and offers us little hope that things will get better.   No matter how difficult things seem to get in your life there is always a situation or person who is less fortunate.  Hope is not about fixing our unfortunate circumstances, hope gives us the courage to recognize how well off you really are and leads you to expressions of gratitude.     A poor crippled man at the grave side of a friend said to his companion “you know, I’m so fortunate” his companion asks, “how so,” his reply  “I can thank God that I am still alive”  Living with Hope.

3. Living with Compassion:    The third principal of Beatitude living is compassion.  Often we think of compassion as be associated with pity or sympathy, but it goes deeper than feeling sorry for someone or offering them advice. True Compassion according to Henri Nouwen allows us to experience Jesus’ command to love thy neighbor as you love thy self.   True compassion cuts across all barriers of language, wealth, poverty, knowledge, or ignorance.  Compassion in this sense allows us to see that we are truly one, created from the dust of the earth subject to the same laws, destined for the same end.  We are distinct uniquely created but more importantly we share the gift of being created in God’s image, thus we belong to one another as family we are all sisters and brothers.  True Compassion requires not just to walk the same path as your neighbor but to try walking in his or her shoes. Living with Compassion

Responding to Jesus instruction here is about hearing the words of Jesus for what they are.  They are not as impossible to achieve as you may have first presumed them to be.  In fact these three attributes are what help to makes up the character of a Saint.   Surprisingly they are common to many ordinary folk who would never consider themselves Saintly, yet are often admired by others because of them.   They are strong childlike characteristics that are not weak or childish in any way.  When Jesus tells his disciples you must become like this child, this is exactly what he is referring to.  Approaching life simplistically,hope and compassion rather than layering it with our analytical prejudices.  We are to maintain our hope when hope seems to allude us, and we are to trust as we walk humbly with our God.   
                                             "Simple Life"