Bringing the Beatitudes to Life (our Life)

Today marked our final Beatitudes small group~we contemplated ways to take Jesus' very personal message to us in the Beatitudes with us in our lives.  The beatitudes are the opener to Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, the longest message Jesus is reported to offer in a single setting.  For most of us though, as familiar as we are with them--and perhaps in part because of our presumed familiarity with them--we read them, contemplate them, appreciate the poetry of the words but see them as something to strive for but unattainable, close our bible, and we may not see them again for another decade.  This small group sought to change all of that and introduce us to the deeply loving, more personal, more accessible and practice messages in these words from Jesus than we have perhaps ever heard before.

So today, as we prepared to close our group, we challenged ourselves--invited ourselves really--to consider ways we could lift the message of the Beatitudes off of the pages of the bible and truly plant them in our hearts, in a way that they may help light our daily lives.  

A a daily dose of Vitamin JC, who in these words seeks to show us the keys to the ultimate happiness--the highest, most serene bliss of the spirit, unaffected by outward events, that can only be known when we come into communion with God.   See below for some of the creations of our group.

[Bryan]

[Louis saw a sun with 12 rays beaming the Beatitudes (with each word abbreviated), complemented with resonant words emanating from the interspersed beams.  Warren's hand helped to render this luminous vision]

[Doris]

[April]

How will you take the Beatitudes with you in your life?  After all, recall that Jesus came that we may have life, 

and have it fully.  

FINAL HOMEWORK:  :)

I encourage each of you to take an hour and do the same--consider writing them in your own words, or draw them, or paint them, or sculpt them, or collage them, or sing or dance them or create a poem around them. However crazy it may feel, open yourself to an unexpected way of imprinting them on your heart in a way that will allow them to steer your heart all the days of your lives.

Whatever you decide, make them personal--after all, they are a beautiful love letter to us from the One who loves as no other, Jesus Christ.  Feel His love for you anew everytime you read or hear the Beatitudes.

As we close this blog, I want to thank each and all of our Beatitudents, near and far, who shared their presence, perspectives and life experiences with our fellow journeyerrs, and through whom and because of whom, each of our walks with Jesus was enriched.

Makaria,

April

MEETING 8: The Blessing No One Really Wants: Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted for Righteousness

Today we examined the eight beatitude in this series of life-giving blessings Jesus issued in his famous Sermon on the Mount.  Rivaled only perhaps by "blessed are they who mourn," this is undoubtedly among the blessings that we are least want to hear.  But because it is Jesus, we timidly draw close, knowing that our Lord came that we might have life, and have it abundantly.

And so, our small group gathered this morning to bravely explore this difficult beatitude.  We began by sharing reactions, to paraphrase:

"This suggests how difficult it may truly be to be a Christian"

"I feel more than a small sense of dread when I hear this"

"I think of all those past and present who have endured persecution, civil rights leaders, those in regions of the world where Christianity is forbidden"

"It seems these verses can be misused, to justify acts in the name of righteousness"

"Most of us have probably never truly been persecuted.  At best perhaps ridiculed."

"Are we doing enough? Are we active enough?  If we are not being persecuted for righteousness sake, what does this mean?"

"In this verse particularly, I especially hear the translation of "loyal" in the word "blessed"

We thought of civil rights leaders, activists, parents, and adolescents who may all experience 'persecution' or revilement of some level for standing for, upholding, seeking to do God's will in the world.  Some of the history buffs in our group reminded us of the socio-political dynamics in place at this time in history, both the time Jesus delivered these words, and when the writer of Matthew would have recorded them.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Jesus Christ

At least one bible scholar in outlining the Sermon on the Mount, divides it into three sections.  This scholar observes that if you consider the preceeding verses describe character; and those that follow the Beatitudes focus on conduct (be the salt of the earth, etc.); these two verses speak of conflict.

As always, to help us go beyond what we hear with our modern ears and get nearer to the heart of Jesus, we traveled through time and the evolution of language through english, latin, greek and back to the Hebrew Jesus spoke in when he delivered these words.  Through the landscape of Christian scholarly commentary and translators we learned that the greek word "diuku" means to "pursue, to persecute, to follow hard after, to pursue as one does a fleeing enemy, an intensity of effort leading to a pursuit with earnestness and diligence in order to lay hold of and oppress. (http://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew_510-12.htm).  

We considered three interpretations of this language:

1.  The most common~the idea of being persecuted by others for righteousness' sake.  It is this interpretation that causes such important discomfort in hearers of this passage.

2.  Matthew Fox, author of, "The Sermon on the Mount," offers an alternative view~the idea of being persecuted inwardly (by our own lower selves) when we find righteousness difficult, or are strongly tempted to hold the wrong thoughts about a situation or person, or give way to despondency or fear.  

3. Another scholar offers that the Hebrew word "radaf" can be both translated as pursue or persecute, and notes that the former was far more common.  He theorizes that because of the shift in pronoun of the following verses (from third to second person), the latter verse was probably placed there by the editor of Matthew's source because of the word persecution, which appears in both passages, but that it is referring to a different context.  He proposes that the way to hear the first passage is "blessed are they who aggressively pursue salvation/righteousness."

Of course we can't really know for sure whether any or all of these interpretations is "right."  Certainly biblical scholars agree that in the time and place of both the delivery of this sermon by Jesus and the time of the writing of Matthew, Jesus' likely audience could have been subject to persecution for acting out in righteousness.  It is intriguing to consider whether they may have been aware of this, or whether Jesus was preparing them for persecution that could come.  And as many writers note referring to John 3:19, persecution is not something that may come if you act in righteousness.  You need to be prepared that it will come.  For the world loves darkness, and evil hates the light.

This is the blessing that we would rather not partake of.  It is the blessing no one really wants.  But in some ways it is the most striking beatitude for it is the last, the longest, the only one associated with a command and the only one to address the reader directly.  

Charles Simeon

We then reflected:

Had any of us ever experienced persecution or revilement in the name of righteousness--either for professing a belief, or acting in accordance with righteousness?

One of us shared a personal story of participating in a march once and being met with revilement from bystanders.  This member acknowledged that it was frightening, and yet the member remembers feeling  very glad to be there.  Another pointed out that it was not until after World War II that Native Americans had their first medical doctor.  This member challenged the desire most of us harbor to "hide in the shadows," and pointed out the importance of sharing our stories with others that we can learn from, lift up, and encourage one another in acting in the name of righteousness.

As we prepared to part, we contemplated again the meaning of these verses.

We are reminded that the word used in the opening of all eight of these passages is MAKARIA: 

• Happy 
• Loyal
• Enviably fortunate
• Spiritually prosperous, finding satisfaction in God's favor and salvation, regardless of one's outward condition or circumstances

We are reminded that rather than desiring to instill dread, these Beatitude passages are life-giving promises from Jesus, our Lord who came that we may not only have life but have it abundantly.

We challenged ourselves with the following questions to receive the message of Jesus in our hearts...

How would the world look if more of us were willing to put ourselves out there and open ourselves to persecution for righteousness sake?  

Are we willing to open ourselves to revilement and persecution for the sake of righteousness?  What holds us back?  Do we trust in this blessing?

NOTE TO THE GROUP~It's all Greek to me:

We have one remaining small group meeting (the Sunday after Thanksgiving) where we will create our own Beatitudes--we will write, draw, write poetry, sing, type, dance, speak or otherwise record the messages we hear Jesus speaking to us in these Beatitudes in words that work for us, that speak personally and intimately to us--our own words.  With hundreds of bible translations out there, what's one more--Jesus speaks to each of us in our own language.  Y

ou are welcome to consider the format that will work best for you, that will allow you to take these Beatitudes we've explored together with you, to encourage you anew in life. 

Peace,
April

Hesed:  Mercy or Loyalty?

The following is contributed by Diana W~

As I read thru some of the Old Testament [verses], where the original Hebrew word [for "mercy,"] was hesed, I realized the English translations frequently used the word Loyal or Loyalty rather than Mercy.  When I decided to do some digging online I came across this little article.  Clearly someone else had noticed the same thing. 

http://www.biblicalheritage.org/bible%20studies/hesed.htm

Thank you Diana for bringing forward you love of language to the benefit of our humble class~

Hesed always~

April

God's Mercy Through the Old and New Testaments

Take one of these each day and allow God's mercy to run through you~hear it, feel it, experience it, and show it! (See WEEK 5: Blessed Are the Merciful)

Psalm 103:1-14

Hebrews 2:16-18

Matthew 6:14

James 2:13

Proverbs 21:13

Matthew 18:35

II Samuel 22:26

Galatians 6:7

Luke 6:37-38:

Psalm 103:17

Psalm 136:1

Matthew 10:40-42

Colossians 3:12-14

Ephesians 4:2-3, 31-32

Matthew 9:13

Hosea 6:6

WEEK 5:  "Makaria" Are the Merciful

"Blessed Are the Merciful...
.....For They Shall Obtain Mercy."  Jesus Christ

Right Out of the Twilight Zone?!  Yes.

This beatitude is perplexing! Does it suggest that in order to receive mercy, we first have to show mercy, almost suggesting salvation by works?  Does it challenges us to tap into a power that is unrealistic for mere mortals, dooming us to an eternity of feeling badly about an ideal to which we will never measure up?  May we as well give in now and stop trying since we will never be able to attain this standard to which Jesus seems to call us?

Hardly!  As we learned through each other and through bible commenters, this teaching, as Jesus reminds of all of His teachings, intends to set us free!  This teaching intends to save us!  To bring us life everlasting, and a good one.  Remember, through these beatitudes, Jesus is seeking to show us the way to life--He wants us to not just have life, but have it ABUNDANTLY.

We are reminded here again that the word "blessed" used repeatedly in the beatitudes is "Makaria," meaning "a happiness that is whole, complete, contained within itself."  Jesus is trying to get us see how to experience this state of happiness that far exceeds anything the "world" can offer us and in this beatitude, he introduces us to the concept of 'mercy' as a steady stream pathway into this.

We opened by exploring our current conceptions around the word "mercy," "merciful," and "receiving mercy."  This brainstorming produced some wonderfully varied responses, including:

• Portia's voice in Shakespeare's "The Merchant of Venice"

The Merchant of Venice by Shakespeare (Act 4, Scene 1). 

Portia speaks: 

The quality of mercy is not strain’d, 

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven 

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest: 

Itblesseth [the one] that gives and [the one] that takes: 

’Tis the mightiest in the mightiest . . . 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Itis an attribute to God himself; 

And earthly power doth then show likest God’s 

When mercy seasons justice. 

• Twilight Zone episode:  "A Quality of Mercy" 
• Mercy Me song, "I Can Only Imagine"

• Tolerance for others' errors
• Compassion
• Undeserved pardonning of a wrong done to us or others

Several of us noted the circular, or reciprocal, nature of this verse as so many of the bible's teachings which underpin what we call the "Golden Rule"~do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

We explored the roots of key words "mercy" and "merciful:"

English dictionaries define merciful as:

Since no single word in any language can adequately translate words in most other languages, we also plowed ground by examining the words used in Greek as well as Hebrew and Arameic to further round out our understanding of Jesus' teaching in this beatitude:

In the Bible a variety of Hebrew and Greek words are used which fall within the general semantic range of the English word "mercy." They include such terms as "lovingkindness" (Heb. hesed), "to be merciful" (Heb. hanan), "to have compassion" (Heb. riham), and "grace" (Gr. chris).  

While the New Testament account of the Sermon on the Mount is written in Greek, Jesus spoke Arameic.  So the word Jesus likely would have used is the Hebrew and Aramaic chesed or "hesed."

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible commentary on Matthew states regarding this word:

"It does not mean only to sympathize with a person in the popular sense of the term; it does not mean simply to feel sorry for some in trouble. Chesedh [sic], mercy, means the ability to get right inside the other person's skin until we can see things with his eyes, think things with his mind, and feel things with his feelings.

Clearly this is much more than an emotional wave of pity; clearly this demands a quite deliberate effort of the mind and of the will. It denotes a sympathy which is not given, as it were, from outside, but which comes from a deliberate identification with the other person, until we see things as he sees them, and feel things as he feels them. This is sympathy in the literal sense of the word. Sympathy is derived from two Greek words, syn which means together with, and paschein which means to experience or to suffer. Sympathy means experiencing things together with the other person, literally going through what he is going through." (p. 103)

"To know all is to forgive all." French Proverb

We spoke of the back end of this beatitude being perhaps a doorway to the front--that it may be in opening ourselves to the mercy of Jesus Chris or others, that we may find or discover or engage our own capacity to be merciful.  

One could also hear this beatitude as~

"Happy beyond imagination are those who are merciful, who show compassion, who get into the very skin of others to feel what they feel, think how they think, experience what they experience."

"Those who are merciful, who show compassion, who get into the very skin of others to feel what they feel, think how they think, experience what they experience~these shall experience a happiness contained within itself, a happiness that is unmoveable by external events or happenings."

"To those who open themselves to experiencing the mercy of God, shall be given the power to be merciful."

This requires a humbling of ourselves.

"Nothing moves us to forgive others like the amazing realization that God has forgiven our sins." 

John W. Ritenbaugh The Beatitudes, Part 5: Blessed Are the Merciful, Forerunner, "Personal," May 1999, Read more:http://www.bibletools.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/PERSONAL/k/170/The-Beatitudes-Part-5-Blessed-Are-Merciful.htm#ixzz2AbshnULu

We examined the beatitude as a next rung in the "ladder," considering it from the perspective of the preceding beatitudes.  One of our members noted that he was struck, in considering this beatitude from this perspective, how in the preceding beatitudes Jesus is addressing people who have nothing whereas this beatitude introduces the idea of having something to offer others--Mercy.

"It is not easy to love with a deep love, which lies in the authentic gift of self. This love can only be learned by penetrating the mystery of God's love. 

Christ has taught us that "man not only receives and experiences the mercy of God, but is also called 'to practice mercy' towards others: He also showed us the many paths of mercy, which not only forgives sins but reaches out to all human needs. 

...love of God and love of one's brothers and sisters are inseparable.” 

Pope John Paul II

~~~
We then spent 5 minutes in individual meditation. We invited ourselves into the private chamber of our hearts, the inner sanctuary inside each of us, where we may convene through the Holy Spirit with His Highest, our Father, Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  While with meditation, minutes can sometimes feel like an eternity, we were all struck how fast the time passed.

~~~
We closed in prayer offering thanksgiving to God for the time and space to stop by the side of the road, to lay our burdens down, even if for only a few minutes to find rest for our bodies and spirits; and for the offerings of each one of our group members.

HOMEWORK:  See the "Me" in Mercy

Where do you need God's mercy?  Allow yourself to experience God's mercy, knowing that in so doing, you will be able to show mercy even more freely!  Fear not!

You are invited to notice opportunities--big or small--to show mercy to those in your realm this week.

You are invited to contemplate the theme of mercy further, since it runs fluidly throughout the Old and New Testaments of the bible.  Some bible verses to help you get started in your journey into the heart of mercy are included in this blog!

How does the notion of gratitude tie into mercy?

~~~
May the peace of our Lord Jesus Christ, which surpasses anything we know here on earth, hold you this week.

See you Sunday,
April

WEEK 4: Blessed Are Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

The following posting is courtesy of our Guest Beatitude Leader Warren as I was out of town~

"Blessed Are Those who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness, for They Shall Be Satisfied."  Jesus Christ

We dug into this beatitude!

People came prepared with Agape lesson plans, various translations to reference and one person quoted Wikipedia.

The 8:30 folks had to be careful not to trump the pastor's message; however, the discussion was lively and (IMHO) on point.

As perhaps you can see from the whiteboard attachment, we struggled to divorce thirst from hunger. We did agree that the methodology was one Jesus often used. The conditions sited and the results promised resonated with Old Testament teachings. Jesus' audience (those guys) could relate to the conditions better than we in Arlington. 

We shared our feelings as we passed people in need and how our behaviors related to the call for action in this beatitude. 

We ended in prayer offering names of folks in recovery and folks recently departed. 

With the clock ticking away, we left consideration of our feelings of how this beatitude is changing us to a later time. 

Thank you Warren and fellow Beatitudents!  I greatly enjoyed reading your post~it helped me feel connected from way out here in California~See you Sunday!

WEEK 3: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Jesus

We opened with a prayer and opened ourselves to examining more deeply two primary themes in this beatitude:

• What it means to MOURN
• What it means to BE COMFORTED

We began with an exploration into the old Greek used in the bible for these words as we were reminded that languages do not have one-for-one translations and that we must traverse tongues and ages to reveal the subtler messages in these verses~

"Translators of the beatitudes despair of finding equivalents in English."  Paul S. Minear, The Oxford Companion to the Bible

The classical Greek word used for the idea we translate now into english as "mourn" was PENTHEO.  This word denotes: 

• Grief and sorrow caused by profound loss, especially death.
• A mourning we cannot hide.  It is used especially with exeternal manifestations of grief (in contrast with the word "Lupeomi" which may be used of inward grief)
• Loud mourning such as the lament for the dead or for a severe, painful loss. 
• A continual mourning, rather than a sense of "one and done."

"The Greek Stoics regarded outward manifestations of mourning as something to be avoided.  The seeming pointlessness of it was even a popular theme in Greek Philosophy.  One imagines the shock of listeners, to read Jesus' words which can be paraphrased as "Happy are those who continually mourn as one laments over aloved one who had died."  John MacArthur

PENTHEO appears 45 times in the Greek Old Testament across more than 15 books and is used 10 times in the New Testament.   

Examples in the bible of the use of the word PENTHEO include: 

• Abraham mourning for his wife Sarah (Ge); 
• Jacob mourning for his son Jacob, whom he thought had been killed (Ge 37:34-35); 
• Samuel grieving over Saul and his failure to oben; 
• David for his son Absolom (2Sa 13:37, 19:1)

Next, paired off and discussed two questions~

• What situations and events do we mourn?
• Why do we mourn?

Examples of situations and events we mourn included:

• Death
• Divorce
• Loss of relationships
• Children leaving
• Loss of an opportunity 
• Loss of important or meaningful things (especially things that connect us to a loved one, present or departed)
• Sickness/Illness
• Moving from the familiar to the unfamiliar
• Regrets, Things we perhaps cannot change at this point
• Accidents/Tragedies
• Injustice

We noted that almost all of these have themes of loss.  Even seemingly joyful occasions such as a wedding can provoke mourning, because there may be undercurrents of loss.  We miss the person we love so dearly, and there may be a long period of mourning for this. We may mourn because we feel a loss of hope.  We may mourn because we feel powerless, helpless to alleviate the pain or suffering of others.   We may mourn because we are unable to change a circumstance where we grieved another. 

We then examined how we mourn~how our customs in the US may differ from those in other cultures or other times.  We cry.  We may experience depression.  We may separate ourselves.  We may shut down.  We noted in country, we tend to mourn privately.  We may memorialize our loved ones (create memorial events or rituals or special charity funds); we may create rituals where we remember and acknowledge the birthdays of loved ones.  We visit graves or attend to and visit final resting places of loved ones.  Someone noted the extravagant rituals of the ancient Egyptian Pharoahs who built Pyramids to memorialize.   We noted that in other countries, such as Ethiopia, mourning is a more public and more communal experience.  In Ethiopian traditions, family members and friends gather and sit silently with grieving families for days.  There are formal days where friends and family ritualistically gather throughout the course of the first year of mourning the loss of a loved one.  The grieving family may loudly and very publicly wail with grief.  There is a public witnessing to the pain unlike anything we have in this culture.  

We noted that feelings of sadness or even anger or utter numbness we experience in extreme loss are feelings.  We do not choose to feel our feelings.  We just do.  We considered the words of James Howell who suggests in his book, "The Beatitudes for Today," that the term mourning "elicits action or courageous engagement."  This suggests that rather than avoiding these sometimes scary feelings, Jesus is beckoning us right into the center of the storm~and encouraging us to 'courageously engage' through mourning, and promising even MAKARIA in this.  To not be afraid of this, and to know that it may even be that only in so doing, can we experience the fullest blessing of comfort.

"Mourning elicits action or courageous engagement."  

James C. Howell, The Beatitudes for Today

Next we explored what it means to be comforted. 

We first examined some of the ways we comfort one another humanly~

• Hugs
• Listening
• Bringing food
• Being there
• Praying with, or for, another
• Touch
• Cards
• Letters
• Logistical help with day-to-day needs

We then delved into the origins behind our modern translation~

 The Greek word used here - PARAKELEO - literally means "to call to one's side."  So it refers to the act of calling someone to one's side in order to help one (http://www.preceptaustin.org/matthew_54-5.htm).  

One of our new members, Tim, stirred each of our hearts when he shared the story of being by his father's side in the last weeks, days and moments of his father's life.  He recited (from memory) the prayer he prayed for and with his father in his father's final moments, blessing his father as he left this earth to be wholly with God.  The class spontaneously erupted with "Amen" in response.  

It is worth noting that Jesus does not promise that all pain will go away never to be suffered again.  Rather, Jesus suggests we will not be alone, that we will experience help, and that we will experience His blessing in this.           

John MacArthur observes in his bible commentary that the phrase,"Shall be comforted" is future tense, which might at first suggest one would have to wait until we see the face of Jesus in order to receive comfort." But bible historians note that the term used in Matthew 5:4 implies future only in the sense that the blessing comes after the obedience; the comfort comes after the mourning.   This particular word in Greek also is used to indicate certainty. 

Some biblical scholars believe this verse also refers to a state of spiritual mourning of our sins.  That, following the previous beatitude of "poor in spirit," where we may humbly see ourselves as we are before God, we may then mourn this and in so doing experience the comfort and grace of God.

As a final activity, we each took a sticky note and individually pondered how we might turn our own past or present mourning into action or courageous

engagement. 

[I will post these in the next day!]

HOMEWORK~

• What are some ways you could imagine "courageously engaging" with this beatitude could bless you?
• Write this week's beatitude on  note at home and put it on your mirror, or keep it where you can see it.  How do you feel it changing you.

*******
Short on time this week?  One of our class members feels Micah 6:8 offers a succinct summary of the Beatitudes~

"He has told you what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Micah 6:8