In her book Gospel Medicine, the Reverend Barbara Brown Taylor writes the following: “When I was little, I used to like standing on my head. I was shorter then. Just about everything in the world was taller than I was, taller and boring, but by standing on my head, I could liven things up a little. Grass hung in front of my eyes like green fringe. Trees grew down, not up, and the sky was blue lawn that went on forever. My swing set was no longer an “A”: but a “V” and my house seemed in danger of falling off the yard…just shooting off into space like a rocket…leaving a sidewalk lined with pansies that led to nowhere. I liked standing on my head because it made me see old things in a new way.”
When Jesus spoke the Beatitudes, that’s what he was doing. He was turning the known world upside down… I believe Barbara Brown Taylor is on to something. For example, when Jesus shared in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you, and utter all kinds of evil against you false count.” It’s hard for many people to see being “reviled” or “persecuted” even for “righteousness sake” as something that is blessed. But Jesus sees things in a different way and defines the Good Life by different criteria.
Success in the Kingdom is not how much we manage to create life and its favor on our terms. Success in the Kingdom is defined by how much of God’s vision of life we share. There’s no “should” or “ought” in this sermon from Jesus. The Beatitudes describe what the “future holds.” (quotations from the Reverend Barbara Brown Taylor) And God will not ask anyone to vote on it. Jesus helped turn the world upside down with his vision of what makes people “blessed.” Mrs. Taylor declares that “the world looks funny upside, but maybe that is just how it looks when you have got your feet planted in heaven.” It shapes many things about us: mission, prayer, worship, tithing, Christian education, and stewardship. Today we share in the Sacrament of Holy Communion. No one can fully understand communion as it conveys an inward grace. God works in every human heart and to kneel for Communion and remember his crucifixion and resurrection for our sake is important.
In my opinion, the world doesn’t think about Jesus as much as is needed. There is plenty of commitment to many things, and that is how it should be as long as God gets His time. Check your own heart and mind and determine how much Jesus crosses your mind and alters your lifestyle. I believe Christ can change your mind and focus your heart on things that are eternal.
Ken