Calvin Synod Herald, 2012 (113. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2012-01-01 / 1-2. szám
8 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD A Beatitude People: The Upside Down Vision Text: Matthew 5:1-12 It’s said that a certain medieval monk spent his working hours standing on his head. When asked about his antic he replied, “The world is so much wrong side up, it’s better to view it upside down.” In the Book of Acts it’s recorded by St. Luke that when the Christians came to Thessalonica the merchants complained that people were no longer coming into their shops to buy idols. Of these Christians the merchants said at City Hall, “Those people who turn the world upside down have come here too.” (Acts 17:6) In the portion of the Sermon on the Mount, known as “the beatitudes,” Jesus extols those who are humble, mournful, selfeffacing, ethical, compassionate, single-minded, peaceful and those who endure persecution gracefully. Is that not upside down in our world today? Who are exalted in our world, as in Jesus’ time? * those who know how to win friends and influence people. * those who enjoy the good life. * those who get what’s coming to them. * those who live and let live. * those who have their cake and eat it too. Continued from page 7 What is better... Is not life cruel? Think about these well-known observations: misery likes company; when I am right nobody remembers and when I am wrong nobody forgets; even the road to the underworld is paved with good intentions; it is human to err but it is divine to forgive (or it is human to err but I takes a computer to make a mess); and, our problems are worse than my neighbor’s and their children are worse than ours. Please think about all these mentioned above and let us ask ourselves during Lent: do we need self-evaluation, self-control, rededication, and spiritual renewal? Whatever lives should be sustained and how do we keep our spiritual life alive? Let two quotations from the Old Testament underline what Jesus had said to Martha, please see our text: “Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold,” Proverbs 8:10, and, this is what Moses had said to the Isrealites before entering the Promised Land: “This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19. Also Joshua 24:15. Rev. Alexander Jalso * those who give as good as they get. * those who grab the brass ring since you only go around once. * those who look out for #1. See how God’s beatitude people hang out in the 1st century and the 21st century: Upside down. What if we were to put these wise proverbs of Jesus into our own everyday language in order to understand them even better. Might it go something like this? * First, how fortunate are you who eat humble pie; you have all God’s nutrition in reach. * Second, how fortunate are you who carry the burdens of the world on your shoulders; you are part of God’s support system. * Third, how fortunate are you who seek to know and do the will of God; you are free from all the tyrannies of this world. * Fourth, how fortunate are you who crave the will of God above all else; you have your own deepest need satisfied. * Fifth, how fortunate are you who feel and act with compassion; you know the deep secret of fulfillment. * Sixth, how fortunate are you who keep your eyes fixed on God’s purposes; you have the amazing beatific vision, almost seeing God in person. * Seventh, how fortunate are you who create peace; you share in what God is doing in the world. * Eighth, how fortunate are you who incur injury on faith’s battlefield; you already hold the ticket to God’s eternal concert. In sum, congratulations from God to you! If you find these sayings true you are already on the way to wisdom’s home. So, are we a beatific people? Are we standing on our heads in this wrong-side-up world? Jesus says: Congratulations to those who volunteer for KP duty and who later clean the latrines. The world says: Yeah! And what’s the bad news? I once had a professor, Kenneth Grider, who came home from a convention with his colleague, Delbert Gish. Grider said, “Don’t ever go to a meeting with Gish. He holds the doors open for everyone. If you’re with him you’re sure to be late for the meetings.” Jesus says: Congratulations to those who stand aside for others; they already own the world. The world says: Yeah! Right! Nice guys finish last. Jesus says: Congratulations from God to those who create the conditions of peace. The world says: I want the Dick Butkus award. SmasITem. Bust’em. That’s our custom. The wisdom Jesus teaches does not naturally rise within us. This wisdom comes from above. That’s why we need Jesus as our mentor, coach and manager. Only when we are discipled to him do these virtues begin to appear in and among us. Only his disciples stand within earshot of these truths. The world stands at a distance scarcely hearing Jesus’ words. That’s why we have a famous Military Academy on the banks of the Hudson, a famous Naval Academy in Annapolis, and a famous Air Force Academy in Colorado. There’s a Peace Academy, but that’s scarcely known. It’s said that a peasant was brought before the Czar because
