A call to a Peaceful Revolution

Jesus came and proclaimed good news about the Kingdom of Heaven. He himself spoke constantly about this and he told his followers to go everywhere and tell people about this kingdom of heaven. When he began his ministry his first TedTalk was about the Kingdom of Heaven. Matt 5:3-10:

“God blesses those who are poor in spirit,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

God blesses those who are humble,

for they will inherit the whole earth.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,

for they will be satisfied.

God blesses those who are merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure,

for they will see God.

God blesses those who work for peace,

for they will be called the children of God.

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,

for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Jesus bookends this section of his talk with "the Kingdom of heaven is theirs", but in between is the bookends he is calling for a revolution of peace. During the Vietnam war some of those against the war were called "passivists". The word is unfortunate and inaccurate, because those who bore the label aggressively organized, protested, sat in, were arrested, got out, repeated... They were anything BUT passive. Some were labeled "Peaceniks", which is by far a better label, because they were promoting peace.  

Is Jesus calling people to a revolution or just encouraging the downtrodden? If Jesus is just encouraging the downtrodden with some pie in the sky promise about the kingdom of heaven - then I'm not impressed. Is he saying "I know life is shit storm now, but don't worry the Kingdom of Heaven will make you forget all of this"? Is he saying "I know you're poor, your life is full of sorrow, you are oppressed and there is no justice to be found in this life, you might be persecuted and robbed, even killed, but that's okay - cuz in heaven you'll have a reward"? Is that what this is all about?  I don't think so.

I hear in Jesus' words a call to arms, a call to action, peaceful action, aggressive peaceful action. I believe he is calling people to a life of service: humble, painful, merciful service to others in the name of Jesus. I think he is prepping his followers to go out and serve the poor, the downtrodden, the mourners, those who suffer injustice, who need mercy, who are mired in conflict. As they enter the arena the powers that be will hate them, despise them, oppose them, persecute them and kill them. But that's okay because "the kingdom of heaven is theirs". 

I still don't have a clue as to what this "Kingdom of Heaven" is. I guess I don't have to worry about that - I guess I should worry about becoming the kind of person described by Jesus words: poor in spirit, pure in heart. I should focus on becoming someone who hungers and thirsts for justice, not just for myself but for others, who shows mercy to others, who works for peace, and gets the shit kicked out me for doing so. That would be way better than getting the shit kicked out of you for doing evil, and hurting others. 

I guess Jesus is calling for a revolution of the soul, the inner man - this is probably why I stopped reading the Bible - it always kicks my ass.

Telling the Truth

Telling the truth is gut wrenching. Yesterday my oldest daughter asked me a simple "yes/no" question: "Are you ....?" and I answered her truthfully "yes", and now my stomach is churning while I wait for her to digest an answer she hates and was hoping would be different...

There are people I would not tell this truth to, but instead of lying, I hope I would simply say "I don't wish to talk about this" or "that's none of your business". It's strange that I need a strategy to not lie, but I do. Or maybe I don't. Maybe I just need the courage to tell the truth, the discernment to know who has the right to hear it, and determination to stop trying to manage other people's emotions and reactions by telling lies.

Integrity is established by telling the truth and keeping your promises. I've got a lot of work to do ...

Down and out - Blessed are the poor in spirit - really?

I've added the Bible back into my reading. For a long time I've been afraid to read the Bible, afraid to hear the words of condemnation I think it holds for me. So I've started with the words of Jesus, you know "the red letters" in the Bible. Today I read "God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him". In the version I read there is an * and a note saying it actually just says "God blesses those who are poor in spirit". How far down do you have to go before you'd be willing to beg? Before you give up your last shred of dignity? I sometimes see Westerners in Hong Kong sitting outside a MTR station with a sign saying "Lost my passport and all my money, help!" I wonder "is it a scam?" "Why don't you just go to your consulate and ask for help?" but I don't stop and ask. I don't get involved. Not my neighbor - I guess.. I digress. 

What would it be like for me to be that desperate? Am I there yet? What does it mean to be "poor in spirit"? I hate it when the translators decide to interpret things for me and add "realize their need for him". Shit! If I'm sitting on the side of the road, with a box in front of me, afraid to meet people's eyes - do you think I'm worried about "admitting my need"? My action is admission enough, right? The fricking act of asking for help is admission enough - isn't it? 

I'm not sure where the happiness or blessing comes into this, or WHEN it comes into this humiliation. Some translations say "Happy are the poor in spirit". Does the guy in the picture look happy? I did a google image search for beggar, and except for a few exceptions they all look completely miserable. I have to assume that Jesus knows that - and maybe he knows something that I don't know - misery can lead to blessing. Maybe this is where faith comes in - you have to believe it's going to get better, and commit yourself to honestly facing and learning from this bottom of the well experience, hoping that one day it will get better. 

The promised blessing is "theirs is the kingdom of heaven". I wonder did Jesus' first audience have any idea about what that meant. WTF? What is the kingdom of heaven? I guess one of the benefits of the crash and burn experience is that you are not afraid to ask the questions that pious Christians rarely ask. Rather than ask the questions they parrot the answers they learned in Bible School and Seminary. I know, I did it too. No more.