Tonight at our first session of the winter-Lenten faith study we examined chapter one of Erik Kolbell’s book What Jesus Meant: The Beatitudes and a Meaningful Life.
In section one of the 90 minute conversation I outlined the theme of Kolbell’s book, that being Jesus’ Jewish tradition and the truth it informs in all of Jesus’ teachings. Kolbell believes that in Jesus’ time as in our time religious and non-religious people alike have lost any deep connection to the great religious truths of our forbearers. Kolbell believes Jesus did not come to create something new but instead came to peel back the baggage of years of crusty paint that covered over the truth of our true being. In Kolbell’s eyes Jesus peels this old paint off the canvas of humanity and exposes the raw sacred teaching that draws us ever closer to our calling.
Kolbell sees Matthew 5:-12 as the fruition of Jesus' Jewish teachings in a fresh way. The intent is less literal and more relational, that one is not to follow them as a checklist but more as a means to love the other as if the other were one's own kin. If we treat the other as kin we are obliged to do what we can for them, not stop short of what we could do so we can just follow the law. The example we all know is the healing on the Sabbath, that the law was created for us, we were not created for the law.
Jesus’ teaching here is a call to imagine the world in the way God made it and then live as if this were true. "You have heard it said" "But I say to you…" In Jesus' time there were Zealots who wanted to overthrow the Roman Empire with force, the Pharisees who were the literalists, and the Essenes who wanted to escape the world. Jesus spoke in this context and offered up a unique engagement with the world, to transform the world to this imagined vision and not to be conformed to the world as it is.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In the second section of our study four groups of five persons each met in separate rooms to answer this question, “Of all the beatitudes Jesus calls us to imagine as real and then live as if our life depended upon it which one does our current context need to hear and experience most of all? After 30 minutes of discussion the groups returned to the circle and one person from each of the room shared the beatitude they had selected as most important to our context.
Group One - Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Group Two - Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Group Three - Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Group Four - Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
We return next Tuesday night for week two of our nine week study.