Experience tells us that Jesus’ sales pitch is a lie
by Mike Baughman
Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:1-12
For Sunday, January 30, 2011: Year A - Epiphany 4
“I’ve been really blessed, so I’m glad that I can provide good cars for everyone in my family.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard statements like these from gas-guzzling SUV drivers in the churches I’ve served. My favorite was the Hummer with the “Free Tibet” bumper sticker. You have a Hummer! No one is going to seriously believe that you have a social conscious.
Really Blessed?
There’s also this one: “I’ve been really blessed with good health, so I still get out and play a lot of golf.” I hear these statements from “strong Christians” and then I read the lectionary text for this week. I find it hard to imagine Jesus, standing atop Mt. Beatitude, saying “blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you. Oh, and BTW, blessed are those who are healthy for they shall wear silly pants whilst whacking their balls across the grass.” I get the impression that Jesus uses the word “blessed” a little differently from the average American Christian.
Yes, Master . . .
As a Master, Reverend, Master (yes, that’s two Masters degrees), I pulled upon my extensive knowledge, resources and library to discover the true meaning of the word “blessed.” That’s right, I logged onto dictionary.com. While the third definition does allow for the way that most Americans interpret the word “blessed” (“divinely or supremely favored; fortunate”), the first definition seems to be much more in line with what Jesus was talking about. It uses words like “consecrated; sacred; holy.”
A blessing from God is more about being used by God than it is about getting cool stuff. Abraham was blessed with descendants—yeah they’re cool to have but God planned on using them. David asked for his soul to be blessed—not because his soul would look better with some God bling, but because David wanted it to be used by God…consecrated, holy, sanctified.
Do You Really Want It?
It’s not hard to imagine someone who is merciful to be set apart for God’s work. It’s not hard to imagine someone who truly “hungers and thirsts for righteousness” to be more a citizen of the Kingdom of God than a citizen of the kingdoms of the world. The text challenges us to ask ourselves, “do I want to be blessed?”
This isn’t just a question for the golfers out there…it’s a question for pastors too. Are we willing to be persecuted for righteousness's sake? Are we willing to be merciful to the lady in our congregation who snoops around our lives to find things that will make people upset? Are we willing to be meek when we’re the ones with the seminary education who have been called by God to lead a congregation?
Sales Pitch?
My guess is that far too often we don’t want to be blessed as Jesus defines it, but I don’t think it’s for the obvious reason. I don’t think it’s the persecution that scares us away. I think we hesitate to embrace being blessed because the hardest question we have for the text haunts us: “why does Jesus lie?” Jesus offers this simple formula − be like this and this other nifty God thing will happen.
I’m not that old, but I’ve been around enough to see the merciful get trampled, the mourners commit suicide, the pure in heart walk away from God, and people who hunger and thirst for righteousness sometimes die of hunger and thirst. Yes, sometimes karma works and the merciful receive mercy, but that’s only sometimes. Our experience tells us that Jesus’s sales pitch is a lie.
The Hardest Question
And so I ask again: Why does Jesus lie?
The Rev. Mike Baughman is a United Methodist pastor, pastor’s husband, blogger, writer, dad, fencing coach and Duke Basketball fan. He serves as Associate Pastor for Young Adults at Custer Road United Methodist Church in Plano, TX. He wishes he was an avid golfer so that he’d come across as a bit more self-critical in this THQ. He has plenty of frivolous hobbies that don’t require him to wear funny pants or spikey shoes. His blog can be found at www.ireverant.wordpress.com and can be followed on Twitter @ireverant. [THQEditorial Note: Check out Mike's funny pants at http://www.facebook.com/thehardestquestion. We couldn't resist.]
