The Beatitudes
The Gospels
picture Jesus as a person who was intensely joyful and blessed, not necessarily
happy in the worldly sense. The whole Gospel is filled with it, as if the evangelists
wanted to characterise Jesus as a happy person. Naturally, he was filled with the
Holy Spirit, who is the self-delight of God.
The Sermon
on the Mount and especially the Beatitudes seem to put in a few words
everything that a joyous person could wish us. What is dear to Jesus himself,
what makes him joyous is precisely what he wishes for us wholeheartedly.
“Blessed are
they…blessed are you…” What kind of joy
does Jesus wish us? If we try to translate the beatitudes for our time, we hear
the following. What a blessed person you would be if you dared to be really
poor. That means that you know yourself, accept your limitations, and dare to
accept that you need others; if you had the courage to open your hands to
receive from others. Perhaps it means also if a few words are enough for you.
You are a
blessed person if you dare to mourn, if you have moments in which you can weep
sincerely because of the sorrow of others; when the grief and injustice of the
world goes to your heart. What a happy person you would be if you are gentle,
if you do justice to others, if you give others the chance to be themselves and
live as they would like; if you are gracious and considerate. (Considerateness
is the mark of a delicate conscience.) You would be blessed if you hungered and
thirsted for justice; if you do not cease seeking opportunities for every
person; if in your heart you keep craving for all that is good, good in others
and in yourself, without giving up. You are blessed if you can be merciful, if
you are moved by the suffering and also the needs of others. If you dare to
say, “Your pain is my pain, your need is also my need. If you are guilty, so am
I.” What a joyful person you could be when you can be pure of heart; if you are
not too busy about yourself, if you have not to hide yourself, if you are to be
authentic and uncomplicated in what you
say, think and do. Jesus said, “If your
eye be simple your whole body will be lightsome”, that is, you have no bad or
exploitive motive in your relationships.
You are a blessed person if you cannot keep from looking again and again
for opportunities for peace in the world, however tiring and annoying this may
be. Yes, how joyous you would be…and it sounds almost nonsensical…when you are persecuted
because of justice, when you are tempted to say: “Oh, well, better give up, you
get nowhere with your faith, with your Church, with all the expectations you
have”, and yet you have the courage to go on, when you have the pluck to begin
anew again and again. It may sound all a bit crazy – especially in our time. The
Church and Christianity often look like burdens heavy as lead which you have to
bear on your shoulders. It all looks something so life-threatening. Yet the
originality of the Gospel is that it is all about joyful and blessed people.
No comments:
Post a Comment