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THE HAPPY KINGDOM!
The Declaration of Independence says: "We
hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these
are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." This pursuit of
happiness is well-understood by the world. The cultivation of our relationships,
the things we buy, and the manner in which we use our leisure time are all aimed
at one thing - happiness.
However, with all due respect to our founding
fathers, the pursuit of happiness, as Solomon discovered, is a vain pursuit. He
pursued pleasure with wisdom, energy, and far more wealth than the latest power
ball winner. Here is his conclusion as found in Ecclesiastes 2:10 - 11:
Anything I wanted, I took. I did not restrain
myself from any joy. I even found great pleasure in hard work, an additional
reward for all my labors.
But as I looked at everything I had worked so
hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless. It was like chasing the wind.
There was nothing really worthwhile anywhere.
Like Solomon, we tend to buy into the notion that
happiness, with enough effort and money, can be ours. But it's like pursuing
the Loch Ness Monster. The adventure can keep us going for a long
time and we may even get a commercial out of it, but in the end we come up with
just enough material to add to the rumor; the rumor that with enough time, effort,
and resources happiness can be ours for the taking.
But on a mountainside along time ago Jesus
of Nazareth sat down with the likes of you and I, as well as his disciples, and
turned our notions about happiness upside down. He said:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
We think happiness begins with buying a power
ball ticket. Jesus said happiness begins when we fall to our knees. It
begins when we feel like we have nothing left, when our tank is empty, when we're
ready to throw in the towel and call it quits.
The Greek word for "poor" which Matthew
uses comes from the verb meaning "to cower" or "to cringe." It
refers to the oppressed, not simply to those who wish they had more. It
refers to those who long for something, to those who lack the wherewithal to
cope, to those who have reached bottom, to those who have tried hard - again
and again - to be happy but find themselves near their own end zone on fourth
down with twenty-five yards to go and an injured kicker on the bench.
This Beatitude is first for good reason. It
tells us, as it told the crowd on that day, that group of improbable people whom
we would never suspect of darkening the doors of a synagogue, that the kingdom
of heaven is first and foremost a kingdom of grace. It tells us that the
good news of the kingdom of heaven is that God graciously lifts those who have
given up on lifting themselves. It tells us that God graciously exercises
his power on behalf of those who have given up on their own power.
If we had been there on that day we probably would've
been surprised at who was, and who was not, in the crowd. We would've seen
people who looked just like our neighbors. The religious rulers,
however, would have been noticeably absent - having excused themselves
with better things to do.
The scene would have told us, and should tells
us, that the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom made up of improbable people. This
ought to encourage us to invite our "improbable neighbors" to church. But
in reality, we look at all the improbable people in our neighborhood and convince
ourselves that they would never come to church with us. We say "no" for
them without ever giving them an opportunity to hear the good news of the kingdom
and to discover the blessedness of the kingdom. You see, we understand
this first Beatitude, but we don't get it.
Jesus then said,
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."
When Jesus said blessed are those who mourn, not
moan, he wasn't referring to the sadness we feel when our favorite football team
fails to make it to the Super Bowl. No, the word used here is the strongest
in the Greek language. It's used for mourning for the dead, it's used to
express intense sorrow.1
Kingdom people mourn. They can't live under
God's reign in a sinful world without their hearts breaking for what breaks God's
heart. But the paradox is that those who mourn are blessed. First,
they are blessed because in their grief they are privileged to see God at work
in the lives of others. Second, they are blessed because invariably they
are prompted to be instruments of God's healing in the world. They transform
their tears into action and become a blessing to others which, in turn, is a
blessing to them.
Then, Jesus said,
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth."
Those who translate the New Testament from the
Greek invariably maintain that the word translated "meek" is difficult
to translate. No single word in the English language serves as a synonym,
but the one that comes the closest is the word "gentle." It's
translated this way in Matthew 11:28 - 29 where Jesus says:
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened,
and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Clearly, it is a relational term. In the
context of the Beatitudes, as well as Matthew 11, it has to do with being gentle
with others. The meek know the One they serve, they know their role within
the kingdom, and know that others also have a unique role. They are comfortable
with themselves with nothing to prove to the world.
Consequently, they are people with great strength. Strength
enough to give others their space; to give others the mercy and grace they themselves
have received. Most of all, they have the strength to leave things in God's
hands. The world may perceive it as weakness, but it is only the strong
who can leave things in God's hands to be taken care of at the proper time.
When we understand the nature of meekness, it
is not surprising that it is they who inherit the earth. For when the kingdom
of God comes together, when all the different divine outpost around the world
are gathered together, there will be a complete transfer of power. Those
who have elbowed and kicked their way to the top will be out on their ear, while
the meek will reign on the new earth with Christ forever and ever. We may
find this hard to believe, but Jesus believed it and pronounced the meek as "blessed."
Then Jesus continues to describe what I would
call the Happy Kingdom. He says,
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will
be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will
be called sons of God. " "Blessed
are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people insult you,
persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same
way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
Why? On the one hand his message is clear
enough. Donald W. McCullough in his book FINDING HAPPINESS IN THE MOST
UNLIKELY PLACES puts it this way:
"When we turn our attention to other things
- to receiving God's grace in poverty of spirit, to grieving over human misery,
to being gentle with ourselves and others, to hungering and thirsting for righteousness,
to showing mercy, to focusing on God in singleness of heart, to making peace,
to standing at odds with the world - and forget all about finding happiness,
happiness comes. Call it a paradox if you wish or call it a gracious gift: when
we give up the futile pursuit, the butterfly lands on our shoulders."
At this point, it sounds to me like Dr. McCullough
is simply telling us of a better way to sneak up on happiness. You know, it's
like he is telling us to go through the back door instead of the front door. But
then he goes on to say:
"Happiness comes not because we have attained anything but because we have
become something - we have become people who live at the center of God's will."2
True! But this still doesn't explain to
my satisfaction as to why Jesus shared this message with us. It's clear
what he was not doing. He wasn't sharing a message of salvation with the
crowd. Nor was he urging his listeners to seek happiness in a counterintuitive
manner. And while some believe he was laying down the moral principles
that govern the kingdom of heaven, they don't strike me as principles to be followed.
It seems to me that he was simply describing the
nature of those who are citizens within the kingdom of heaven. He's showing
us that those who are citizens have a overarching characteristic - they are happy. This
is the primary nature of the kingdom of heaven - it is the Happy Kingdom as opposed
to the Kingdom of Work and Worry. To those who lived in the shadow of Rome,
as well as in the shadow of the Pharisees, this was indeed good news.
Of course, you can argue that Jesus did not come
to make us happy. He came to rescue us from the dominion of darkness. He
came so that through the shed blood of Christ you and I could become members
of God's household. He came to create a people for himself to live such
good lives that others would see our good deeds and glorify God.
True, but I still maintain that one of the shared
characteristics of those who belong to the kingdom of heaven is that they are
happy. And given a choice between being a curmudgeon and someone who is
genuinely happy, I would choose happy and so would those around me. Why? Because
God can use those who are happy to draw others to himself.
What do you suppose he was telling us with his
metaphors, "You are the salt of the earth," and "You are the light
of the world"? He's is saying, within the kingdom you and I have a
job to do and it can only be done by those who are happy. We are the seasoning
that allows others, who tend to feed on junk food, to taste godliness. We
are the light of the world so that others can see godliness in the real world. In
short, his intention was, and is, to go public with the kingdom of heaven and
this is best done through those who are happy.
He then proceeded to give his listeners a series
of captions in search of a picture. He said things like,
"You have heard that it was said to
the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to
judgment.' 22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother
will be subject to judgment."
&
"You have heard that it was said, 'Do not
commit adultery.' 28 But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully
has already committed adultery with her in his heart."
He raised the bar and expected his words to be
lived out in your life and mine so that others could see that the kingdom of
heaven has come. Others will see that though we are among them, we
evidently belong to another place. They can tell by the way we live that
we are not from around here.
Jesus then said that there are other things we
are to keep hidden. He said,
"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness'
before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your
Father in heaven."
He was talking about giving, praying, and fasting. In
each case, he said to do it but don't let others catch us doing it. After
all, what unbeliever wants to spend his life praying, skipping meals, and giving
his money away? It is not our religious activities that people need to
see. What they need to see is the mercy and grace that comes from God's
love for us. What they need to see is someone who has many of the same
problems they have, more or less, and yet is happy.
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1 See
Ezekiel 9:3 - 6 for a sobering example.
2 Donald W. McCullough, FINDING HAPPINESS IN THE MOST
UNLIKELY PLACES, InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, IL 60515, 1990, pp. 162
- 163.
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