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Today the Lent Study programme
gets into gear as we take a look at 'The Beatitudes as a way
of justice and peace'. Our epistle and gospel this morning
are closely linked on this aspect, but let me start with a
question. What do you think of Paul as an interpreter of Jesus? Perhaps you would prefer not to think about that question at all, especially if you are of a nervous disposition, theologically speaking, that is. We are all of us theologians. By 'all', I mean all those who bear the name of Christ, and who owe some kind of allegiance to him, who would call themselves by the name of 'Christian'. Once, many years ago, a group of boys in a school Christian Union in Kenya asked me to define what I meant by 'Christian' – who was 'a Christian'. My answer was simple, and probably simplistic. I said: anyone who calls himself 'a Christian'! They weren't impressed, I have to say! But – back to theology. It is a word which frightens many of us. Harold Wilson, it was, who used to use the word to describe anything which he regarded as complicated and obscure, which is how many people view real theology. 'That's just theology', he used to say. But theology is the tool by which we interpret what the Bible is about, and if you think about it, it is something we use all the time. This Lent, for instance, those who have signed up for the Lent Groups will be 'doing theology'. For it isn't just talk, or even just reading. It affects the way we live, how we live it out or 'do' it. This Lent, we are to study what we call 'The Beatitudes' – the Blessings, if you like. These are reported by Matthew, who puts them at the beginning of a series of discourses by Jesus which have come to be known as 'The Sermon on the Mount'. Those discourses are at the very heart of the teaching of Jesus about how life should be lived by those who follow the Way of the Kingdom. That Kingdom is, as I have said many times before from this pulpit, in a phrase coined by Ron Ferguson, an 'upside-down' Kingdom, for it turns the world's values upside down in every one of these sayings, and puts Christians at odds with the world. It may well be a world about which we care passionately. After all, as Wesley put it in one of his hymns, it is the world which God in Christ suffered to redeem. In that hymn, he goes on to say: The ransom of his life was paid. This is reflected most clearly in these sayings of Jesus, and is particularly true today as we reflect on the Beatitudes as 'a way of justice and peace'. There are, of course, two sayings here which are directly concerned with these two words. 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness', and 'Blessed are the peacemakers'. The word 'righteousness' is a complicated word in the New Testament. In its broadest sense, it is about 'conforming to the will of God in purpose, thought and action'. (C H Dodd) In its narrower sense, it is a word which can also be translated as 'justice'. So the action part of that is the justice part, if you like. You think righteously, you do justice. I am a fan of the TV series 'Judge John Deed'. A maverick, yes, but a character who, albeit somewhat flawed, is passionate about justice – justice not only being done, but being seen to be done. He is not afraid to take on the powers of this society in which he is set, and probably, truth to tell, in which we really do live. If he is of the opinion that a wrong has been done, he sets out to put it right. Some of that kind of passion would be no bad thing for us as Christian folk. But this is not just my whim, or a bee in my bonnet. To get back to the Apostle Paul as an interpreter of Jesus: he makes it very clear in his writings, both in the epistle we had today and right at the beginning of his letter to the Romans, for example (where it is the dominant theme) that this is an imperative which derives from none less than God. Righteousness is indeed bound up with faith. In Greek and, indeed, in English usage, righteousness is a moral attribute. But in Jewish thought and usage, it is more. It is about action. It is about 'being in the right', about 'vindication', about giving redress to a cause, or a person who has suffered wrong. It is about being delivered from the power of evil. It has been suggested that a truer exposition of this Beatitude would be: 'Blessed are they who ardently desire the vindication of right, the triumph of a good cause.' I have said quite a lot about justice. What about peace? It is often said that there can be no peace without justice. If you look at any conflict around the world, you will know in your heart that where justice is not done, there can never be true peace. For, you see, in the biblical sense, peace is not just about the rather negative virtue of non-resistance to evil. Peace is about overcoming evil with good. It is about making up quarrels, and reconciling enemies. That cannot be achieved unless the wrong is first put right, and anyone who has ever been involved in any kind of reconciliation process will know just what hard work that is. All this is 'upside down' stuff. How much easier it is to stand aside, to avert one's face, to turn one's back on injustice in addition to evil, and say 'it is nothing to do with me. I don't want to get involved'. The Beatitudes tell us that is not good enough. We have to be prepared to look like fools. For me, Paul's words in our epistle sum it up, although he is not being complimentary to the Corinthians – he is being heavily sarcastic here! He is remonstrating with the people of Corinth, because, he says, they are living like kings, while the apostles are like people sentenced to death, a spectacle to the world. Here is the upside-down thing again! The apostles are like fools; the Corinthians are pretentiously wise. When a Roman general returned victorious from a campaign, he would parade his army through the streets of the city, with all the trophies, including prisoners, on display. The whole procession was known as 'a triumph'. Right at the end of the procession came those captives, last in line, going to certain death at the hands of gladiators or lions perhaps, in the arena. Paul is saying to the Corinthians: you think you are like the general! Well, we apostles are like those at the tail-end of the procession who are doomed to die! Paul is making the point, however, that this is actually a position of privilege, (though not when you judge it by worldly standards,) for is it not the position of Christ himself? He became a spectacle to the world, and Paul glories in his weakness and humiliation. We echo his view every time we sing: 'In the Cross of Christ I glory'. And did not Jesus say: 'the last shall be first'? Upside down, or what? Christian humility, or 'lowliness', is probably one of the most underrated virtues in our time. It is not on the list of the world's 'most wanted'. Remember how the Beatitudes finish: '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.' As a way of justice and peace, the Beatitudes promise a hard way for the present, but nevertheless a Christ-like way, the way of the cross, the way of the Prince of Peace. He knew what injustice meant, and he bore it in love, for the sake of peace and justice and salvation for all. A prayer from the Lent study booklet sums this up. Let me read it to you: We thank you for the values of your upside-down kingdom, and we thank you that you sent Jesus to show us how to live them out. Lord, when we are faint-hearted in following you, strengthen us. Give us the courage to follow you into hard and dark places, knowing that you will lead us out the other side and call us 'blessed'. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen |