Blessed UnMachismo
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3
Talk in the sports circles last week centered once again around steroids in baseball, and at this point it’s gotten rather creepy. “The whole thing is creepy,” a former player said. We realize the sickness. But we could eliminate steroids from baseball and still be left with bloated machismo. Our collective spirit is invested in burly men: I only need mention the inferiority complex and wave of despair among sports fans in San Diego following another early exit from the NFL playoffs. In this world, blessed are the strong. Is it too late to root for the Colts?
The way of the world is the way of assertion, being built Ford tough … erecting the larger skyscraper, keeping up with (and surpassing) the Jonses. Even urban compassion is often framed in the context of self-actualization. If only they study hard and go to college, everything will be fine. The world will be their inheritance
The Beatitudes are a different portrait of success altogether. For generals, presidents, kings, sports heroes, businessmen, the Beatitudes are upside down, certainly not on page one of the leadership journals of the world. Indeed, we are only prone to taking the Beatitudes so far before explaining it away. Although it is one of Jesus’ famous historic passages – and a favorite of such non-Christians as Ghandi – Christian history has a broad and varied way of viewing the Beatitudes. Many have written it off as unattainable. Put it this way: Such lines as “blessed are the meek” are not among the present Evangelical favorites.
But we would be wise to write the Beatitudes on our hearts. They are a painting of heaven. And we would be wise meditating on heaven. We should major in heaven.
My sense is we get lost in earthly stuff. Press a Christian and he or she should be able to give a vivid picture of what heaven is like. Last I checked we all die. We need some perspective. There’s an underlying backdrop of death, a fear of the other side. But if we knew about heaven we would not be so afraid. We certainly would not be in the dark. We have a portrait of this place. The Beatitudes are about heaven. And I think what Jesus was saying is, people in heaven are awesome. And heaven is encroaching. It is near. Embrace it. For it is good.
A chapter earlier Jesus was saying, “Repent, the kingdom of heaven is near.” And now he is describing it. In the Beatitudes, heaven is painted with brush-strokes of utter humility, gentleness, compassion, dependency on God, self-denial, kindness. In the kingdom of heaven it is macho to be poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry for righteousness, pure in heart, peacemaking and open to persecution.
Repent. Heaven is near. Change your mind and your ways. Lay off the steroids and the fantasies of domination. Meditate on heavenly things. There is a much better way. Stop playing the way the world plays. Play the heavenly way.
Have you ever thought, “Man I hate living here. It seems like everyone is trying to cheat me, I have to watch my back or I’ll get sued or robbed – and Lord have mercy when guys start dating my daughters!” Okay, well, I’ve had those thoughts. While Jesus says that heaven is near, nearer still is the world and its self-serving machismo complex symbolized in multi-million-dollar drug users, pushy agents, ambulance chasers, corporate crooks. But it all finds its antithesis in heaven, a perfect place of loving-kindness.
And we see glimpses of heaven here and now, in the form of good people who are essentially “poor in spirit.” They are not self-reliant but submissive to the laws of the universe. This is the essence of heaven. Everyone is at peace. We all know our place. In older times it was called shalom. And it is partly at hand.
That the kingdom is partly at hand can be surmised in the way the first and last verses of the Beatitudes speak of the kingdom of heaven in the present tense (“… theirs is the kingdom of heaven”) while all the others are framed in the future – showing that heaven is not only partly revealed, but narrowly revealed. It’s mostly future. But somewhat present.
So if you’re having a great life and everyone seems to be heavenly here, just wait until later. It gets even better!
Meanwhile, if you’re playing by the rules of heaven but getting stepped on, Jesus is telling you to take heart. He got more than stepped on. But rejoice and be glad, great is your place in heaven.
According to the Beatitudes, heaven is a conglomeration of kindness and compassion. I wouldn’t get too tripped up on all the individual words (“poor in spirit,” “those who mourn” … “the meek”) but rather see them all weaving a collective fabric that shows the tip of the iceberg regarding this cloud of heavenly hosts. Heaven is a place of those humble and dependent on God … servant-hearts … pure … peaceful.
Fortunate are the ones who are un-macho. They are not self worshippers but self deniers. Upside down. The jocks who don’t cheat with drugs. The politicians who don’t lie. The churches who sacrifice mightily for others. The nations who abstain from war and go the rout of peacemakers.
We might see fortune in ivory towers. God sees fortune in something else. At every step Jesus’ life embodied this principal. He was rich in that he had no place to lay his head. He was beautiful in that he was appalling to many. In our age of super models and cosmetic surgery how hideous he looks if we actually look at him and not the dressed-for-success Jesus of so many best-sellers. The essence of power in the kingdom of heaven is meekness … so foreign a concept to us that we have little awareness of what that word even means. (Seriously: When’s the last time you actually used meek in a sentence?) All the more reason to meditate on heaven and the meekness of its hosts, to embrace the Beatitudes, to try on a new way and become mournful, meek, hungry for righteousness, merciful, pure, peacemaking, open to being persecuted falsely and insulted because of Jesus and his heavenly anti-machismo.
It is counterintuitive to rejoice at such disposition, to call ourselves fortunate (“blessed”) in our inner poverty. But this is the stuff of heaven. Inner poverty begets reliance upon God which begets richness in the kingdom of heaven.
It is worth believing in a place where righteousness reigns and the game is played the right way. And it is worth living for that place now.
Prompting Reflection or Conversation
- How do you feel about being meek, humble, compassionate, kind, poor in spirit, reliant upon God, peacemaking? Explain.
- What is God communicating to you at this time? Is he inviting you to do something or make a change? Explain.
- What does Adams Avenue Crossing have to do with this?
- How can we help one another along the process of becoming more poor in spirit, mournful, meek, hungry for righteousness, pure in heart, peacemaking and open to persecution?
- What is your prayer?
The upshot of the Beatitudes is a complete inversion of the attitude popularly known in our culture as ‘machismo.’ In fact, this attitude is not limited to a particular culture but characterizes humanity’s self-centered, self-arrogating pride which invariably seeks personal security and survival above the good of others.” Craig Blomberg
