Sailing To Oblivium: August 8, 2017

The so-called “Beatitudes” attributed to the Galilean tantalize me. You’ll rarely encounter them in religious services anymore. A Methodist minister on local TV, Britt Skarda of Little Rock’s Pulaski Heights Methodist, preached a nice sermon on them recently. Other progressive pastors mention them on occasion. But I haven’t heard an evangelical use the term in years. And don’t hold your breath waiting for them to emanate from Washington.

They intrigue me to the point of obsession, though, the Beatitudes do.

The Greek word translated “blessed” means “happy, blissful” or, literally, “to be enlarged.” In the Sermon on the Mount, the Galilean uses the word to refer to more than a superficial happiness; in this context, blessed refers to a state of spiritual well-being and prosperity, so one source tells us.

That’s how some religious thinkers interpret them. Others disregard them as superficial meanderings taken totally out of context. They think blessing the “poor in spirit” might lead us to excuse, … well, any number of things.

 What intrigues me is that secular humanists seem to refer so often to the Beatitudes, and to value their message quite highly. They discuss them in terms of humankind’s responsibilities to one another. They often award their source, the Sermon On The Mount, as described in the Gospel of Matthew, as one of the most beautiful pieces of literature in Western civilization. I agree, but it is a bit odd that the Galilean’s most famous sayings are valued more highly by his doubters than his followers.

There are eight of them in Matthew. Luke presents four Beatitudes and four “woes.” The Luke version (6:20-26 NIV) deserves review:

20 Looking at his disciples, he said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,

    for yours is the kingdom of God.

21 Blessed are you who hunger now,

    for you will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who weep now,

    for you will laugh.

22 Blessed are you when people hate you,

    when they exclude you and insult you

    and reject your name as evil,

        because of the Son of Man.

23 “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their ancestors treated the prophets.

24 “But woe to you who are rich,

    for you have already received your comfort.

25 Woe to you who are well fed now,

    for you will go hungry.

Woe to you who laugh now,

    for you will mourn and weep.

26 Woe to you when everyone speaks well of you,

    for that is how their ancestors treated the false prophets.

Oh my. A lesson for many of us. They are a bit harsher. Notice also the replacement of “poor in spirit” (Matthew) with simply “poor.” Since the author of Luke is considered by some to be associated with the Apostle Paul, we can fly off into multiple lines of thought. And I know, I’m getting above my pay-grade here.

In closing, the translation of “blessed” as “happy” is, to me, a bit demanding. At least I’ve struggled with it, even after reading countless works of exposition. But, a religious assignment based on “reward in Heaven, would make sense. You’re happy in expectation of your coming reward. I’m just not sure how an abandoned mother with three starving children in the Arkansas Delta would respond to that.

I know. I know. The “Social Gospel” is far out of style these days, replaced by the “Prosperity Gospel. Too bad, in my opinion.

I can understand how some would conclude, after a study of the Beatitudes, that their purpose refers to Heavenly reward as a justification of present suffering or righteousness. I just wish we could apply them more often and more secularly here on Earth. I think the Galilean would like that.

Just thinking …