No wonder then that I find myself particularly confused
early Sunday mornings when I set aside time for contemplation of the Christian
scriptures. These allegedly set forth the prescription for a better life beyond
the travesties of our earthly wanderings. Nowadays, though, among so-called
Christians, we find the scriptures, particularly the words of the Galilean,
mostly unused, or, at a minimum, heavily redacted.
I’ve mentioned this to the Galilean more than once. He says I
think too much and should practice, as he puts it, “allowing the mind to drift
along the current, as if, “… being carried toward internal peace by the River
Jordan itself.” He still has the gift of speech, doesn’t he?
Once, I responded by asking him why he preached the Sermon
on the Mount if he didn’t intend to hold his people to it. It is, I pointed out
to him, considered by many to be the most beautiful passage of the New
Testament, perhaps of any words over spoken. Why does he allow that wondrous wisdom
to lie un-worshiped, while so many hijack his teachings and concentrate on their
opposite?
He simply shrugged and said, “My ways ain’t your ways.” He
knows that upsets me.
This morning I selected a single passage, one that experts (of
which I’m not) call “The Beatitudes.” The word is from the Latin beatus, meaning “blessed.” Ahhh. Therein
lies the root of my confusion.
I chose the first of the Beatitudes for closer inspection.
Two of the gospels state it thusly:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven.” – Matthew 5-3 (KJV)
“Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God.” - Luke
6:20 (KJV)
Yes, I’ve chosen the King James version since those in the “flag-decal
crowd” don’t trust the scriptures unless they are presented in the original American.
Anyway,
“Why,” I asked the Galilean, “would you teach that we are
blessed if we are poor in spirit or, worse, just plain poor? Aren’t your followers
supposed to enjoy riches untold?”
“Idiot,” he explained.
“I didn’t say it,” Joel Osteen did.”
“Don’t aggravate me this morning,” he said. “I’m not in the
mood for it. Next thing I know you’ll be quoting …uh, … what’s his name? Oh
yes, Franklin Graham. He’s a real hoot, ain’t he?”
“Can we get back on topic?”
“Surely,” he said. Now tell me, what did the word ‘blessed’ mean
back in my day?”
I thought. “I suppose it meant ‘favored,’ or something like
that.”
“Idiot.”
“Was I wrong?”
“It meant ‘happy.’ You know what it means to be happy, don’t
you?”
“I think so.”
“Don’t you remember my saying that my ways ain’t … .?”
“Our ways,” I said. “I remember.”
“Well then,” he said. “If my ways ain’t your ways, did you
ever consider that it’s because my world is not your world?”
I stopped to think about that.
He said, “Haven’t you ever had to endure some pain in order
to arrive at a higher state of pleasure?”
“Yes.”
“I mean a genuine, five-star, gut-busting state of pleasure,
nothing like normal “feel-good days.”
“Does military service count?”
“Bingo,” he said.
“You’re telling me then that enduring poverty, or the
poverty of spirit, might just be preparing one for a higher state of grace down
the line somewhere?”
“Bingo,” he said.
“But what about those who only seek the wealth of the moment?
What about those who seek false riches? What about those who deprive the poor
in order to enrich themselves, their children, or their friends? What about those
who worship such people and put them in charge of the common folks? What
happens to them?”
“You don’t want to know.” He said. With that, he disappeared.
I wish he would have stayed. I had so many things to ask
him. He had planted a seed. Why didn’t he stay and help it grow? Was he just
teasing me? Why don’t more people live by what he taught on that rocky mountain
top so many years ago? Why does he always leave me confused?
Well, I guess his ways ain’t my ways.
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| Been confused for a long time. |
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