As we go into this Christmas, something keeping me grounded in “the reason for the season” is the beatitudes Jesus said in Matthew. This might be a surprising scripture to reference, but I want to invite everyone to hear these words with fresh ears:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 5:3-10)
It is hard to make sense of these words when we read them on the page. They go against every expectation this mortal life has written into our hearts. They are words we would be wise to write off if they were spoken by anyone other than the Messiah, because they can only be kept by a God who enters history to set the world aright.
Another reason it is hard to make sense of these words is that many of us think they only apply to other people, as if “the poor in spirit,” “those who mourn,” or “the meek” referred to people “over there,” in a different category from ourselves. But the real power of these promises begins when we focus Jesus’s words on ourselves. A pastor in a well-to-do congregation in Nashville turned this scripture on her people with the simple question, “Why are you blessed?”
Faith’s starting point
If I have learned anything in my own short time on this earth, it is that our faith starts with our wounds. Whether one is reading the psalms, the prophets, or the gospels, the message is consistent that the wounds we carry are where God chooses to pour the hope that will carry us.
To people who have neither shelter nor warmth this winter, Jesus came into this world as a child for whom there was no room in the inn.
To people fleeing violence and seeking asylum far from home, Jesus was born a target of the powers that be, hunted by Herod from his birth and carried by his parents to Egypt and Galilee to find a safe place to grow up.
To people desiring justice in this world, he took up the cross to show us we are never alone.
To people desiring peace, he showed us that it starts by making sure no one is left hungry at the end of the day.
Preparing for Christ’s arrival
To the lucky few of us who find wounds hard to relate to, the blessing Jesus gives us this Christmas is the call to love our neighbors. If our love burns brightly enough, the wounds will come in time, and so will his presence in the flesh.
Let us prepare for his arrival, then, by loving with abandon, by striving for justice in the world, by seeking shelter where there is none and by doing everything we can to make sure God’s people are well-fed. When our own strength is spent, when our feet are tired, and our hands and hearts are raw, that is when our blessings will start to arrive, and we will be ready to hold God, newborn and alive in the world.
