When Jesus saw the crowds he went up the mountain and after he sat down his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak and taught them saying,
"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"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, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:1-12
This week I read 'Sounder' by William H. Armstrong. It is the story of a poor African- American family in the nineteenth century American South. The boy's father is a share-cropper who is barely able to feed his family. The family subsists on corn mush as crops have been poor and the possum have migrated. Every day the father and his dog Sounder come back empty handed from the hunt. Until one day when the boy wakes up to the smell of ham bone - it was bigger than any Christmas meal the family had ever had. The story takes a turn when the Sheriff's men arrive to investigate. The boy's father is roughly handled and hauled away behind a wagon down the dirt road for stealing the ham to feed his family. To make matters even worse, the old-coon dog Sounder is shot by the men and mortally wounded. His Dad his gone and his dog is presumed dead.
The story deals with the boys deep and pervasive loneliness, the poverty of the family, and the boy's persistent hope that his father will return. It is this hope that takes him on many a journey searching for his father in work camps. Each journey gives less and less reason to believe his father is alive and yet his faith remains. In a poignant exchange with is mother, the boy says:
"Why are you so feared for me to go?... In the Bible Stories everbody's always goin' on a long journey. Abraham goes on a long journey, Jacob goes into a strange land where his uncle lives, and he don't know where he lives, but he finds him easy. Joseph goes on the longest journey of all and has more troubles, but the Lord watches over him. And in Bible -story journeys, ain't no journey hopeless. Everybody finds what they supposed to find."
The boy does not find his father. But after being injured by a prison guard, he meets a school teacher who cares for his wounds and invites the boy to live with him so he can learn to read which he longs to do. When he goes home and tells his mother all that has happened, she says, "Go child, the Lord has come to you." His mother would see this in her son and each time he returned home, she would remark: "the Lord has come to you, boy, the Lord has come to you."
And all throughout this sad and lonely (and true) story there was a sense that the Lord was on the side of this boy and his poor share cropping family. God didn't rescue them in dramatic style from their troubles but he gave them a way through, a way of seeing and a way of living in the midst of all they had to bear and he granted mercies. And so this got me thinking about the beatitudes and the deep mysteries of God; that he comes to those weighed down with grief, those who are at the end of their rope and to the lowly - those without power; he comes with gifts of grace and mercy, with nearness and comfort, with promises, with salvation.
In sharing the text with children there are a couple of difficulties:
1. The language. What does blessed mean? And meek and poor in spirit - the list goes on...
Blessed - to use happy as a synonym doesn't go far enough. Blessed implies a grace of God has been given - as Bruner states, it means God is on the side of...
Poor in Spirit - those who know their need for God; those who feel their poverty - so it can move beyond the abject poor to those who cry out to God in their need.
Those who Mourn - the heart-broken, those who grieve - they will be comforted by God; they will know him as their salvation and be comforted.
Meek - those who are humble and gentle; those who know their strength is in the Lord - it is they who will inherit the earth.
Those who hunger and thirst for Righteousness - those who long for, who desire what is right; for them right relationships in the world are not a luxury or a mere hope but an absolute necessity.
Merciful - those who come to the aid of the needy
Pure in Heart - Clear at the center; people centered on God; people who have their inside world - their heart and their mind put right.
Peacemakers - reconcilers; circle makers; whole makers which has to do with communal well being in every direction and in every relation.
Persecuted for Righteousness Sake - when people hurt you for Jesus' sake
Bruner notes the movement in this text from "the blessings of the grace of God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who picks up all who are down and sends them out into the world to pick others up, knowing this will lead these very helpers to be thrown back down in persecution and so, into need; from whence they will rise from their knees to their feet, where they will be knocked down and so on, for the rest of their lives - the aerobics of discipleship." (pg. 156)
He draws stick figures to illustrate this: the blessed poor on their knees reaching up to heaven, then a stick figure standing with its hands out to the world to represent the blessed helpers and finally a little stick figure on its back, with its hands reaching back up to heaven to represent the blessed persecuted.
In looking more deeply at the Beatitudes we find they are much more than wise sayings of Jesus, they speak to the spiritual life, to our very lives as disciples.
2. The second problem we realize is that this is counter to the way the world operates! Compare the list between who gets the attention and benefits in this world and who gets the attention and benefits in God's world. Have the children think of who the world considers blessed and the list might look a little like this: the wealthy who can buy whatever they want, those with a lot of degrees and important jobs, those who are ambitious who can always find a way to get what they want, those who are powerful or famous because people care what they say, the beautiful , the strong. In Jesus' kingdom the list looks like this: God is on the side of those who are at the end of their rope, those who know their need of Him, God is on the side of those who are heart-broken and grief-stricken; God is on the side of those who have no power in the eyes of the world - the humble and gentle who know their strength is in the Lord; God is on the side of those who long for and desire with all they are what is right and fair, for good relationships; God is on the side of those who come to the aid of others, those who care for people; God is on the side of people who have God at the centre of their hearts and minds, God is on the side of those who bring people together, those who work for the wholeness of the community, for right relationships between all people; God is on the side of those people who are knocked down and hurt for their commitment to following Jesus. (see an adaptation of the beatitudes below)
This is the upside down Kingdom of God inaugurated in Christ who came a vulnerable baby, without power in the eyes of the world, showing mercy, longing for justice and the wholeness of all creation. He himself was persecuted - crucified on the cross and in so doing he claimed freedom and salvation for all people in his death and resurrection.
Sally Lloyd Jones writes this paraphrase from 1 Cor. 1:27 which is also included in our texts this week:
TOPSY- TURVY
The true story of God coming to rescue his
children is Topsy- Turvy Good News!
Jesus said, "The way to be the greatest is
to be the least. The way to save your life is
to give it away."
Jesus didn't come with wealth. He came as
a poor man.
He didn't come as a General to grab power.
He came as a baby.
He didn't come to be the Boss of everyone.
He came to be a servant.
And - without fighting a single military
battle - God's undercover Prince conquered
the whole world!
("But God chose ... the weak things of the world to
shame the strong." 1 Cor. 1:27)
This week you might want to teach the lesson and all time for a prayer stations. I found some ideas that I thought might be helpful here.
I have adapted the Beatitudes (below) and made copies for you in your rooms, there is space where children may draw a symbol or image for each beatitude. I also have accompanying prayer cards. You may wish to have children cut out whatever prayer they would like to make for today and hang it on the tree. The prayers are hole punched and I will have ribbon in your classes should you want to hang them.
Matthew 5:1-12
God is on the side of those who are at the end of their rope; those who feel their need for God. He calls them blessed and says the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.
God is on the side of those who are broken hearted; those who are weighed down and lost in their grief. He calls them blessed for they will know him as their rescuer; he will comfort them.
God is on the side of those who know their strength comes from the Lord; those who wait upon him in all humility and gentleness. He calls them blessed and promises that they will inherit the earth.
God is on the side of those who long for what is right and just; those who desire relationships that are fair with their whole being. He calls them blessed and he promises that he will satisfy them.
God is on the side of those who help people in need; those who offer kindness. He calls them blessed and he says that they too will receive care.
God is on the side of those who have God at their very centre; those who love the Lord their God with all their heart, all their soul and with all their mind. He calls them blessed and says they will see God at work in the world.
God is on the side of those who are peacemakers; those who show others how to get along and work together. He calls them blessed and more than that, he calls them his very own children.
God is on the side of those who follow him with their whole lives; even when their commitment brings trouble and is so hard it hurts. He will be with them, just like he was with the prophets and witnesses who also found themselves in trouble and deep difficulty. He calls them blessed and says the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to them.
(I leaned heavily on Bruner and Peterson for this adaptation, I offer it in all humility)
May God be with you as you bring the Word and his words to the Children this week.
Sara
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