One of my favorite Mother Teresa quotes is: “I know God won’t give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish he didn’t trust me so much.” In this quote we shake our heads in agreement because we identify with this saintly woman of the faith. Like Mother Teresa we trust that God loves us enough that we will never be burdened with the hardships of life. But the way life rolls we have to wonder . . . why does God think that we can handle it all? What we really want is for God to give us a break!
This morning we are confronted by the “Beatitudes” from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. I suppose that the “Beatitudes” can be mindless platitudes if one reads them quickly and moves on. In reading in such a way these so-called “blessings” we affirm them, thank God that we are not like these people, and move on. That was never Jesus’ intention. No, with Jesus it is through these . . . through all the difficulties of life . . . that blessing is found. Out of our fears comes blessing.
We live in a time and culture of fear. Fear has become the big player in life. It is the hammer upon which so much of our culture, our society, and our world pounds us into inaction and complacency. Fear is what is used to immobilize us . . . to divide us . . . and allow those in power to continue to run the world we live in. Fear uses our vulnerability against us.
The “Beatitudes” expose our vulnerabilities . . . expose our fears. As we listen to Jesus reel off these so-called states of blessedness we are uncomfortable and uneasy. What Jesus lists as “blessings” are the very things in life we would never want for ourselves. That is God’s way . . . God turns everything in this world upside down and makes us see in a different way the Kingdom of God. In these words our vulnerabilities are exposed . . . are fears are revealed . . . and God’s way becomes our challenge. It becomes our challenge if we do not allow the fear to take control.
As you listen to those groups that Jesus bestows the “blessings” . . . did you catch yourself jumping up and down wanting to belong to any of those groups? Or did you find yourself quietly say, “Thank God I’m not like of those people.” I don’t think there are any of us biting at the bit to join any of the groups Jesus lists. No, in fact, these are the things we don’t want in our lives. We don’t want poverty. We don’t want injustice inflicted upon us. We don’t want to be on the short end of the stick. We don’t want to be persecuted . . . left out. We don’t want to live hard lives. None of us wants a hard life. No, we try to avoid this at all cost. None of us wants God to trust us that much.
Fear drives us and our fear comes from our vulnerabilities. Instead our lives should be driven by a faith that is grounded in love . . . God’s love for us and through us. But it is difficult to avoid the truth that confronts us in the words we hear this morning. Yet the only way that we can truly embody Jesus’ vision of God’s kingdom and God’s justice and God’s peace is by opening ourselves to accept life as it is and our own vulnerabilities to the pains and losses and disappointments of life. It is only through embracing life in this way that we can find true joy, and can open ourselves enough to leave behind the fear that drives us to compete and attack others and instead discover those relationships of others around us filled with compassion and integrity.
You see . . . life is hard. Life is difficult. All of us as the children of God . . . created in God’s image . . . are trying to make it through this journey we call life. We are trying to get home. And the journey is not always easy. We hit roadblocks. We have good days and bad days. We encounter inclement weather that slows us down. We win a few and we also lose a few. There are days we find great joy and other days filled with sorrow and grief . . . sometimes even the darkness of depression. We would never wish any of our bad days upon anyone.
We cannot allow our fears and vulnerabilities to immobilize us . . . from living our lives to the best of our ability. It is in the living that the blessing is found. When life is lived in love with God . . . in love with our selves . . . in love with others that we discover that blessing is found. It is blessing that draws us closer to God and one another.
It is this different vision of life that Jesus calls us to. It is to embrace life in all that it throws at us . . . to walk in the light of God’s love and grace through the good and the bad, the happy and sad . . . knowing that we are not alone. With us in the journey is God. Also with us are our fellow sojourners. And we are all trying to make it home the best that we can.
And yet it goes against everything we have been taught and believe. It scares us. Scares us to walk in the opposite direction of the world we live in, the society we exist in, and the communities where we dwell. It makes us vulnerable. Vulnerabilities are weaknesses. None of us wants the world to know that we are weak. None of us wants to expose our fears. None of us wants God to trust us that much! And yet, that is how God designed us . . . we are vulnerable . . . we are all broken people. In our brokenness we discover ourselves and we discover blessing.
We are among the blessed for we are the vulnerable. Let us not allow our fear dictate our lives and our journeys through this life. Let us step up with the courage of knowing that we are loved . . . loved by God . . . loved by others. That we are not alone and that together we can make it . . . we can all make it. We cannot allow fear to win. As Mother Teresa says: “Yes, you must live life beautifully and not allow the spirit of the world that makes gods out of power, riches, and pleasure make you forget that you have been created for greater things.”
God is with us . . . let us live . . . let us be blessed. Amen.
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