…we are accustomed to hearing the Beatitudes expressed
passively:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for
they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
children of God.
“Blessed” is the translation of the word makarioi, used
in the Greek New Testament. However, when I look further back to Jesus’
Aramaic, I find that the original word was ashray, from the verb yashar. Ashray
does not have this passive quality to it at all. Instead, it means “to set
yourself on the right way for the right goal; to turn around, repent.”. . .
When I understand Jesus’ words in Aramaic, I translate
like this:
Get up, go ahead, do something, move, you who are hungry
and thirsty for justice, for you shall be satisfied.
Get up, go ahead, do something, move, you peacemakers,
for you shall be called children of God.
To me this reflects Jesus’ words and teachings much more
accurately. I can hear him saying: “Get your hands dirty to build a human
society for human beings; otherwise, others will torture and murder the poor,
the voiceless, and the powerless.” Christianity is not passive but active,
energetic, alive, going beyond despair. . . .
“Get up, go ahead, do something, move,” Jesus said to his
disciples. [1]
Megan McKenna, Blessings and
Woes: The Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke (Orbis
Books: 1999), 22–23.
________________________________________________
despair
can be a lousy companion
it hangs around in deep places in our souls
it ghosts through our mind
whispering
“there is no hope”
“nothing can be done”
“the evil one’s have too much power”
“they will destroy all that is good”
in despair we hungrily consume the messages of
gloom and doom that come from our computers and our TV
or perhaps
frantically avoid reality altogether
we create our own realities of outrage and resentment
or our own realities that comfort and ease
and sometimes
sometimes we seek comfort
in the idea that there is something
but it “up there, out there”
or “in here”
that we can turn to
which will save us
from “them”, or perhaps, perhaps, rescue us from
ourselves
“Blessed” we faithful intone, “are the pure in heart”
“Blessed are the poor, the humble, the merciful…”
“Blessed am I… “
and we wait for rescue
and all that is Sacred wonders
why it is taking us so long to act
why it is taking us so long to get
go ahead
and do something
to be blessed also (it seems)
means to be a blessing
to help the poor, feed the hungry
fight for justice
comfort the hurting
to be blessed
means to get up, turn around
and work
work
work
to pull the Kingdom of God
kicking and screaming
into a world that does not appear to want it
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