Monday meditation: What Jesus offered was better than religion
A new series, starting today:
“Here’s What Jesus Taught”
Part One: “Look at the World in a Whole New Way”
“I wish I had given my son some sort of religion,” a man once said to me. Like many, he had a sort of distant respect for religion even though, like many, he would say, “I’m not religious.”
He likely thought of practicing Christians as religious. I guess some of us are. But those who look closely at the teachings of Jesus recorded in three chapters of Matthew (5—7), and indeed throughout the four Gospels, will discover he was describing something more than religious observance and offering something better than habits for a well-ordered life.
The straightforward statements in today’s reading are the perfect example. Whole books have been written about them because their simplicity belies the depth of meaning they are meant to convey. In this short space, we cannot explore all that, but two observations beckon seekers to study more.
First is the word blessed, co-opted today by greeting card companies, sellers of sweatshirts, and manufacturers of plaques for gift shop shelves. We may be surprised to realize the word wasn’t present in the language Jesus spoke when he delivered this teaching. A more accurate translation could be “Oh the bliss . . .”
Oh the bliss of the poor in spirit! Oh the bliss of those who mourn! Oh the bliss of the meek, of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, of the merciful.
Jesus was not presenting a set of religious directives; he was describing the foundation for a joy-filled life. But at first glance, the virtues he extols seem to have little to do with joy. Poverty? Mourning? Hunger? These are conditions we want to avoid, not seek.
And that leads us to the second point. It has to do with that much-discussed distinction between happiness and joy. Jesus is offering something better than happy days. He is suggesting a path permeated with hope and satisfaction and meaning. He is offering a foundation that will not crumble when happiness is blurred and blunted by disappointment or disaster. Or disease. Even a disease like Alzheimer’s.
“The beatitudes speak of that joy which seeks us through our pain,” William Barclay wrote. “…that joy which sorrow and loss, and pain and grief, are powerless to touch, that joy which shines through tears, and which nothing in life or death can take away.”
That joy can give purpose and persistence to caregivers. It comes from a relationship with the one who described and defined it, not through a set of rituals or habits or observances. It’s not that the trappings of Christianity are meaningless. It’s that they’re not enough. What we need is the renewed mindset Jesus offers and the enlivened spirit Jesus provides to those who will walk with him.
It’s not that the trappings of Christianity are meaningless. It’s that they’re not enough.
It's all available to anyone in any circumstance, even those of us trapped at home with someone we love whose care may keep us from religious practices we once embraced.
Bliss. It can come to everyone who discovers the meaning described by Jesus.
Joy. It can be experienced even by those of us struggling to cope with the effects of a despicable disease.
Read: Matthew 5:1-11
Pray: Each of us is intrigued by what Jesus said here, Lord. Help me discern what he’s telling everyday strugglers like me. Show me the purpose and peace and joy he offers in his prescription for a life of bliss, even the life of a weary caregiver.
Illustration copyright Classic Bible Art. All rights reserved. Click here for a list of events where you can see Classic Bible Art on display this year. For more information about securing a library of this beautiful art for yourself, see here or here. Some art in this series is available for you to license at Goodsalt.com.