Blessings

 

Jesus looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God” (Luke 6:20).

            When I was young my parents often told me to count my blessings. Initially, I considered them to be material things like food, a house and my family. As I got older, I recognized more abstract things like the opportunity to get an education, the freedom to express myself and the ability to walk down the street safely were also blessings. By the time I became an adult, the list included such things as being raised by parents who had the right values, having a faith which helped me put my experiences into perspective and teachers who taught me the importance of discipline and perseverance. While not everyone thought the things on my list were blessings, time has shown me their true value.

            In this passage from Luke, Jesus instructs a great crowd, “Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of Heaven is yours”. By doing so, he indicates recognizing God’s blessings requires a different way of thinking.

            Within the Old Testament, blessings were about more than favorable living conditions. According to Genesis, Creation involved the imposition of order upon chaos. At the end of each day, God saw that what he created was good. After the Sixth Day, God perceived that the entire cosmos was very good. God achieved more than the construction of a habitable place for Human Beings; he established a relationship with it. Later in the Exodus Story, God accomplished more than the liberation of the Hebrews from bondage to the Egyptians: he listened and responded to their cries for help. This development focused and deepened the relationship between God and the Jewish people. With the Revelation of the Law and formation of the Covenant on Mt. Sinai, God rooted this relationship within their daily experience. Although Divine Blessings enabled the establishment, security and prosperity of the Jewish nation, they never prevented suffering and hardship. During their Babylonian Exile, the Jewish people remained in God’s presence despite precarious conditions. Blessings came not from favorable circumstances but recognition of their close relationship with God. While it was unlikely the poor, hungry, dejected and persecuted felt blessed according to Human standards, their need for God triggered a Divine response. This new understanding of Blessedness meant the rich, well fed, jovial and respected, who needed God for nothing, remained unblessed.

            Modern society takes a very Utilitarian approach to Blessings. Unless something is useful in helping a person gain wealth, security or social standing, it is not considered a good thing. If getting a University Education results in a better paying job; it is a blessing. Otherwise, it is seen as a waste of money and effort. The idea that Education is a good in itself and an individual who is the first one in his or her family to go to University would consider themselves Blessed for that reason alone challenges this way of thinking. Within some Christian Communities, a “Prosperity Gospel” Mentality indicates this Utilitarian approach has even influenced Religious practices. The belief that if you become a good Christian and follow Biblical Teaching God will bless you with prosperity, happiness and friends seems to ignore what Jesus said in today’s Gospel. According to Christ, the poor are blessed because they have no wealth and experience their need for God on a daily basis. They have done nothing to deserve being Blessed. Their Blessedness is a good unto itself. It does not suddenly make them wealthy. This Blessedness is the knowledge they have not been forgotten by God and his Providence will look after them. The result is they see themselves not as the world views them (pathetic) or as they may perceive themselves (failures) but as God sees them: dignified and loveable. This approach reverses the world’s idea of what constitutes a Blessing and who is blessed.

            This passage invites us to count our Blessings. We will likely first tally up those things which the world considers Blessings: our possessions; health; family; and friends. However, Jesus invites us to count those things whose usefulness may be harder to measure: our faith in God; our Church; our Community; and our access to the Sacraments. After we are finished we may find we are more blessed than we thought.

February 13, 2022