Don Friesen
The New Testament Sermon on the Mount is known to us in at least three versions. There is Matthew's Sermon on the Mount; there is Luke's Sermon on the Plain; and then there is Monty Python's Life of Brian. In the latter version, the folks around the periphery of the crowd can't hear very well, and when they heard the beatitudes -- Blessed are the meek; the merciful; the pure in heart; the peacemakers -- they thought Jesus said, "Blessed are the cheese-makers!"
Well, Jesus may as well have said "cheese-makers," because what he actually said sounds equally bizarre to conventional ears. Blessed are the poor? But woe to you who are rich? In your dreams!
A man walked into Chapters to return a book he had bought. "It's a Bible," he told the clerk.
"Was it a gift?" asked the clerk.
"No, I bought it for myself," he said, "but I'm returning it."
"Didn't you like the translation? Or the format?"
"Oh no," said the man, "the format was clear and the translation was just fine, but I'd like to return it."
"Well," said the clerk, "I need to write down a reason for the return."
"In that case," said the man, "write down that there is a lot in that book that is tough to swallow."
Conventional Wisdom Is the Wisdom of Choice
There are some passages in the Bible that are very hard to swallow and our reading from the Gospel of Luke is one of those that flies in the face of conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is conventional because it makes sense. If you follow it, things will go largely according to plan. If you work hard, chances are you'll be rewarded for your hard work and you'll succeed at what you're doing. If you wash your hands thoroughly, chances are you'll be healthier. Blessed are those who save, for they may be able to retire. Blessed are those who floss, for they shall keep their teeth. -- that sort of thing.
Jesus said, "Blessed are you who are poor, ...you who are hungry, ...you who weep.... (and) blessed are you when people hate you" (Luke 6:20-22), but conventional wisdom would counsel us to try to avoid poverty, hunger, sadness and loss. Conventional wisdom would suggest that we do what we can to be liked by everyone. Blessed are those who schmooze, for they shall be liked.
Those who first heard Jesus utter his "blessings" were quite familiar with beatitudes. Beatitudes were a common literary way of phrasing what everyone knew constituted the good life. In fact, we have them in our Old Testament readings. Psalm 1 is a classic expression of these blessings, contrasting two ways of looking at life, and basically it boils down to: You can either be stupid. Or wise. There isn't really a lot of choice. You can either be a nice person, avoiding rascals and fools, delighting in godliness, doing all the right things at the right time, and end up like a lovely, luxuriant tree planted by a water stream -- OR -- you can be chaff, a fluff of nothing, but with enough bad things about you that you're going straight down the tubes! Psalm 1 lays it out in elegant phrases, but really, it's just a nice way to say to people: Use your head! If you make bad choices, don't be surprised if you get bad results. If you sow wild oats, don't be surprised if you reap even more wild oats!
Our reading from Jeremiah 17 reflects the same approach. It even uses the same imagery. "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord... They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. It shall not fear when heat comes, and its leaves shall stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8) Conversely, "those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord ... shall be like a shrub in the desert... They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land." (17:5-6)
Old Testament wisdom literature is full of such stark advice. Check out the book of Proverbs, the purpose of which is, in its own words, "to teach shrewdness to the simple, knowledge and prudence to the young...." (Proverbs 1:4) And from its pages come forth lots of colourful proverbs, like:
Those who sat on the Plain that day listening to Jesus knew what to expect when Jesus started in on blessings, and so when Jesus turned conventional wisdom on its head, they were shocked! What they were expecting was:
That's what people were expecting; instead, Jesus turned conventional wisdom upside-down!
As a kid I often did something that most kids do. I would lie on the couch, with my head hanging down off the end, and I would look at the room upside-down and pretend I was seeing right-side-up. The world looks quite different from that vantage point. Lights that hung down from the ceiling looked like floor lamps. The furniture looked like it was attached to the ceiling. The piano defied gravity hanging up there, but it looked a lot more interesting than my piano lessons. And it was great fun to look at people that way. Some of my siblings looked much better from that perspective. It was a fresh and a refreshing, new way to look at the world.
Jesus seemed to think that the world might look a lot better if turned upside-down. Barbara Brown Taylor, an Episcopal priest, writes "The world looks funny upside down, but maybe that is just how it looks when you have got your feet planted in heaven. Jesus did it all the time and seemed to think we could do it too. So blessed are those who stand on their heads, for they shall see the world as God sees it. They shall also find themselves in good company, turned upside down by the only one who really knows which way is up." (Gospel Medicine)
The form of our readings from the Psalms and from Jeremiah is somewhat reminiscent of Robert Frost's poem, "The Road not taken" (1920)
Several Old Testament writers observed that bad things do happen to good people, and Jesus appears more aligned with their thinking than with those who grow rather smug about their winning combination of prosperity and righteousness. "God is no respecter of persons," says the New Testament. (Acts 10:34) Jesus himself observed that God "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous." (Matthew 5:45)
Jesus wasn't hesitant to take the road less travelled. He knew the party line that had been laid out for generations by the Pharisees, but he refused to conform to it. To his disciples he said, "You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, ‘You shall not murder' ... But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister" (Matthew 5:21-22), and so on. Six times in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus challenges the conventional teaching, saying, "You have heard (such and such) ... But I say to you," and then came his unique and fresh perspective on the matter. (5:21-22; 27–28; 31-32; 33-34; 38-39; 43-44)
Discover your Holy Ornery-ness
Jesus not only took the road less travelled, but I think he liked to stand at the fork of the road and prod those who took the easy road. It wasn't enough to promise the poor that things would get better, he went on to poke the rich and contented in the ribs and tell them to get a life!
The gospel Jesus preached didn't just comfort the afflicted, it afflicted the comfortable. That was the experience of someone (Jim Finley) who had regular appointments with Thomas Merton when he was a novice at the abbey Merton served. He says that Merton would ask him, "How are you?" And if he answered, "Just great. Things couldn't be better." Merton would say, "Well, don't take it too seriously. It'll get worse." On another day, if he replied, "I'm terrible. I'm in a dark place." Merton replied, "Well, don't take it too seriously. It'll get better."
In other words, life has its ups and down, and perhaps the worst mistake we can make is to think that we are owed prosperity and health. Jesus invites us to question conventional assumptions about life. Just because most people take the road most travelled doesn't mean we have to buy into the same set of assumptions.
There is something ornery about Jesus' approach and perhaps his gospel is an invitation to discover our own holy ornery-ness. If you're from Saskatchewan, being ornery comes naturally, and in an Anabaptist tradition it certainly comes theologically. A little upside-down thinking can be liberating. When others tell us to spend more, what say we spend less? When our culture encourages us to consume, what say we conserve? When our peers tell us to buy bigger homes, what say we make do with smaller homes and give the difference to the Church?
Katie D. and I went to a breakfast a week ago to hear Tony Campolo. Tony teaches at the same university as Ron Sider, and he is a troublesome gadfly in the side of Christians, especially wealthy ones. He's a very entertaining speaker, and while Christians are laughing at his blunt way of expressing the gospel, he is sticking a theological thorn into their sides that will, one hopes, have some redemptive value.
The road less travelled may be the choice of the minority, but there are others on the road. Tony Campolo is there, but so are others, many of them quieter than Tony. I think of the quiet philanthropist in Renfrew whose obituary ran in the paper this week. As a young soldier this man was exposed to extreme poverty abroad. He wanted to find a way to help and he did. He gave so much to charity that accountants had to carry his contributions over every year -- meaning he was giving much of his income away. A school in Lesotho now teaches more than 800 students, thanks to his generosity. ("Renfrew painter helped children of Africa," Ottawa Citizen, February 11, 2004, page D5)
There are many other stories on the road less travelled -- people who have discovered that there's more to life than amassing more and more wealth and finding ever new ways to become addicted to its excesses. Zaccheaus took the road less travelled by the rich, giving most of his wealth away. Millard Fuller took the same road, giving away all of his money and starting Habitat for Humanity to provide shelter for the working poor. I think too of Larry Miller, a former classmate of mine and now the director of Mennonite World Conference; Larry gave away a sizeable family fortune.
When someone asked E. Stanley Jones, one of Methodism's most famous missionaries, what he thought of the beatitudes, Jones answered, "At first sight, you (feel) they turned everything upside-down. At second sight, you understand that they turn everything right side up. The first time you read them they are impossible. The second time you read them, nothing else is possible. The beatitudes are not a chart for Christian duty. They are a charter for Christian liberty." (Brett Blair)
Like a Tree Planted Upside-down in the Desert
The psalmist wrote, "(Blessed) are those ... (whose) delight is in the law of the Lord.... They are like trees planted by streams of water...." (Psalm 1:1-3) Jeremiah wrote, "Blessed are those who trust in the Lord.... They shall be like a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream. ...its leaves ...stay green; in the year of drought it is not anxious, and it does not cease to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:7-8)
When I hear those verses I think of neat, cultivated trees, all growing in a straight line, impeccably pruned and lush in growth. But life is not always that neat, and not all vegetation is attractive. Some of us may be like trees planted by streams of water, but many of us are like trees planted upside-down in the desert.
Years ago our family visited Zimbabwe and saw the huge and famous baobab tree that is reputed to be over 2,000 years old! The baobab tree is not the nicest looking tree, as you can see from the picture in the bulletin; it can grow up to 25 metres tall and is leafless for nine months of the year, its strange-looking braches bare for all to see. Even those who live near them think they look rather bizarre. There are various legends about how the baobab tree came to have its weird appearance. One legend says that the devil plucked up the baobab, thrust its branches into the earth and left its roots in the air!
Another legend, favoured by the Bushmen of the Kalahari, has the great spirit telling the hyena, "Stop stealing and be good and I will give you a tree." But the hyena was angry and refused to change his ways. The spirit gave him a baobab plant, the last one. The hyena was so angry that he took the seedling and planted it upside-down.
Yet another legend says that this is what happens if you are never satisfied with what you already have, for the story goes like this: The baobab was among the first trees to appear on the land. Next came the slender, graceful palm tree. When the baobab saw the palm tree, it cried out that it wanted to be taller. Then the beautiful flame tree appeared with its red flower and the baobab was envious for flower blossoms. When the baobab saw the magnificent fig tree, it prayed for fruit as well. The gods became angry with the tree and pulled it up by its roots, then replanted it upside-down to keep it quiet!
The baobab tree is not much to look at but it appeals to me as a symbol of the Christian life and the Christian church. The baobab will not appear in Better Homes and Gardens, or in the gardens of the rich and famous, but it's an incredible tree and its upside-down appearance reminds us that though we are in this world, we don't have to try quite so hard to be of this world.
Considered by many to be the quintessential African tree, the baobab is the embodiment of wisdom, longevity, health and life. It's a common place for village people to gather. What better description of the New Testament Church?
The baobab tree provides shelter and protection; its trunk can be excavated to serve as shelter. When the interiors of these trees are hollowed out, in time they produce an inner bark for protection. It's much like another tree to which Jesus compared the kingdom of God (Matthew 13:31-32), a welcoming shelter for many people. In fact, I have heard of one giant baobab that houses a small church!
Like Christians, who are called to care for creation with some sense of responsibility, the baobab tree is a conserver rather than a consumer. It can store more than 120,000 litres of water, its massive trunks -- 30 to 60 feet in diameter -- enabling them to hold enormous amounts of water in the most arid of environments.
Though of "no form or majesty that we should look at" it (Isaiah 53:2), the baobab tree is a very useful tree. It has many medicinal qualities -- a balm for any number of ailments. Its bark, leaves, fruit, and trunk are all used for good purposes. Its wood is even used to make musical instruments. Not a beautiful tree, it has nonetheless inspired poetry and legends.
The baobab tree may not be much to look at; it's certainly not a symbol of wealth and fashion, but it can survive in very harsh conditions, and its longevity is second to none. Some baobabs are thought to be more than 4,000 years old. They endure. They're like Christians, who are encouraged to live, not for momentary pleasure and gratification, but with eternity in mind. May God give us grace so to do.
But What Do Things Look like when your Feet Are Planted in Heaven?
Jeremiah and the psalmist also present two roads, and their two-road teaching method is a good one, but life is not always that simple. When Jesus' listeners heard him begin to talk about blessings, they all knew what to expect because most people do not take the "road less travelled". The Old Testament, however, also contains voices that balked at this prosperity gospel. Job, for example, asked, "Why do the wicked live on, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?" (Job 21:7) The prophet Habakkuk voiced concern when the Psalms 1 formula no longer seemed to be working, saying, "Lord, ...why do you look on the treacherous, and are silent when the wicked swallow those more righteous than they?" (Habakkuk 1:13) An Old Testament proverb suggests that it is in fact those who offer bribes who prosper. (Proverbs 17:8) The prophet Jeremiah asks:
And the prophet Malachi is similarly outraged, observing, "evildoers not only prosper, but when they put God to the test they escape." (Malachi 3:15) These questions are not unlike ones we ask, especially of public figures; for example: "Why is it that people who do a bad job get a generous severance when they leave that job?"
All quotations of Scripture, unless otherwise noted, are from the New Revised Standard Version.