Lenten Devotional – FRIDAY, Mar 26: ON MY ACCOUNT
Here is another phrase that means for righteousness’ sake. Christ blesses, specifically, those who experience insults, libel, slander, being reviled and/or persecuted, because they love and follow in his Way.
He addresses those who now identify as his followers and disciples. Yet he also addresses seekers who are curious and engaging with his Way.
Who, in our times, is persecuted for their faith? Often whole groups of people are persecuted for a ‘monolithic’ identity that has been assigned to all of them.
Since 9/11, fear and bias of Muslims has grown in the US. More people now hold negative views of Muslims, conflating the religion with terrorism or extremism, and projecting those biases and concerns onto anyone might be a practitioner of Islam.
Imagine assuming that to be Jewish is ‘one thing.’ Judaism has a wide variety of expressions, as do many religions. And some people experience it as a cultural identity rather than a religious one.
Imagine lumping all Israeli Jews and Palestinians under those two labels, as if those categories represent the whole reality of a person’s identity. As if those two terms can embody the multitude and complexity of thoughts, feelings, views, and experiences held by the individuals who might align with those affiliations.
Consider that within Islam, different groups have longstanding enmity. Shiites and Sunnis, for instance, have historic conflicts in some regions. Yet to assign a person a whole identity, based on one aspect of his or her religious affinity, underestimates the complexity of historical and current religious, ethnic, cultural, and social realities.
Consider mistakenly believing that to be Christian is ‘one thing.’ Some people don’t even understand that all Christian movements grew out of Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Think of the Protestant and Catholic wars that have raged in the past and now in places like Ireland.
Even in current times, belonging to the wrong religion, in some nations, can be a death sentence. Genocides have been committed against Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Jews, Buddhists and others.
People are often persecuted for growing up inside a religion, even if many of the underlying causes of the conflicts aren’t ideological, but social and political and economic. Individuals are sometimes held accountable for the wrongs and hurts inflicted by religious institutions, even if the individuals who practice that faith didn’t commit those wrongs. They have been assigned, in such cases, a role as spokesperson for an entire faith. Yet can any individual speak on behalf of a whole faith?
These are a few ways that people might, in our times, be persecuted for faith. Let us recognize that the condition of being persecuted for one’s faith isn’t limited to a Christian experience. At this point, Christians are less likely to be persecuted than most other religions, since many countries identify, at least culturally, as Christian-majority nations. Yet it happens.
Again, this Beatitude names a broad human experience. In the most ideal understanding of this Beatitude, all people who are judged and harmed for standing up for or being connected to a faith are encompassed by this blessing. ‘On my account’ becomes the language that holds open the door for all people to be welcome into God’s Kingdom, since it represents Christ’s inclusive, expansive form of agape love. — Rev Gail
MEDITATIONS
I’ll tell you one thing for sure: once you get to the point where you’re actually doing things for truth’s sake, then nobody can ever touch you again because you’re harmonizing with a greater power. — George Harrison
He that does good for good’s sake seeks neither paradise nor reward, but he is sure of both in the end. — William Penn
For God’s sake hold your tongue, and let me love. — John Donne
To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic. — Alphonse de Lamartine
The arts are not a way to make a living. They are a very human way of making life more bearable. Practicing an art, no matter how well or badly, is a way to make your soul grow, for heaven’s sake. — Kurt Vonnegut
It is only for the sake of those without hope that hope is given to us. — Walter Benjamin
Question or Challenge: Who embodies God for you? On whose account would you be moved to get involved in an ethical cause or activity? Would it sometimes be someone who is authoritative, influential, persuasive, or powerful and invites you to participate? Or might it be someone who needs your help and support and motivates you to take action? This isn’t a right/wrong, either/or scenario. Just a prompt to learn where we might experience the presence of Christ in our lives, inviting us into ethical engagement.
Lenten Devotional-WED, Mar 24: SAKE
The other part of this Beatitude’s phrase is for righteousness’ sake. We’re acting for a cause. We’re choosing a sacred and holistic motivation.
What, then, falls into the realm of being for righteousness’ sake? It’s the motivation in response to ‘Love God, and love thy neighbor as thyself. It’s all those cares and causes that focus on the equitable and sustainable wellbeing of all humans as well as the whole natural world (ie, Creation). For righteousness’ sake is the purpose that drives our choices and prompts our actions.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could always point to being pure-of-heart in our motivations? If our righteousness’ sake was aimed at a faith-based objective? Being pure-of-heart, as discussed in an earlier passage in the Beatitudes, describes being whole-hearted and single-minded with a focus on ethical reasons underlying words and deeds.
Yet we’re human, and God knows, we aren’t perfect. We’re works in progress. We’re trying. Striving. Falling down. Stumbling. Then getting up and trying again.
So be compassionate with yourself, if you don’t feel like you’re always motivated for the right reason, or for the righteous reason, or for righteousness’ sake. Just know that we have an abundance of chances, with every choice and action, to do the next right thing. To incrementally work toward a righteous way of living and being. God will be with us all the way, the primal motivator underneath all the other causes we think of as being for righteousness’ sake. — Rev Gail
MEDITATIONS:
If you don’t have a righteous objective, eventually you will suffer. When you do the right thing for the right reason, the right result awaits. — Chin-Ning Chu
Seeking truth and goodness and righteousness is part of the quest for wisdom. The more this quest is part of our lives, the more vigilant we will be, and the more active will be our discipleship. — Joseph Prior
If I pursue righteousness, I will not attain righteousness; but if I give up on trying to be righteous and rather look to Christ by faith, righteousness will be produced in my life as a natural byproduct of my relationship with Him. — Ty Gibson
Challenge or Question: What righteous sakes —causes— show up as significant commitments in your life, as measured by your financial contributions or donations of time, energy, and attention?
Lenten Devotional – Sun, Mar 21: Blessed
This week’s texts:
Matthew 5:10-12 (NRSV)
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Matthew 5:10-12 (The Message)
10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
11-12 “Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
BLESSINGS:
Today we explore how people adapt the idea of the Beatitudes in contemporary language and contexts. This example can start your thoughts about what blessings you see in the ‘upside down’ Kingdom of God. They are written by Rev Nadia Bolz-Weber:
Blessed are the agnostics. Blessed are they who doubt. Those who aren’t sure, who can still be surprised.
Blessed are they who are spiritually impoverished and therefore not so certain about everything that they no longer take in new information.
Blessed are those who have nothing to offer. Blessed are they for whom nothing seems to be working.
Blessed are the pre-schoolers who cut in line at communion.
Blessed are the poor in spirit. You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are they for whom death is not an abstraction. |Blessed are they who have buried their loved ones, for whom tears are as real as an ocean.
Blessed are they who have loved enough to know what loss feels like.
Blessed are the mothers of the miscarried.
Blessed are they who don’t have the luxury of taking things for granted any more.
Blessed are they who can’t fall apart because they have to keep it together for everyone else.
Blessed are the motherless, the alone, the ones from whom so much has been taken.
Blessed are those who “still aren’t over it yet.”
Blessed are they who laughed again when for so long they thought they never would. Blessed are those who mourn.
You are of heaven and Jesus blesses you.
What blessings would you add to the Beatitudes? Who has surprised you, in your lifetime, as a child of God? — Rev Gail
MEDITATIONS:
I imagine Jesus standing here blessing us all because I believe that’s his nature. Because, after all, it was Jesus who had all the powers of the universe at his disposal but did not consider his equality with God something to be exploited. Instead, he came to us in the most vulnerable of ways, as … flesh-and-blood … As if to say, “You may hate your bodies, but I am blessing all human flesh. You may admire strength and might, but I am blessing all human weakness. You may seek power, but I am blessing all human vulnerability.” This Jesus whom we follow cried at the tomb of his friend and turned the other cheek and forgave those who hung him on a cross. Because he was God’s Beatitude—God’s blessing to the weak in a world that admires only the strong. — Nadia Bolz-Weber
Challenge or Question: Identify a blessing within your life. One aspect of your life for which you are grateful. Give thanks for it. Say a prayer, write it in a journal, or light a candle to acknowledge this blessing.