“Oh the Blessedness of …”

It’s difficult to have an attitude of beatitude when, as poet W B Yeats says, “things fall apart and the center cannot hold.” But in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus is stating in present tense something that is happening and will continue to happen – you are being blessed. It’s a joy thing. Your joyometer, according to Jesus, should always read peace and fulfillment.  But “I’ve done Step Three,” you might say, “so where are the blessings? Show me the Blessings!” “Jesus Loves Me,” you might sing with the exuberance of a child, wondering where that love is now you’re grown.  And Jesus responds: “Oh the blessedness of you being you, now, participating in the Kingdom of God!” And you want to grab hold of that exclamation point and beat someone with it.            

We’re a journeying people, a people on The Way. Things happen, to soften a less delicate phrase. But that’s just the point: things happen. According to William Barclay, “The English word happiness gives its own case away. It contains the root hap, which means chance. Human happiness is something which is dependent on the chances and changes of life, something which life may give and which life may also destroy.” But your joy is unassailable. This is the good news, the gospel, the eternal Yes that says no matter what your pain, your suffering, your loneliness, your grief, your addiction, your situation – no matter whatever: God’s got you covered. You are covered! That’s an exclamation point you can hang on to. Come join us on The Way. Hallelujah anyway!

Contact:  John Kilzer, jkilzer@stjohnsmidtown.org