Dear Disciple,

In the fourth beatitude Jesus once again pronounces blessing upon those who at first glance don’t seem to be blessed at all. Indeed, they seem to be rather pathetic. Jesus pronounces blessing upon the hungry and the thirsty. In Luke Jesus says “Blessed are the hungry…” He doesn’t there describe the nature of the hunger. Jesus fills in the blanks more here in this teaching in Matthew – “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

            It would be too easy to separate out the meaning of these out too sharply. In order not to do that, we need to focus on the meaning of righteousness. Remember the Madeleine stories? Remember Mrs. Clavel? She’s lying in bed, something is bothering her, something is not as it should be, and she bolts up in bed, finger pointing upward, “Something is not right!”

            We live in a world made by a God who is a certain way, and His world is meant to be a certain way. When any part of His world is not the way it is supposed to be we say that it is not right.

            There are a whole group of English words used to convey the idea of things either being right or not being right. These words all have the word “right” right inside them -- righteous, righteousness, unrighteous, and unrighteousness.

            Righteousness exists when things are the way they are supposed to be. Sometimes you can just use the word “rightness” instead of “righteousness” to get this idea across more clearly. When things are right, as they are supposed to be, then you have rightness, or righteousness.

            Jesus came into a world that was, and is still, not right. Human beings who were made to be in close relationship with God are alienated from Him and under condemnation. Human beings who were created to have beautiful relationships with each other are separated from each other; they fight and quarrel and ignore and use and hate and gossip about and hurt each other.

            Human beings who were made to exercise loving dominion over the earth and its creatures instead abuse and exploit and make it ugly, and kill its creatures indiscriminately.

            Dear Disciples, something is not right!

            That is why we cannot put a strong line between the meaning of “those who hunger” and “those who hunger for righteousness.” The poor of the world, those who are literally hungry and thirsty and forgotten and despised and abused – they certainly know that the world’s not right. That are more ready to hear the word of Jesus.

            Yet, wanting food for one’s self on the one hand and wanting real rightness in one’s heart and in the world on the other are not ultimately the same.

            Do you want to be truly right with God? Do you want to be made new inside? Turn to Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the King. Believe in Him and follow Him, and you will be right with God, and empowered to live a new life. Do you want to see the world made right? Do you long to see the God of Heaven honored and revered as the rightful King that he is. Do you long for the kingdom of God? Then do the work of the Kingdom. And pray “Thy kingdom come” everyday. Pray for Jesus’ return, when He will set all things right.

If you yearn and long for these things, you are blessed, for Jesus has made the pronouncement, “You shall be filled!” He alone can fill your soul. No one else can. No other person, movement, cause, medicine, or vocation – only Jesus can.

            As the Psalmist says:  “as the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”

            As Jesus says in another place: “do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures unto eternal life.”

            And again:  “seek ye first the kingdom of God and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Dear Disciple,

We continue in our look at "The Beatitudes" in Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." So far Jesus has pronounced good news and blessing on two kinds of folks that were in his time not normally associated with kingdom blessing, and certainly not with the expected blessing of the coming kingdom of God – the poor in spirit and those who mourn.

            In his third pronouncement of blessing he does the same, this time pronouncing blessing upon a group of people who are also not expected to end up in the winner’s circle – and that is "the meek." These first beatitude is full of blessing to the unexpected. The poor and poor in spirit are blessed. Why? They are blessed because to them belongs the kingdom of heaven. Those who mourn are also blessed. Why? They are blessed because they will be comforted. So far the kinds of folks singled out for the great news of kingdom blessing aren’t the leaders of the righteousness brigades, the truth warriors, the activists, the rich, the one’s who have made it, whether by hard work or by life’s lottery. The trend continues.

            Blessed are the meek. Who are the meek? What does it mean to be meek? What is meekness?

            Indeed, the Greek work translated here as “meek” is often translated as “gentle.” Sometimes the English word “meek” is better, sometimes “gentle.” Clearly here the better translation is the word “meek.” But what does it mean?

            Let’s approach its meaning from two directions. First, from the pattern of the beatitudes, and second from a Psalm, Psalm 37, which says pretty much the same thing about the meek inheriting the earth.

            We notice so far that these patterns are counter intuitive. They pronounce blessing on the wrong people. Specifically thinking of the first beatitude, the promise seems not to fit directly with the trait. Whom would we expect would inherit the earth? Well, we might expect those who take matters into their own hands and conquer to inherit the earth. Since we are talking about the kingdom of God here we might think of those who join ranks with the hoped for messiah in the great conquest of the last days.

            But instead, kingdom blessings, and the specific kingdom blessing of possessing the earth (this is the promise of the land in the Old Testament expanded), are for the meek, those who aren’t likely to lead battalions of army troops.

            The meek are those who let God take care of the business of being God. They are fully aware of evil, and do not crumble at the sight of it. The meek are strong. They are strong in faith. They are strong in prayer. They wait for God. They entrust their well being to God. Yes, they work hard, but they wait for God to deal with their enemies. They wait for God to deal with His enemies. The meek go about doing good, and trusting God to be God.

            Sometimes the meek have to make a stand and say “no.” The meek are active when it comes to caring for the weak and poor and oppressed. The meek can be very very stubborn. They can even be absolutely exasperating. They can refuse to be made to do a wrong thing but at the same time refuse to speak badly against anyone, or lash out, or be hurtful in any way. I want to be meek.

            The best biblical commentary on meekness is Psalm 37. It’s too long to quote here in full, but I hope you’ll read it. Here are a few lines:

Fret yourself not because of evildoers; be not envious of wrong doers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb (verses 1-2).

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness (verse 3).

Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart (verse 4).

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act (verse 5).

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him (verse 6).

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it only tends to evil (verse 8).

In just a little while, the wicked will be no more…but the meek will inherit the earth and delight themselves in abundant peace (verses 10-11).

Wait on the Lord and keep his way, and will exalt you to inherit the land (verse 34).

Fellow disciple, I have pondered the meaning of this word for twenty five years, because I am very aware, in my natural state, that I am not a meek person. I want to lash out, fight evil (or perceived evil, or just people that bother me) with a sharp tongue and quick wit. I want to ACT! It’s hard to wait and trust and be still, especially in the face of injustice. But meekness recognizes that God is sovereign and will act in His timing. Meanwhile, I live in and interact with a world that is often dark and quite full of evil. I am not to fret over it. I trust God. But I don’t just sit there, passive. I go about doing good. I go about seeking justice. I go about helping the needy. I go about loving my neighbor. I leave dealing with the evil to God, and to His ordained civil authority.

            Indeed, this is the mantra of the meek – “trust in the Lord and do good.” Jesus is the King. His people, Kingdom people, are the meek. When Jesus comes back in His kingdom, those who will inherit it with him will be those who have trusted in and believed in Him, and who actively trust Him. “Trust in the Lord Jesus, and do good as His servant.” Do that, fellow disciple, and when the time comes, when Jesus comes back, the earth will be yours. You don’t need to try to take it, or anything else for that matter, by force.

            Trust in the Lord, and do good. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Greetings! Due to an out of town conference and a pile of backlogged administrative work, I took the week off blogging for the most part. Will look forward to re-entry into the blogging world next week. Peace. Joel.

Dear Disciple,

As we continue to look at these pronouncements of blessings which the church has come to call the “beatitudes,” we come to a very odd and seemingly contradictory pronouncement indeed – “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

I want to speak a word of encouragement today to you who are professed believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, to you who have responded to his invitation when he says “come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest” and yet who find that the life of the Christian is not sugar and spice and everything nice, and who find that you often mourn amidst a world, it seems, gone mad.. People wonder what’s wrong with you. Maybe you’re depressed. Maybe you need medication.

An odd reality about being a follower of Jesus who is the Truth and the Life is that it tunes you into truth about yourself and about the world that otherwise you might just try to avoid or overlook. This is truth about things as they really are, not as a fallen and rebellious world would make things out to be. And this truth is often hard, and overwhelmingly sad, and burdensome. It causes the spirit, sensitive to the way things were meant to be, and one day will be again, to mourn. So Jesus says “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” No, Christianity is not just for sad or melancholy people. But it is for people who see and experience the real world as it is. There is little room for phony baloney when it comes to Christian life.

But as to our own experiences of life, what is this mourning and how do we know God’s blessing through it. In reality the most central cause of inner mourning, even for those who may not know it or recognize it, is the loss of or absence of relationship with God which comes through our sin. Even if we are restored to God through Christ and have the Spirit of God within, we are still not yet what we will be, and we still see through a glass darkly. Given the purpose for our being, that is, to know and love God, this state of “seeing through a glass darkly” can be very difficult indeed.  Not only that, but we are acutely aware of the ways in which our sin is displeasing to our father in heaven. We are upset by our own failure to live as we want to live as Jesus’ disciples. We hurt and disappoint others; we disappoint ourselves. So we seek forgiveness with sorrow and contrition. Blessed are those who mourn.

One the most common reasons for mourning would be that utter loss and desperate loneliness we feel when a loved one dies, especially one who has been a part of out lives a very long time, and who has been very close to us. This loss and loneliness of such a loss puts us in touch with the terrible reality of death, a reality not originally intended for God’s world or for our experience. Mourning such loss puts us in touch with the fundamental sorrow if creation itself, and with the truth that all creation groans, longing for the coming again of the son of God.

Another common kind of mourning has to do with loss of relationships due to conflict, abandonment, or migration/mobility. Just when you get close to a person, they move away, or they walk away. Life can throw very tough curve balls. Brokenness is everywhere. It was not meant to be so.

We mourn the loss of proper functioning of our bodies, whether through blindness, paralysis, deafness, muscle disease, or uncontrollable pain. We weren’t intended to experience this. It is the result of an abnormality that has invaded God’s world, the abnormality of sin and death.

We mourn as we face the horrible reality of sin and injustice all around us. It hurts us deeply to see our fellow human beings suffer. It hurts us deeply to see God mocked and dishonored. Some of us suffer the consequences of injustice and evil and mourn the unjust and horrible things that have been done to us in our pasts, and which we can’t just “forget” even if we can forgive. These things have impacted us deeply.

Some of us mourn as we stand face to face with environmental loss and the disfigurement of creation. It makes us mad and sad. We were supposed to take care of God’s world, not make it ugly!

We mourn also as we bear the sorrows of others who themselves are suffering. We are called to do this. It is right to do this. But as God makes us empathetic and sensitive to others, their suffering weighs upon us almost as our own.

There are godly and ungodly responses to all of these kinds of mourning. To those in their morning who would by God’s grace see their lack and their need and who would look to Jesus for their comfort, and who in their meekness would look to the promise of God’s comfort, and to His redoing of a world in desperate need of healing, to these the blessing of the kingdom is promised and given.

And so blessing is announced. Why are those who mourn blessed? How is it that they rest in God’s favor? Because they will be comforted. Because God Himself will comfort them.

When we think of having "every spiritual blessing in Christ," the first of these blessings is of course simply being included in the kingdom – “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” But there are particular blessings that go with being in the kingdom. And one of these blessings is that we will be comforted as children by a loving father. We are blessed when we mourn because we know that we will be comforted by the God of all comforts. But how is it that we will be comforted?

First, we come to know that Jesus, the man of sorrows, has born our sin. He has restored us to God and ended our separation from Him. That is a great comfort. But Jesus the man of sorrows has also born our sorrows. That is, he has in some way carried upon Himself all the hurts and brokenness of a world gone mad. He can “relate” to anything we have gone through. He has carried the sorrows of the world. He has been known the deepest darkness ever known. It comforts us to know that he knows what it feels like to be sorrowful.

Second, we are comforted by the presence of the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus calls the Comforter, the one whom inwardly comforts and encourages us. He has come alongside to minister to and help us. He ministers to us in ways we are not even aware of. He translates our deepest groanings back to the Father when we just don’t what to pray. He is the presence of Christ to us, and He restores our souls.

Third, we are comforted by other people sent to bear our burdens and share our sorrows. How could we ever get through this world alone?

Fourth, we are comforted by God’s certain promise of future comfort. We know that one day Jesus will come back, and that death will end, and suffering and sickness will end, and there will be no more tears, and no more sorrow, and that all that is not right will be made right. The certainty of such future comfort is a present comfort.

So, dear disciples do not be ashamed that you mourn within. Look to Jesus in faith, and you will be comforted. This makes you blessed indeeed.

Dear Disciple,

If you know yourself to be bankrupt in yourself, to be sick in soul and spirit and in need of care from Jesus, then the first beatitude is just for you – “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

            The kingdom of heaven is not for the self sufficient, the proud, the ones who esteem themselves highly, those determined to win the game of life and confident that thy will. They will get their reward in full. And it won’t be much.

            The kingdom of heaven is for those who know that within themselves there is not richness but poverty, not excess but need, not a rightful stake in the kingdom but an awareness of no rightful stake in the kingdom, not righteousness but sin.

            When Jesus came and preached the kingdom, he preached using words and phrases form the Jewish Scriptures that would provide clues as to what it was he was doing and who he thought he was. There were many of these Scriptures that the godly Jewish people looked in anticipation for further fulfillment in that great day when their God would act decisively to bring in His kingdom.

One great example of this is Jesus’ use of Isaiah 61:1-2 which he reads from the synagogue in Nazareth, quoted here from Luke’s gospel: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.”

            After he reads this passage Jesus says something truly extraordinary and, if not true, certainly blasphemous, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

            Jesus is saying is that the Spirit of YHWH, the God of Israel, is upon Him (Jesus), and that he has been anointed (same word for messiah) to preach the god news to the poor, proclaim liberty to the captives, etc. In other words, the long awaited time has come, and has come in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth!

            So, when Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for there is the kingdom of heaven,” He is starting of this manual on discipleship with a tremendous and utterly exciting announcement. The anointed of YHWH’s Spirit has come! Good news is at hand! It is the year of the Lord’s favor! The kingdom is at hand!

            And he has come to preach this good news to those who want to hear it, who, generally are not the power brokers, the moneyed class, the people who are doing just fien thank you, the folks working the system to their advantage, the guys whom have crawled to the top of the ladder, the politicos at the top of the food chain – but to the poor and the captive and the blind and the oppressed – all those folks who tend to know more their hopelessness and their need, and who are more ready to receive the good news of Jesus. Well, that good news has arrived. It is a happy time. Blessed are the poor in Spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! The kingdom of earth has not done much for them, nor will it, but Jesus and His kingdom will! It is a great day!

            John of Kronstadt, the 19th century Russian Orthodox priest, put it this way:

“The man poor in spirit sincerely acknowledges himself to be a spiritual pauper, having nothing of his own; whoever waits for everything from God's loving-kindness; whoever is convinced that he can neither think, nor desire anything good, if God will not give the good thought and the good desire, and that he cannot perform one truly good deed without the grace of Jesus Christ; whoever considers himself to be more sinful, worse, lower than everyone; whoever always reproaches himself and judges no one else; whoever acknowledges the garment of his soul to be defiled, dark, malodorous, worthless and does not cease to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to lighten the garment of his soul, to clothe him in the incorrupt clothing of righteousness; whoever unceasingly flees beneath the shelter of God's wings, not having safety anywhere in the world besides the Lord; whoever considers all his property to be God's gift and gives thanks for everything to the Bestower of every good thing and readily apportions his property to the those in need – this is he who is poor in spirit.”

If this describes you, then congratulations, for yours is the kingdom of heaven!

Dear Disciple,

Jesus’ “handbook on discipleship, the “Sermon on the Mount,” begins with the well known “beatitudes.” The word “beatitude” comes from the Latin beati (from beatus), the Latin Bible’s translation of the Greek word makarioi which begins each sentence of the “beatitudes” and which means blessed, fortunate, or happy.

            Jesus is speaking to that state of being which brings greatest good and blessing to the human person, and he is linking that state of being up to Himself and the coming of His kingdom. Remember that when Jesus began his public ministry he began by preaching the good news. What was this good news? Was it that God loved you and had a plan for your life? No. Was it that Jesus died for your sins? No. These things may well be true, but the good news, the “gospel,” that Jesus proclaimed was this: the time has come; the kingdom of God is near; repent and believe the good news!”

            Jesus isn’t just announcing that the kingdom of God is around the corner, but that it has arrived, and that it has arrived in Himself. He is the King of the Kingdom! He is the anointed! He is the Messiah!

            The beatitudes link the happiness or blessedness of mankind with the promises of the kingdom of God (which Matthew refers to as the kingdom of heaven) over which Jesus reigns as King. They point out the kinds of attitudes and actions that are consistent with life in the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom brought in by Jesus. But they also point out the promised blessings that go with such attitudes and actions of Kingdom people.

            As we shall see, the beatitudes also announce in their own way the fulfillment of the Old Testament promises, but one thing at a time.

            Are the beatitudes pronouncement, description, command, or promise? Well, in a sense they are all four. They are pronouncement of a great joy - that now is the long awaited time for Kingdom blessings to be poured out. The kingdom of God is here! They are descriptive of the kind of person upon whom the blessings of the Kingdom come. They point us, and thus command us, to the kind of life that is consistent with the Kingdom of God and its blessing. They promise blessings for those who would submit to Jesus and to His reign – kingdom blessings, blessings which fill every crevasse of need there is in the human heart and soul – theirs is the kingdom of heaven, they will be comforted, they will inherit the earth, they will be filled, they will be shown mercy, they will see God, they will be called sons of God. What else could any person desire?

            Dear disciple, Jesus has pronounced: the kingdom of God has come! Jesus has invited you to know and experience the deepest and richest of kingdom blessings. He calls you to a way of life consistent with those blessings.

            How can you know if He is speaking to you? Let me ask you. As far as you understand them, do you desire the blessings I listed above? And for yourself, do you desire to be poor in spirit, one who mourns, one who is meek, one who hungers and thirsts for righteousness, one who is merciful, one who is pure in heart, one who is a peacemaker, one who is persecuted, not for sinful and harmful actions, but because of your association with Jesus? Indeed, do you desire to be a disciple of Jesus the King? Then these beatitudes are for you.

I am currently maintaining this MSN Spaces “dear disciple” blog as a mirror to its new home, which is on a local blog server called Triad Blogs. The new URL is:

is http://triadblogs.com/deardisciple/.

Meanwhile I have two other blogs with MSN Spaces:

http://spaces.msn.com/members/joelblog

http://spaces.msn.com/members/greensboroblog

Dear Disciple,

Two thousand years ago a man named Jesus who was from a small town called Nazareth went about teaching, healing, and making very bold and occasionally outrageous claims about himself. In the process he called people to follow him. They were to be his “disciples;” he was to be their “teacher” or “rabbi.” But they were not just to be students. They we to leave behind their way of life and literally follow after him, walk with him be with him, day in and day out. This small band of “disciples” would later become the “apostles” (minus one and plus two) and through their proclamation the world would be turned upside down. I’ve always wondered if it would have been easier or harder to actually have Jesus physically present so as to physically follow after him. After all, when he says “follow me” at least I would know what direction to walk! I fancy it would have been easier. But I fancy lots of things!

            But Jesus is now raised from the dead and ascended to the Father, and we have His words as recorded by His disciples and Apostles, and we have the Spirit which The Father and He have sent as another Comforter/Encourager/Counselor to abide with us. The basic meaning and definition of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus has not changed. It is still counter to what the surrounding culture says and expects. It is still counter to what the predominant Christian culture wants to hear or expects. It is still demanding in the deepest possible way. It still asks everything of us. It is still the case, in Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s words, that “when Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.”

            Teaching about discipleship is all through the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation, and even of course the Old Testament. But there is one place where much of Jesus’ teaching about what it means to follow him is distilled and brought together, and that is in that teaching which we commonly call the “Sermon on the Mount.” The “Sermon on the Mount” is indeed a manual of Christian discipleship. It is not the only word, not the last word on the matter, but it is a profoundly significant word, and I have decided to begin my new “deardisciple” blog right here in this great manual of Christian discipleship.

            The Sermon on the Mount” is found in Matthew chapters 5, 6, and 7, fairly early in Jesus’ public ministry in Galilee, after his call of the first disciples, after a period of teaching and healing ministry and growing popularity, and after developing a significant following. It was time to speak freely and openly about what and was happening, about what God was doing, and about who he, Jesus was. As it says at the end of this teaching, the crowds were amazed, because as one who had authority.

            And Jesus, raised form the dead, ascended to the Father, is the same Jesus, and His word still speaks with the same authority. Listen to it, open your heart to it, and follow it. Until next time. Peace.

I am currently maintaining this MSN Spaces “dear disciple” blog as a mirror to its new home, which is on a local blog server called Triad Blogs. The new URL is:

is http://triadblogs.com/deardisciple/.

Meanwhile I have two other blogs with MSN Spaces:

http://spaces.msn.com/members/joelblog

http://spaces.msn.com/members/greensboroblog