Epiphany 6 C + Encanto / Blessed + 2.13.22

-

 

M. Campbell-Langdell

All Santos, Oxnard

(Jeremiah 17:5-10; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12-20; Luke 6:17-26)

 

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.

Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.”

These words are the beginning of the section of the teachings of Jesus that are called the Beatitudes. And I want to say to begin with, that, taken completely literally, these sayings do not make sense. Celebrating the poor just because they are poor does nothing to alleviate their plight and can actually do harm. The same with raising up the hungry, or those who are in pain or those who feel the hatred of others just because they are in that position. The church has done harm when we romanticize poverty, hunger, and other human pain. “Your prize will be in heaven” has at times been a phrase used to mistreat those in need or fail to do what we can for them.

But if we think about it, it is exactly when we are in crisis - when the diagnosis comes, when we receive the unexpected news of a loss, when we need God the most. And in this way, we are blessed, not because we go through pain, but in that these situations can connect us more with God and with our community.

But I think that these phrases speak of three concepts - field, full and family. For starters, “field.” In contrast to this passage in Saint Matthew’s gospel where Jesus speaks to the people on a mountain, Jesus speaks to the people on a plain. Here in Luke the emphasis is on equality between people so the location of a flat place makes sense. Jesus is leveling relationships between people. For example, in a society where a rich person is considered blessed by God, he says that the poor person is blessed. Just as his mother Mary did in the Magnificat, the order of the world is turned upside down to show that in the kingdom of God there is equality. God especially loves those who are forgotten by the world and in his love restores the order that should be natural among people. In the recent movie “Encanto” we see a lovely family living in Colombia. They have a history of fleeing violence and have formed a village in a protected place. Almost everyone in the family has a special gift with the apparent exception of Mirabel. Mirabel finds she does have a gift in the course of the film.

But in the end, she, her Grandma and everyone in the family learn that the real gifts are the members of the family, not their special gifts. They are not what they can do. Perhaps we have to remember that God blesses those who are in need and not just those who know how to do everything. And so, our value is not in what we can do, but in just being part of God's family.

Full. What are people full of? I have heard that sometimes the rich are too full of themselves to know their need of God. Jesus talks about being satisfied here and we know that he is not just talking about being filled with bread. I have known many poor people with a very deep spiritual life because they daily remember their need for God. When those with special powers in "Encanto" begin to lose their powers, they realize their need for help. They look for another "miracle" and are open to the solution that Mirabel brings them. In needing their community, they empty themselves to be open to sharing with others and receiving God’s fullness.

Family. Who is your family? Jesus talks about connections here. Between disciples and friends and in community. A more expansive concept of family is apparent throughout the Gospels. So, Jesus invites us to think about the blessing we find in community. At the end of the movie "Encanto," the Madrigal family is in crisis. They see that the townspeople they have always supported now coming to help them. They humble themselves to receive help in rebuilding their house. Everyone's work begins to bring about their new miracle. We also experience this in community. When are in a difficult time, and we pray for each other. When we visit each other and bring food, sacraments, prayers. When we call or text. To say- you are not alone. I'm with you. God is by your side. And this is the blessing we claim. It is not all the pain that can accompany our lives. It is the blessing of abundant life that we can have in God, despite the challenges of this world.

Because God, speaking through Jeremiah, says:

Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.

Blessed are they. Blessed are we. Despite everything, by the grace of God.

And that is our miracle.

Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Faith or Fear? Advent 1C

-
Melissa Campbell-Langdell All Santos, Oxnard Year C + Advent 1 (Jeremiah 33:14–16; Ps. 25:1–9; 1 Thess. 3:9–13; Luke 21:25–36) So… what are you going to do when you stand before the man with the holes in his hands? Now that may seem like a strange question to ask this first Sunday in December.  Surely, Pastor Melissa, we’re gearing up for jollity, not getting ready to meet our maker? But in a sense we are, always, all the time, waiting for Jesus, and I think that’s what Advent is really all about.  Reminding us that we are always waiting not just for the Christ Child to come and be born in our midst, but that we are also waiting for that awesome, if slightly scary Second Coming of Christ. And it is true that this passage talks about distress and the roaring of the waves.  And many looked at the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy, that iconic image of the ocean-side theme park, including a Ferris Wheel, in the waves, and many said, this is something w...
Read more

Proper 20 (B) + A community of power + 9.23.18

-
Image
M. Campbell-Langdell All Saints, Oxnard (Proverbs 31:10–31; Ps. 1; James 3:13–4:3, 7–8ª; St. Mark 9:30–37) Take a moment and think of the most powerful positive woman figure you know – in your life or in your favorite movie, show or book. Who is the woman who has most inspired you? Keep that image of that woman in mind as we look at this passage from Proverbs Chapter 31. Now here we see the verse “A capable wife who can find?” And all the feminists amongst us will be relieved to hear that a better translation from the Hebrew would be: “a woman of power” instead of a “capable wife.” [1] That changes things, doesn’t it? Then when we hear about this ideal ancient Hebrew woman’s exploits – her buying of lands, her trading prowess, her physical strength, even her domestic abilities such as weaving, and perhaps especially her kindness to the poor, we see strength and power in all of these. Of course, looking at this passage, this is not one woman but a concept of the most...
Read more

Proper21BAcceptingourownwounds29sept24

-
  Accepting our own and other’s wounds Mark 9: 38-50   St Michael’s, Isla Vista / All Saints Oxnard The Rev. Alene Campbell-Langdell; MCL additions   May I just start this morning by acknowledging that our Gospel reading is complex.   The images are startling (horrifying?) and the metaphors come almost too quickly to catch.   What is clear is that something serious is going on between Jesus and his disciples, and Jesus is using every means possible, including some pretty harsh language, to try to course correct.   To even begin to understand this passage, we need to back up to last week’s reading from Mark.   In that reading, the disciples are arguing with each other about who is the greatest and best disciple.   In response, Jesus gets a little kid, some commentators say “toddler,” and holds this child in his arms during the rest of the conversation.    The other part of the scene to keep in mind is that Jesus has just told...
Read more