SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C

[cappie]

We are almost two full months into the new year,  And in today’s readings, we are reminded that there are things beyond what we can understand in this world.

The prophet Jeremiah speaks, “ A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.” To rely on human strength, is not only foolish but accursed, according to the prophet. The author continues  with a condemnation of the human heart. “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse—who can understand it?” Human intentions, human efforts, human doings can only lead us so far. Faith demands we reach out beyond what we can feel, perceive, or even know. Faith demands we reach out to God.

St Paul, in his first letter to the church in Corinth, writes of the necessity of the Resurrection. “... if Christ has not been raised, you are still in your sins. And what is more serious, all who have died in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ has been for this life only, we are the most unfortunate of all people.” These words are meant as words of comfort to the first-century Christian community,  

 How does a Christian today live this out?

The belief in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is something that we affirm regularly in the creed, but what does this belief mean for our daily lives?

Andrew Root, contemporary Lutheran theologian, and author, writes that Christianity in a secular age moves from seeing faith as relevant to something that is resonant. For Root, relevance is about transferring content. Resonance, on the other hand, is about a feeling or experience. While certainly there is much to be learned about God from Scripture, the beauty of the Christian faith is that it’s not just about intellectual stimulation

The mystery of our faith is not just that the words of the Scriptures apply today to our situation here, across vast centuries of time and thousands of kilometres of space. Among the mysteries of faith is that, through these words, we can still encounter the divine. When we read Scripture, we certainly look for things that are relevant to our lives. But we also experience an encounter with the divine, having faith that God meets us in the reading of the Word. It is this encounter with the divine that gave life to the faith of the mystics like Hildegard, Julian, and Teresa. The readings then become less about mining for applicable wisdom, and more about looking and listening for resonance with the beauty we find in our lives, in the world, and in each other.

Let us turn now to that great sermon from the gospel text for the day.

The Beatitudes, as these statements are known, are the subject of a long theological debate. On the one hand are those who argue that the sayings are descriptive—they are meant to affirm that those who are of lowly station in life now will be exalted in the Kingdom of God. On the other hand, are those who claim that they are prescriptive. This view maintains that Jesus is saying that all his followers should be poor, sacrificing to the point of hunger, and weeping over the mournful events occurring in one’s community and around the world.

Certainly, these are important theological debates to consider. But when we read for resonance,  instead of, “How does this passage apply to me?” or “Are these or aren’t these relevant to me?” the question becomes, “How does this passage resonate with my encounters with God?” 

St Paul’s words about the centrality of resurrection guide us to consider where we see Jesus’ resurrection echo and harmonize with our experiences, our histories, and our lives. We attune ourselves to the beautiful mysteries of faith. The words of the beatitudes similarly become a living word when we let them wash over us: when we attune ourselves to the poor, the hungry, and the weeping around us.

Let us consider not just the relevance of these words. But let us truly let them resonate in our lives. May we all consider the mystery of the divine around us, within us, and outside us as we seek to attune ourselves to the unfolding of the Kingdom of God.