Scriptural Maunderings for All Saints’ Day

This past Sunday we celebrated All Saints’ Day (officially 1 November, but celebrated the Sunday following by us Episcopalians).    Some thoughts on the Scripture appointed (Revised Common Lectionary, Cycle C, NRSV translation).

Old Testament: Daniel 7:1-3,15-18

Daniel has a prophetic dream about four beasts, which gets interpreted for him as representing four kings, but that “the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom.” Um, okay.

Epistle: Ephesians 1:11-23

Paul says that Christians rock. Basically. No real teachings here except God thought Christ was cool, and his followers are cool, too.  Saints, yay!

New Testament: Luke 6:20-31

If the previous readings are mostly fillers on the subject of saintliness, this one brings it on big time: the Beatitudes.  They bear some special examination, because they hold (or should hold) special meaning for all Christians.

“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.

As much as Christ is said to have come for all humanity, his most overt mission was to the outcast, the marginalized, the folks that nobody paid attention to (or thought worth paying attention).  In a world where success was measured in money, and religious status was dictated by lineage and donation size and how nice your go-to-Temple clothes were, the majority were left out in the cold, struggling along to get enough to eat, despised for their lack of worldly power and ritualistic impurity.

Jesus turns that on its head, and speaks to the folks who had gathered around him for healing of body and soul.  He tells them that the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful, all aren’t forsaken and ignored in Heaven, let alone being punished by God. He says, no matter what society may judge, these outsiders are loved and considered at least as important as anyone else.

While some have used these passages to justify leaving the poor to their own devices (“See? God is okay with their being hungry because they’ll get something special after they die”), or even to placate the poor into not rising up into rebellion (“See? You guys are are really well off because God’s going to treat you really well after you kick off, so get that harvest in, chop-chop!”), taken with the rest of his ministry (indeed, and the passages to follow), those are perverse interpretations of these words.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.

To my mind, this isn’t meant to comfort just for religious dissenters (though it’s worth remembering), but for anyone who does good or follows the principles of Christ’s teaching (forgiveness, generosity, compassion) and gets a slap in the face back for it from the individuals involved or from society.

On the other hand, you’d think the folks on the Right kvetching about how Christianity is being “persecuted” in this country (!) would take some consolation here.

“But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
“Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
“Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
“Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets

Yikes.

This one’s for the televangelists and high and mighty amongst the churches, wearing fine clothing and living content with their lives.  This one is for the wealthy who claim that it’s a sign of God’s favor — that their virtue has led to them becoming prosperous. This one is for the multi-millionaire politicians (and Tea Partiers, for that matter) who think of all those poor and miserable and destitute as shirkers, lazy bums, parasites on society, who see compassion and generosity as weaknesses, of taking something they’ve earned and giving it away to someone else without getting something back.

It’s more than that, of course — it’s arguably aimed at pretty much anyone.  Heck, I’m rich, relative to so many (in this country, let alone this planet).  I certainly don’t go hungry. And I laugh a lot.  People even say nice things about me.

And being content with that, and ignoring what I’m commanded to do for my neighbor and the outcasts … puts me in as much danger as it does pious Senators who think if they just cut off unemployment insurance, it’ll decrease their taxes and get those slug-a-beds back to work (preferably some place un-unionized).

And just to make it all clear, Jesus then goes from blessing (and warning) to some direct commands:

“But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

Damn socialist-pacifist hippy!

Any Christian who doesn’t follow these words needs to do some very fancy-footwork — in this world and the next — as to how they can claim to follow Christ’s commands. Myself included.