Be Filled. Arthur Lee McClanahan
of the Beatitudes. Jesus' notion of happy, of being blessed, suggests the full scope of the God-human relationship.
Jesus is encouraging us to realize that God, first and foremost, is the main actor in the drama of life.
The Beatitudes are a series of if/then statements, much like a computer program would contain. To be sure, these statements are more complex than either you or I might want to make them to be, however. We would prefer to read something that is obvious, clear, and sensible. But Jesus has turned conventional understanding and wisdom on its head. And so, when he offers the invitation of this first Beatitude, "If you want to know the kingdom you must be poor in spirit," Jesus engages in more than a conversation about the lack of loose change. Rather, Jesus is encouraging us to realize that God, first and foremost, is the main actor in the drama of life. Were it not for God, we wouldn't be! Were it not for God, we would have nothing! And then, when we understand the greatness of God and the majesty of God's great gifts to us, we will inherit the splendor of the kingdom! In other words, Jesus is saying, "Blessed are those who admit that they can't do it all, for then they will begin to know the blessings and joy of the kingdom of God."
Let's go back to moving the altar table for a minute. Imagine that I'm struggling to move it. You ask, "May I help you?" I respond by saying, "No." A brick wall would be built up between us. You wouldn't be able to help me move something that is more than I can easily manage alone. Likewise, I can't help you if you won't let me.
Independence. It's hard to make an admission of dependence. We would rather proclaim, "I'm in charge. I'm in control." We want to feel self-reliant. We want to think that we're self-sufficient.
We were never asked to do if all ourselves. God has said, "I'll be there to help!" What a freeing realization!
Jesus responds to this false ideal with a word of caution. "Hold on a minute. In community, in dependence there's strength! Blessed are you when you've reached the absolute bottom point of the reservoir of your fiercely independent spirit, for then you will really be able to get to know God. Then you will be blessed. Then you will start to become complete. Then you will begin to be fulfilled."
All that God wants us to do is acknowledge that God is in the picture, that God is a key part of creation, that God is a part of our lives. When we can say, "I need help. I'm dependent. I'm depending on you, Lord," we become stronger. We were never asked to do it all ourselves. God has said, "I'll be there to help!" What a freeing realization! We don't have to rely only upon ourselves, with our limited spheres of mind, body, and strength. We can rely upon others!
The more that we withdraw and hold things in, the more desperate and frantic we become. It's a vicious cycle that goes 'round and 'round and 'round, until something breaks in to bring our world to a screeching halt.
"How blest are those who know their need of God; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs."
Somewhere around second grade my parents gave me a little bicycle that had training wheels. You know what that's like! When you ride your bike down the sidewalk you can tilt from side to side and never fall down! You have two supports with wheels that let you continue to go merrily along. My bike was a nice little bike. It was maroon and brown, with ivory-colored handle grips. I think it even had those streamers that catch the wind when you get going. I was all set!
My best friend, Eddie, liked to ride his bike too. But Eddie was a little bit more advanced than I was. His training wheels were already off! What a goal to aspire to! I can still remember the day that Eddie, his sister, and his father decided to go for a ride to the neighborhood high school. What a fun outing it was to be—maybe a mile adventure, 'round trip. But I couldn't go because my training wheels were still on, and you can't get very far very fast with training wheels. I watched the three of them head off, practically counting the pedal strokes until they disappeared from sight and then I headed back up my driveway, feeling very alone!
I hadn't really been motivated to want to get rid of those training wheels until that day! I hadn't wanted to ask, "Pop, please take me down to the high school parking lot so I can learn to ride my bike." It was a lot easier just to ride around with them on feeling oh so very independent.
One Saturday, very soon after that, Pop and I went to that great big, empty paved lot for my pivotal rite of passage. I rode around with my training wheels on for a few minutes. Then Pop took out his wrench and pliers and took them off. He said, "Okay I'm going to hold on to the back of the seat and run along with you as you pedal." Remember what that's like? The child goes and goes and goes and shouts, "Let's keep going!" The dad runs along exhausted and out of breath.
After a little of Pop's huffing and puffing I was heading off great guns! When I turned to look at Pop, I noticed that he was back where we had started. I said to myself, "Uh Oh!" but kept going circling back around to him. What a liberating day! I didn't need my training wheels anymore! I couldn't wait until Monday morning when I could ride my bike to school! Wow! What a great experience!
Yet, it wasn't until I was able to swallow my pride and ask, "Pop, would you help me learn to ride without the training wheels?" that I could be free of them. It wasn't until I learned how restricted I was that I could make some changes and be set really free.
"How blest are those who know their need of God; the kingdom of Heaven is theirs."
All that we need to sincerely say is, "Lord, you are in my life. I am dependent upon you. I am dependent upon others." But, that's a very difficult admission to make. We hear and see the words of the Scripture, but often choose to go on suffering and thinking, "I'll somehow struggle through. I'll somehow find the resource, the right book, the right audiotape, the right seminar that will make it all right. I'll somehow find the inner strength to make it on my own." And when we travel down that lost highway we get bitter. We ask the answerless "why" questions. We have a hard time admitting that we don't understand, that we don't know!
When we can admit the benefits of dependence we can understand the message of the story of the prodigal son. The younger of two brothers went to his father and demanded his share of his inheritance. Amazingly, his father agreed to give it to him right then, rather than make the son wait until his father's death. The young man went off, independently, living what he smugly thought was a rather fulfilling life. But, all too quickly, the money ran out and he found himself in a mess!
Jesus invites us to value ourselves by first valuing the caring, compassionate, loving God of all life, and encourages us to then reengineer our living according to that precious model.
Swallowing his pride the young man turned to a farmer pleading, "I have no money. Even your pigs eat better than I do. Isn't there something I can do for you so that I can survive?" To fully appreciate the anguish of that question, it's essential to remember that it was a tragically intense humiliation for aJew to tend to pigs.
Soon after that desperate experience, the young man humbly decided to go back home. He reasoned, "I'll be one of my father's servants; for they are far better off than I am!" All the way home he rehearsed his confession. Yet, before the son could say, "Father, let me be as one of your servants," the father flung wide his arms, welcomed his son home, and restored the young man to full relationship in the family.
Jesus invites us to value ourselves by first valuing the caring, compassionate, loving God of all life, and encourages us to then reengineer our living according to that precious model. By such an acknowledgment, in a private moment of reconciliation and forgiveness, we will receive blessed assurance!
Even Jesus, in all of his moments of prayer, admitted, "There is a God, my Father, from whom I receive sanction for what I do. I do not do it on my own. I do all I do in God's name because God has sent me. My strength comes from him." The assurance Jesus received came in the moments of intimate contact with God.
When we become aware of our dependence upon God, we will experience the amazing realization that we can be so much more and do so much more when we are partners with God. By making that admission, we begin to arrive. We receive an assurance of the outcome. We know the destination—the