9/29/2023

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE READING:

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5.10)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

When I began this series of reflections on The Beatitudes, I suggested that their true focus was not visible in descriptors of blessing as the world understands it but as it is understood in the Kingdom of God. It matters not whether that Kingdom of God is in Heaven or “on earth as it is in Heaven.” What matters is the nature and character of the blessing and the life that is blessed with that blessing. The nature and character of that blessing is the reality of authentic righteousness. I continue to italicize “authentic” to remind me, and hopefully any who are sharing in these reflections, that there are many shapes and forms of “righteousness,” but only one true righteousness. What would be the antithesis of righteousness for me is summed up in one word. That word is “self.” I have long taught that “sin,” which many will say is the antithesis of authentic righteousness, is always about “self.” The letter which stands in the middle of the word “sin” is “i.” No matter how you turn the word (diagonal, reverse, vertical, 360 degrees, etc), “i” is always at the center. So, too, is “i” the central focus of those who are less and less defined by righteousness until it does not define them at all except as “self-righteousness.” It is because of the existence of “self-righteousness” that Jesus was always under attack. No, not that Jesus was self-righteous. He was the righteousness of God. The apostle Paul reminded the community of faith in Corinth of the following: “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5.21) It is by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that truly defines us as “children of God,” that propels us in the journey of becoming fully righteous. Further, we have been made the righteousness of God by the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. What we do as disciples of Christ and followers of the Way is to actualize and live into this being of righteousness more and more. We may never fully make it there until we are made “new again in Heaven.” But, upon our confession of faith and our profession that Jesus is the Christ, we are born again to pursue the life of righteousness. That life is thus made visible before all the world. We are made like a candle lit to glow. Our light is not meant to be hidden under a basket nor in a closed room so that it cannot escape. We are like a city that is set on a hill. We are meant to be beacons to the weary travellers looking for a safe haven. We are meant to be a witness to those who believe their best life is lived only in the darkness. But, there is a catch to being “the righteousness of God” and living a life that is defined by the Decalogue, the Beatitudes, the fruit of the Spirit, the Cross and the Tomb, the love of God and Christ Himself. Not everyone believes in authentic righteousness. Not everyone agrees that those who do are being “true to themselves.” They see those people and that lifestyle as their enemy. He asks nothing of us that He would not ask of Himself. And He is blessed with the Kingdom of Heaven

TODAY’S PRAYER IN LIGHT OF GOD’S WORD:

Father, You have revealed to us best in Jesus the Christ. By Him and Him alone shall we gain the eternal life and our place in eternal rest, living for You always. Show us more and by Your Holy Spirit instruct us in the way we should go, the truth we should reveal and the life we shall live with you forever. In Jesus’ name, we pray. AMEN.