Do you think like Jesus?

JESUS SEES THINGS DIFFERENTLY FROM THE WORLD

Lk. 6:17, 20-26

The world has its own way of looking at life.  If you follow Christ then you have to look at life another way.  This is seen in the Gospel reading for today.  Jesus takes such things as poverty and riches, tears and laughter, rejection and acceptance - and contradicts the way the world looks at them.  He pronounces blessings on poverty, tears and persecution.  These words of Jesus sound strange and ridiculous to our world because it places such a premium on riches, pleasure and popularity. 

What is Jesus saying to us?   He is not setting up a moral system in which money, fun and friends are always vices; and that poverty, sorrow and persecution are always virtues.  That would be foolish.  Jesus knows human nature so well that He knows how money, pleasure and public opinion can harm us.  It is possible to be poor because we are lazy, sad because we are selfish, and feel persecuted because we are paranoid.  Jesus is not suggesting that sort of sick society.  He is simply looking at life differently from the world and encouraging His followers to do the same.

Let us consider first the subject of money and riches.  Jesus pronounced blessings upon the poor and issued a stern warning to the rich.  He was not denigrating money.  He knew the necessity of money and the things that money can buy.  But He knew something else about money - that it can be a danger to our physical and spiritual wellbeing.  Instead of us controlling the use of money, it can control us.

A tale from Aesop’s fable can shed some light on this subject.  There was once a dog that managed to find a juicy hunk of meat.  He thought he would go to his hiding place and eat it in peace.  But first he had to cross a stream.  Looking into the water he saw another dog - with a much juicier hunk of meat in its mouth.  He opened his jaws to get it and, in trying to get what he did not have, lost what he had.   

Instead of being content with what we have of this world's goods and using them as a means of living our lives at peace with God, we can easily become obsessed with the need for more ... bigger houses with more bedrooms than we need; faster cars even though there is a 70mph speed limit; more holidays overseas although we claim to be concerned about global warming; weekly extravagant meals despite being overweight or shopping for more clothes or shoes that we will rarely wear.  Such behaviour shows we are not content with what we have.  We must always have more.  That is what Jesus meant when He said, “How happy are you who are poor:  but alas you who are rich.”  Jesus was simply showing how we can be grasping and possessive.  Money in itself is neither good nor bad.  It all depends on what we do with it - and what we allow it to do to us.

Next, Jesus confronts us with a new view of laughter and tears. “Happy you who weep now:  you shall laugh.  Alas for you who laugh now:  you shall mourn and weep.”  Jesus is not encouraging us to go around with long faces and sour dispositions!  It is true that He is called the “Man of Sorrows”.  But I am confident that in His lifetime He was known more for His happy disposition than His tears.  His Apostles would certainly not be attracted to a miserable person.  So, what did He mean by blessing those who weep and a woe on those who laugh?  He was simply contradicting the idea that the whole purpose of life is to have a good time - the ‘eat, drink and be merry’ mentality that thinks only of self and forgets others.  Jesus is saying there is more to life than that.  This world of ours confronts us with some very sad and tragic things.  All around us there are people who are hurting, lonely and afraid.  Our sole purpose in life is not to think only of our own pleasure but to care about others.  Once we start doing that, we will learn to weep with those who weep.  It is then that we shall appreciate laughter for we have learned how to care and weep for the sorrows of others.  If we can forget about ourselves and learn to care about others, we are going to cry and laugh with them.

Finally, we need to change our view of social acceptance.  “Happy are you when people hate you…on account of the Son of Man.  Alas for you when the world speaks well of you!”  Jesus has not lost sight of the fact that everyone likes to be liked.  He is simply saying that we must not live our lives for the fickle acclaim of public opinion.  Nothing enslaves a person more than a consuming passion to be popular with everyone all the time.  That is impossible anyway, for nobody can please everyone.  And while you are trying to do it, you are compromising your personal integrity - until you end up not liking yourself.  So, Jesus is warning us not to fritter away the treasure of our self-respect while chasing the rainbow of public applause.  Jesus never checked the winds of public opinion before He made up His mind or determined His course of action.  He is saying, 'Be like Me.  Do it My way.  You will know some rejection and even persecution, but at least you will be your own person and be walking in the proud company of prophets who were persecuted for proclaiming the truth.' 

Lord Jesus, we need to realise that living our Christian life is like buying a new pair of spectacles.  They are not rose tinted but they allow us to focus better on the things that really matter.  They will allow us to see money, laughter and popularity as You do.  Then, we will be truly blessed and we hope You will reward us with Heaven.

https://fatherfrancismaple.co.uk