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The scripture reading today is known as the Beatitudes. Jesus offers
those gathered a new way of looking at their lives. The name sums up the
message pretty well - BE ATTITUDE.
Being with God gives us a peace we cannot get any other way. Jesus
tells us that we must develop a perspective that goes beyond this world and
its realities. There is a deeper meaning that we can know only by spending
time with God. Even when the circumstances of our lives are not what we hoped
for we can sense another level of reality if we turn to God.
The most striking example of this basic truth was revealed to me when
my mother was terminally ill. Although she faced the most difficult situation
of her life she was amazingly calm. She was intentional about her time with
God and prayed, journaled, meditated and shared with others daily. Throughout
her fight with cancer she seemed at peace more than any other time in her
life. For her, death put life's issues into perspective - life became clearer
than it had ever been.
After my mother died I had the opportunity to read her journals that
she left behind for family members. She, at the end of her life, meditated
on 2 Corinthians 4 : 16 - 18 "So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer
nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For
this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of
glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen; for what
can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal."
My mom understood that we participate in the eternal life God promises
us before we leave this planet if we focus on our own spiritual journey
before us in this life. She came to realize that everything that mattered
most to her in her life were things that one cannot measure or count. The
love shared with others and her commitment to social justice would remain
long after she was no longer here. Just ask the El Salvadorian refugees that
my mother adopted as her own family even when she spoke no Spanish. Ask the
women who she visited when they were undergoing breast cancer treatment through
the Reach to Recovery Program.
My mother, like Jesus and Paul, understood that the circumstances of
the life we live here on earth is not the final word. If we make the big
chase in the rat race of our world the goal of our lives we miss the kindom
of God. We must put our stock in the investment of other people. Building
a caring community for others to experience God's healing power in their
lives is critical.
Being with others provides us with support that we can not know in isolation.
I have the privilege of being a part of the LIFEline group ministries. I
get to see people come together to share their life experiences, their trials,
their pain, their triumphs and their joys. Together we get a perspective
on our experiences that we could never get by ourselves. It is remarkable
to me that, for instance, people who have sustained spiritual abuse at the
hands of homophobic zealots are still so committed to Christ that they find
their way to our doorstep even in the face of the damage done to them in
the name of religion.
Life has lessons for us. I am not trying to glamorize suffering but it
is an inevitable part of life. Growing and learning from our pain is optional.
It is a matter of attitude . When we embrace the lessons and share them our
blessings are multiplied. I have faced my own pain in life and been richly
blessed because I dared to reach out to others.
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