Known and Loved
Epiphany 4
Fr. Tim Nunez
May my spoken word be true to God’s written word and bring us all closer to the living word, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen
When our oldest son was in Scouting for 10 years, I volunteered to do some fundraising for the Gulf Ridge Council. I’d go to local businesses and say something like:
“I believe that one of the biggest problems we have in society today is young men. Many of them are essentially lost. They fill our courts and prisons, leave unwed mothers stranded and alone, and those problems get compounded over and over again. Scouting works directly on that problem by helping to shape young men who will be responsible citizens and good fathers.”
It worked because it’s obviously true. Scouting is not as popular today as it once was and it has had its own controversies and changes with which I have not kept up. But who would argue against the Scout Law?
A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean and Reverent.
The first challenge for the boys was to memorize them. And you’re supposed to follow them, thus leading to good and healthy decisions, especially when they are tempted to cheat, cut corners, lie and so on. As those values become their own, as they mostly did, they were better off, their families and friends were better off, and by extension society was better off.
It reinforces the message that kids get from parents, teachers and other adults: behave, behave, behave. For many of us, our faith may have come across that way from our earliest memories, just as many other teachings about wisdom and virtue do. We expect it. Behave because God said so, right? Love God, love your neighbor as yourself. Those two summarize all of the Law, beginning with the Ten Commandments.
These standards of behavior matter because they are rooted in God, who God is.
Being trustworthy is not a matter of opinion. Regardless of the extent to which we are trustworthy, we should be. Regardless of the ways we may disagree as to how that works out in a given moment or circumstance, we can’t change it. It doesn’t belong to the Boy Scouts, or the USA or the UN. We can’t vote it out. If we did vote it out, it would still be true. It’s just true. It is God’s truth. And so we acknowledge such truth – it points us to the One who created us, who is ultimate truth and desires relationship with us. It all points to God.
But as we grow, we find our Christian life actually moves in a reverse pattern. Our faith doesn’t start with a set of precepts or values or virtues or behaviors to which we must aspire. Our faith begins with a person, Jesus, who loves us where we are. It’s not that the law doesn’t matter. Our behavior has always mattered. But God seeking relationship with us has always come first. From Adam and Eve to Abraham to Moses, God establishes relationship first.
Like a parent.
Jesus doesn’t begin with a lot of dos and don’ts like we find in the Law. He doesn’t begin with bits of wisdom like we find in the Proverbs. He speaks to our hearts. He speaks to the way we are and the promise he brings to our struggles.
“When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to speak and taught them…
Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Blessed are those who mourn…
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…”
Our deepest needs are: 1. To be known and 2. To be loved. Jesus clearly knows us. He knows our abilities and our flaws. He knows our joys and frustrations. He knows our pain and our sorrows. These Beatitudes don’t command us; they acknowledge our struggles as well as our gifts (merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers.) The world can, and often does, overlook and discard people. We are known.
And we are loved. Each beatitude includes a blessing, which is God’s love in action. People struggling will be blessed because they are ready to find him, to rely on him, and to embrace true life in him. The poor in spirit most readily turn to him, those who mourn turn to him. The meek get run over by the world but find peace in him. These circumstances are blessings because they open our hearts to receive him, to restore our relationship with God.
The “world” would look at the crowd and see losers and rejects. Jesus saw their need and an opportunity for grace.
Maybe Jesus is teaching his disciples to see people as he does. Or maybe Jesus is encouraging his disciples and the crowd to not see their struggles as a barrier, but rather hear his invitation to bring their struggles to him. Maybe he’s teaching them how to view his death and resurrection. Maybe he’s teaching all of us the proper way to approach the rest of his teaching, his healing ministry and his miracles. Most likely, it’s all of the above.
He’s also teaching us how to see people through his eyes. to see the opportunities Jesus sees in the poor, the mournful and the hungry and thirsty for righteousness. They are the most ready to hear the Good News about Jesus. To help them know they, too, are truly known and truly loved.
AMEN!