MATTHEW 5: 6-8 6‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are those... those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are led to seek TRUTH.
Blessed are those... those who are merciful and full of compassion, showing compassion to others, and where compassion is- Christ Incarnate is there in the midst.
Blessed are the... the pure in heart, for through practices- prayer, meditation, fasting, sacramental living- our hearts are shaped.
Could one say that these three statements of Jesus are basic ingredients for a balanced FAITH DIET?
Moving away from the Balanced diet metaphor, let's use a metaphor that's one of my household favorites:
What if we even look at the Church as though it were a Cake. What are the ingredients that one might use to create a Cake? Eggs, sugar, yeast/bread/flour, icing, sprinkles, candles, chocolate chips, or cocanut shavings, etc...
The Cake has certain ingredients in that make it a Cake- the egg, leavened flour, sugar. Without this you can't have CAKE. I think quite possible that's the role that these beatitudes take- 3 central pieces that make up DISCIPLESHIP in the Church.
1. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness- The search/craving/desire for TRUTH/GOD. One needs this desire if one is going on a journey to seek a relationship with the Living God.
2. Blessed are those who are merciful- God shows mercy and grace to God's children, thus we are called to show mercy and compassion to others. It is in showing mercy that others experience God's grace and that we are shaped into more compassionate and loving people.
3. Blessed are the pure in heart- One becomes pure in heart through the practice of spiritual disciplines -such as fasting, silence/solitude, centering prayer, reading/studying scripture, worship, serving the needy (John Wesley would call this practicing the Means of Grace). Good Methodists like myself would call the process of having one's heart purified through participating in spiritual practices- Sanctification. All this means is that through spiritual practices we are trying to imitate Christ and become like Christ in spirit and practice.
All the other ingredients that we bring to Christianity- is what makes it RELIGION (I'm not sure about this statement, but I'm pondering it). And to go one step further, maybe all the differnent varieties and flavors of icing, or toppings that we put on our "CHRIST CAKES" are what make up all the many varieties of doctrines and beliefs that make each one (denominations/faith traditions) different and unique.
In the end, what we all have in common though is a Loving Savior who calls us BLESSED because we hunger and thirst for TRUTH, show MERCY and experience MERCY, and seek SANCTIFICATION through PRACTICING our faith.
Whatdoyathink? Shall we eat Cake? Come, taste and see!
Shalom,
St.Phransus
3 comments:
i like my cake, and i eat it too.. shall it be that the cake is where we find divine pleasure. ie. some like that chocolate cake, red velvet, etc. i am personally an ice cream cake guy. i like the analogy. it can go in a number of different ways.. does this mean that islam is a pie, buddists are pudding???
i like my cake, and i eat it too.. shall it be that the cake is where we find divine pleasure. ie. some like that chocolate cake, red velvet, etc. i am personally an ice cream cake guy. i like the analogy. it can go in a number of different ways.. does this mean that islam is a pie, buddists are pudding???
I love the analogy and direction you take. I'd probably be a mississippi mud cake- lots of layers and pretty messy.
JN
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