Happy are they…
The Beatitudes
It has been my goal to write a blog post on the Beatitudes for about a month now. I could make excuses about my busy life. And in one sense, that’s the entire point. What am I so busy with, that the Beatitudes would take a back seat?!
Now that I’ve sat down and dedicated the time, I have another problem. What could I possibly say that has not already been said by others, with clarity and depth and beauty? Nothing. Instead, I’m going in another direction. Feet firmly planted here on the terra firma, I offer an interpretation based on the five dimensions of the Systems Model for Family Assessment. I’ve researched the model in its application to congregations, where an exploratory factor analysis has shown that the five dimensions are actually sub-dimensions of one underlying factor: differentiation, I’m thinking.
What’s differentiation? On an individual level, it’s the capacity to be one’s own self while staying connected with others. Mature, in a word. Maturity can often be confused with a person’s willingness to be responsible for others, and the difference may become clear below. How does living according to the Beatitudes require and reflect differentiation? Let’s begin this week with sub-dimension one.
Sub-Dimension 1: Resourcefulness: families actively engage the challenges they face, rather than becoming helpless. They see a family challenge as a group problem, rather than using it to focus on or blame an individual. Each sees their own contribution to the problem. They seek to connect with one another about it, managing the difficulties together.
In my view, beatitudes related to Resourcefulness include Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3) and Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5). As an antidote to helplessness, being poor in spirit seems at first an odd choice. After all, doesn’t it imply that one is weak? Well, yes, it does. And who among us, in our most honest moments (which come rarely and still involve some self-deception) cannot see one’s own weakness? It is here, I think, that Jesus makes his finest point. He’s saying, Welcome to the party! Relax, kick your shoes off, enjoy noticing yourself and your limitations! Facing reality is the first step towards being poor in spirit.
The second step, equally humbling, is connecting with others. Engaging a group challenge begins not with one’s own ideas for solving it, but with a bit of self-emptying, allowing one to listen to how others see it. With everyone’s ideas out, a group becomes more resourceful and the individuals less important. In avoiding self-importance, the meek have the time to notice – and in that noticing, in my view – to inherit the earth.
Differentiating a self is not about self-importance. Differentiating is about the importance of every self – defining one’s own self and respecting every other person in one’s life. In our world today, there is too much animosity towards other groups of people and too little listening to one another. The problem is getting attention on many fronts: from church retreats to congregational efforts to NPR. The Beatitudes show us the way.
I wish to acknowledge Human Development Magazine Vol 37, Issue 2, Winter 2017, Living the Beatitudes, http://www.hdmag.org/ and Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship. His comment about the first beatitude, that “All are called to be what in reality they are already,” (p. 119), captures the essence of both the problem of being human and its solution. Life, as E.O. Wilson said, is self-assembling. We must each find our own way towards reality.
Finally, I want to mention my fourth grade Sunday School teacher. Her name is long gone from my mind, but I still remember her teaching us the Beatitudes. I cannot thank her now, so I will pay it forward. Who knows the difference our lives are making in the lives of others?