Reflections on the Beatitudes – Part Six

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

A new baby is a clean slate for God and the world to imprint a message. Her mind and spirit is pure, like a sterile ball of cotton, released from its protective wrapping for the first time. 

When she was born, her mother and caregivers made sure she was clean, comfortable, and surrounded by peace and a loving embrace. Her father watched in awe, and held the bundle like a soap bubble, fearing that she would break with the slightest touch.

But she did not break, and she would prove that a pure heart would conquer all adversity as she grew and developed and flourished. She learned simplicity from her parents, family, and community – she did not need fancy clothes, fancy food, and fancy words. All she needed was purity – purity of thought, purity of intention, purity of spirit, wrapped in a structure of guidelines and consequences.

Along the way, she was tempted. Her schoolmates tempted her with drugs, cigarettes, the latest telephone, a fast car, parties that would last past her curfew. Sometimes she strayed from the lessons of purity, but in each instance, the seeds that had been planted in her early life sprouted new growth and with such reminders, she asked for and accepted forgiveness.

As she became an adult, the lessons were so much more subtle: moments of boredom in her job for which she could be tempted into laziness; a lavish buffet that could make her body sick from overindulgence; a call from her elderly mother that could require more emotional energy than she thought she could muster. Again, the perennial seeds of purity would re-sprout and she would choose wisely.

At the end of each day, her last thoughts before sleep were prayers of gratitude for the day’s blessings. She was grateful for the wisdom and discernment, and for the purity of her prayers.

 “Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee, Lord, my soul to keep.”

 

Reflections on the Beatitudes – Part Five

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

 

“For His mercy endures forever.” In Second Chronicles 5:13, the phrase is a part of the story of the building of the Ark of the Covenant.  When the reader states the first line of each stanza of Psalms 136, we respond, “For His mercy endures forever.” As the reader recites the first phrase, I find myself anticipating the end of the phrase and my responsibility to respond with, “For His mercy endures forever.” When have I actually reflected on each stanza, all of the ways that His mercy endures? More importantly, how have I incorporated these lessons into my life?

Mercy is a puzzling concept, at least in my mind, as I contemplate the eight beatitudes. I re-read my reflections of loneliness, mourning, meekness, and righteousness, all within the concept of mercy, and I became more and more pensive about what “mercy” means in my life. Mercy is not about forgiveness, although it is a part of forgiveness. Mercy is not about compassion, although it is a part of compassion. Mercy isn’t even about sympathy or empathy. It is all of those things, but most importantly, mercy is following through. It is the moment when I have felt the need to extend my heart and soul to someone who is in need, stopping what I was doing, even when stopping would delay me for my next appointment. Mercy is sitting with a friend who is in such pain that she is crying, even when such sitting is in silence; when it feels like my actions are inadequate. Mercy is giving, and feeling, and sharing, all at once. It’s not enough to write a check; I need to make sure that the act is mindful, done within the context of mercy.

The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37) did not just stop and tend to the wounds of the man who was left by the side of the road, beaten, robbed and half-dead.  He put the man on his own animal; put him up at the inn and took care of him; left enough money for continued care; and repaid the innkeeper for the later expenses. All of this was by and for men who were “supposed” to hate each other, because Samaritans and Jews generally despised one another in those days. The parable demonstrated the answer to the question, “Who is my neighbor?”

Wow – Would I act like the Good Samaritan if faced with the same dilemma? Or would I ignore the situation, walk to the other side of the street, or just pass by the injured man for my own selfish needs (fear, time constraints, judgment)? How many times have I seen a disaster-in-the-making, only to rush ahead so as not to get involved? There was a recent study of pastoral students who were asked to prepare a sermon on the Good Samaritan. After they delivered the sermons, they went out under a time constraint, and were presented with a similar situation – a person was on the sidewalk, hurt and bleeding. Most of the future pastors ignored or avoided the injured fellow and hurried to their appointment.

I would like to think that I would act and follow through, because if I was in need of mercy, someone would be, and has been, there for me. Mercy transcends fear; it transcends deadlines; it transcends cultural mores. It endures forever.

Reflections on the Beatitudes – Part Four

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

“I will keep your law continually, for ever and ever. I shall walk at liberty, for I have sought your precepts…Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is always with me.”

Psalms 119

Righteousness is defined as “acting in a way that is morally right or justifiable – leading a life that is pleasing to God.” On the other hand, self-righteousness is “moral superiority derived from a sense that one's beliefs, actions, or affiliations are of greater virtue than those of the average person. Self-righteous individuals are often intolerant of the opinions and behaviors of others.”

In my previous job, I was a Certified Ethics Official for the federal government. I still hold the certification, but it’s not a part of my position now. So for six years, I advised my co-workers on ethics issues: Is it okay if I do thus-and-such? Would it be a conflict of interest if I did this particular activity? Most people knew what to do; many people needed me to quote the regulations that actually prohibited an activity, even if it appeared to be unethical – righteous vs. self-righteous?

I believe that to act ethically – righteously – is to always do right, even when no one is looking. I choose to act in that way because it means that I have created a structure around my behavior so that I have the right answer and choose the correct fork in the road. There is no “moral dilemma”, no need to ask for permission to deviate from my code of ethics, my sense of right and wrong.  Regulations create the same structure, but most are just common-sense interpretation of what is right. When choosing what is right, there is little room for nuance – when in doubt, just don’t do it.

So often I watch incredulously when two people debate a matter that, in a common-sense code of ethics, is a no-brainer: Justifying a conflict of interest on the basis of family emotions or fear of losing a friend; justifying the act of looting following a natural disaster because the looter is poor and the business-owner is rich; justifying spousal abuse because the abuser was raised by a father who also abused his wife and children; justifying road rage because one driver cut the other driver off on the freeway. Do the justifications somehow make them “right”?

Is it right when the cashier gives me a dollar more than she should in change, and I keep it as a little gift from the Universe? Is it right not to allow a driver in when the lanes are diverging, just because they were brash enough to ignore the signs a quarter-mile back? Is it right to ignore a conversation between co-workers who use foul language and racial epithets, because it’s none of my business? Is it right to pay someone to be silent about a wrong-doing, just because the funds are available? At what point do we move from righteous to self-righteous?

To me the bigger question comes down to personal choice: What do I do about it? I just don’t do it when the answer in my mind is black and white, or doesn’t feel right. Return the dollar to the cashier. Don’t steal from a business even if the opportunity presents itself. Let the driver in so we can all proceed down the freeway safely. I constantly reinforce in my mind the precept of loving one another and take a moment to cool off when I’d like to slap someone who has crossed me.

Some matters are not so clear-cut, like reporting inappropriate or illegal behavior. What I have learned is that there is always a safe haven of some kind, and I can still take action. I can report the offending co-workers to my supervisors or managers, trusting that they have been trained to do the right thing. I can call the DWI hotline when someone is driving erratically.  

We cannot ignore the need to hunger and thirst for righteousness, lest we die of such hunger and thirst. We must take responsibility to always do right, even when no one is watching, or at least to plant a seed, even if we will not be there so see the fruit being harvested. In the end, we will be filled.