This week we were taken down the path that leads to two choices. A path that forces us to make a choice. This or that? A wide gate and a wide path? Or a narrow gate and a narrow path? What would our obvious choice be?
Again, as God’s children, we are faced with the constant inner struggle of the Values of the World and the Values of the Kingdom of God.
This particular passage, Mt 7:13-27 comes at the very end of the beautiful and the life-changing Sermon on the Mount.
Before we got deeper into that, we looked at the Beatitudes through the lens of the 5-Chapter-Gospel (1. Creation, 2. Fall - Shalom was fractured, sin enters, but God constantly reaches out to his people, 3. Redemption - the cross, 4. Renewal - the time that we spend here, 5.Restoration).
We looked at how the Beatitudes exemplified the character of Renewal – Chapter 4 of the 5-Chapter-Gospel. More than a rescue from hell and a promise of heaven, God’s saving work renews life now and brings creation to fullness. In fact, throughout His life, Jesus is constantly reminding and explaining to people how His life fulfills the Torah and fulfils everything, really, through His love.
Jesus talks about this new Kingdom that He brings with His way of life. This Kingdom is:
- Inside Out- Upside Down
- Counter-intuitive
- Counter-Cultural
Jesus presents to His followers the idea of the ‘Good Life’. What is that, you may ask? We get a lot of today’s Reflection’s content from the Bible Project. The word that we, in English, so often have read and sung and know for the Beatitudes, is the word ‘Blessed’ – but apparently, this word does not begin to do justice to what is actually being proclaimed and explained here. The word being used is the word Makarios (listen to the podcast here) And the word means:
Oh, how fortunate, Oh, how happy, Oh, how flourishing, Oh, how blessed!
Jesus reshapes and redefines this word, as He explains the meaning to the crowd who were sitting there, listening to Him with rapt attention. He was not pronouncing a blessing on them, He was actually telling them, Oh, how fortunate are you who are powerless, how happy are you who are when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you, “The good life belongs to [or ‘blessed are’] those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be filled [or ‘satisfied’].”
Jesus was telling all the people in front of Him who were steeped in poverty, tired of oppression, and of being taxed unnecessarily. They were waiting for a Messiah, a Saviour. But Christ here is challenging them to think beyond their final reward (maybe ultimate victory over the Romans and other enemies), and to look at how they can live the good life while in their struggles. Jesus teaches what true flourishing means.
Rather similar to how we need to think of Renewal (Chapter 4, the time spent after Christ’s Redemption, and before Restoration) as part of our Christian life rather than simply twiddle our thumbs and wait for Restoration or Heaven, don’t you think?
Matthew chapter 7 is both a conclusion and an invitation.
The Sermon on the Mount presents three images that asks us how we will respond to this Kingdom that we have just heard of:
- The Two Gates with the two roads
The gate asks, Will you enter? The road asks, Will you follow?
Which Road is shaping your life? The road that leads to flourishing? Or the road that leads to destruction?
- The Two Trees
The fruit asks, Who are you becoming?
What fruit are you producing? Look beyond appearances, to the fruit. Ask God to teach you discernment.
- The Two Houses
The house asks, What are you building your life upon?
What is true Discipleship? Am I a fan or a follower?
Enter His Kingdom,
Follow His Way,
Bear Good Fruit and
Practice His Words.
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