13 Mar Who is Christianity for?

Much has been said about the movie The Life of Brian and not all Christians are in agreement with its content. Let me say upfront that anything that mocks Jesus I find upsetting and sometimes offensive. Having said that, there is one famous scene from The Life of Brian has a crowd of onlookers listening to Jesus give a sermon on how to live right. It is a good illustration of how His message can be misunderstood.

“Blessed are the peacemakers”, Jesus says.

The audience can’t hear, “What did he say?”

A helpful man turns around to say, “Blessed are the cheesemakers.”

A rich woman slightly offended wonders what on earth is special about Cheesemakers?

Her condescending husband fills in the blanks, “Obviously it is not meant to be taken literally, it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.”

While this classic piece of comedy is tongue in cheek, it does highlight how we can get things wrong when communication is not clear. Also, it’s a funny segue into my topic, The Beatitudes.

In Matthew 5 Jesus says,

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

So here are a few questions for you:

Are you poor in spirit?

Mourning?

Humble?

Wanting righteousness?

Merciful?

Pure in heart?

Trying to make peace?

Then the good news is for you! You will inherit the Kingdom of God, be comforted, be filled, shown mercy, see God and be called God’s child.

Because when we are mourning deeply, facing injustice, yet trying to do the right thing, we come to the end of ourselves. Desperate to keep afloat as the waves crash over and over. We come up for air only to be knocked under again, this takes a toll and we reach out for a life line.

We can reach to money, people, relationships, jobs, alcohol, to help our present state, but they will only ever be a temporary floating device. The only thing that can help us is a rescuer. The only thing that can satisfy our soul is the maker of it.

His name is Jesus. He made you and he wants to live with you. The big question is, do you want him to?

Blessings,

Yvette Wynne, Integricare’s Chaplain