Which words of Jesus provoke you to “just do it?”
This morning’s passage, “Blessed are they who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” has me percolating and praying for people who stand up to evil today and every day. These words of Jesus could sound like a “doormat” passage if you don’t know the original language, and it’s anything but passive! These words do not call us to accept abuse and suffer a victim’s plight with no recourse; this is a justice-seekers BE-attitude and DO-Attitude
Elias Chacour’s book, We Belong to the Land, paints a more accurate picture of the Spirit of Jesus, who constantly calls us to step into injustice for the vulnerable.
“Knowing Aramaic, the language of Jesus, has greatly enriched my understanding of Jesus’ teaching. Because the Bible as we know it is a translation of a translation, we sometimes get a wrong impression. For example, we are accustomed to hearing the Beatitudes expressed passively:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God.
“Blessed” is the translation of the word makarioi, used in the Greek New Testament. However, when I look further back to Jesus’ Aramaic, I find that the original word was ashray, from the verb yashar. Ashray does not have this passive quality to it at all. Instead, it means “to set yourself on the right way for the right goal; to turn around, repent.”
How could I go to a persecuted young man in a Palestinian refugee camp, for instance, and say, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted,” or “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”? That man would revile me, saying neither I nor my God understood his plight and he would be right.
When I understand Jesus’ words in Aramaic, I translate like this: Get up, go ahead, do something, move, you who are hungry and thirsty for justice, for you shall be satisfied.Get up, go ahead, do something, move, you peacemakers, for you shall be called children of God.
To me this reflects Jesus’ words and teachings much more accurately. I can hear him saying: “Get your hands dirty to build a human society for human beings; otherwise, others will torture and murder the poor, the voiceless, and the powerless.” Christianity is not passive but active, energetic, alive, going beyond despair. . . . “Get up, go ahead, do something, move,” Jesus said to his disciples.”*
I hear the provoking and empowering words of Jesus today- “DO IT- All of Heaven is behind you.“
So for all my justice-seeking friends who are persecuted for righteousness sake because you refuse to stay silent or sedentary, Do it, show up, speak up, rant, rail, spit it out! Yours is the Kingdom of Heaven. You, like Jesus, will show up in the face of evil and say, “Whatever I can do, in all the ways I can do it, I will stand against evil until God’s Kingdom comes on earth as it is in Heaven.
(The picture below was taken on a day last week we heeded the words, “DO IT- All of Heaven is behind you” when we thought we were on vacation.” That will be a reflection for another day😉)
With faith, hope, and especially love,
Clare
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*Elias Chacour with Mary E. Jensen, We Belong to the Land: The Story of a Palestinian Israeli Who Lives for Peace and Reconciliation (HarperSanFrancisco: 1990), 143, 144.