So, the other day I spent some time in the dentist’s chair. A old metal filling had finally “rusted” and broken off the front half of a tooth. And I was being fitted for a crown.
Now if you've had a crown, you know that they pop it in, then start adjusting. Most of the time, a crown will begin by sitting “too high.” That is, it collides with the tooth opposite it. And they grind it down a fraction of an inch at a time. Then check you again. Sure enough, still too high. More grinding, more checking.
So I sat the other day with my mouth wide open while they worked to get it just right. Because it has to ‘fit’ perfectly. Otherwise it will be more than just uncomfortable. Over time it will throw off the opposite tooth and the tooth beside it, not to mention my entire ‘bite.’
It's how we want our world to be, not only when it comes to our teeth, but everything else. A ‘tooth’ that sits too high calls attention to itself. It is an irritant that can lead to damage. We want things tidy. We prefer that things ‘fit.’
Only reading about Jesus preaching this passage this week I think of a ‘tooth that sits too high.’ Jesus and his way of seeing and coming at the world simply do not ‘fit.’
Whatever the case, I can't deny that as I think about this passage, these beatitudes – if I truly listen, I am forced to be changed by his vision of the world — kinda like a tooth next to a new ‘crown’ which does not fit quite right. For all of us people of faith — for all of us who take this preaching seriously — we know this way of seeing the world does not fit with the way the world works.
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.
Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you…
Man, y'all, when I look around I just can't help arguing with Jesus now. For his saying people who are poor are somehow actually ‘blessed’ does not seem to make it so.
This is how it happened.
It was a Thursday morning in Knoxville, and I was sitting in a courtroom as a witness to a pretty big fight at the Fellini Kroger.
Past experience with my work in Knoxville told me that in courtrooms it seldom goes in the order one expects. So the case that I had been told to show up for that morning did not come up until almost noon. And so it was I was left to sit in the back of the courtroom and wait.
While I waited, I watched. Here's what I saw.
Although I was there before 9, the room was already half full. Most of those there were waiting for their names to be called. Many of them had signed their names to a legal pad when they arrived — indicating that they needed a public defender.
One by one an attorney would walk to the legal pad, pick it up, and call out a name. Then the two (or sometimes three) of them would leave the room for a while, presumably consulting about their case. With an appearance before a judge at any minute, for many this would be the first time they would have met their attorney.
I noticed that most of the people were there alone. Even if they had friends or family, those people had hourly jobs and couldn't be there to support loved ones.
None of them were particularly well-dressed. They all had the look, though, of having put on the best they had. Even so, blue jeans were worn and faded and coats and button-up shirts looked ill-fitting and borrowed. One dude caught my eye. He was wearing a bright red plaid tie. It was probably the only tie he had, but I can imagine he thought he would make a better impression if he dressed up a bit more than he might normally.
As the cases were called, I found it hard to hear the details of what was being said at the bench, but I remember that one young man was sent downstairs with $800 towards his court costs before his case could proceed. I wondered at what sacrifice it took to come up with $800 which certainly did not cover all that he owed. I wondered how many people pitched in.
There were no smiles on the faces of these people. They looked as though they were uncomfortable, anxious, afraid. I would bet that almost all of those in the courtroom at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning were poor — physically... and spiritually.
Then there were those who worked in that courtroom every day:
For them, suits and heels and good hair were in everywhere to be seen. They were educated, poised, confident. There was ongoing banter — quiet whispers and muffled laughter as they went about their work, connecting with colleagues and peers.
No thinking person would walk into that courtroom and think that the people who were there to have their cases heard were particularly ‘blessed.’
Not. At. All.
How in the world does the Kingdom of God possibly belong to them?
To be honest, I do not know. I do know this, though. Jesus is serious when he says that through his coming, the world and how we understand it is turned upside down. And maybe if I were to sit in that courtroom longer – if I were to actually get to know the stories of some of those whose lives I only got a brief glimpse into on a Thursday morning – maybe then I would know better what Jesus is getting at today in this gospel reading.
Because too much of the time, I'm afraid that I'm on the other side of this blessing equation. Too much of the time I live the life that the world sees as ‘blessed’ today. And while Jesus constantly tells us that this blessing is surely fleeting, it does not always feel that way. And it certainly can't appear to be that way to anyone on the outside looking in.
Like I said, I don't know, y'all. I struggle with Jesus sometimes. At least this is where I am beginning now. I am trying to go deep into Jesus’ teaching, I really am. It's one that certainly does not ‘fit’ with how the world measures blessedness.
But this week I am going to try to stand still in Jesus’ beatitudes – his words about ‘blessedness’ – long enough that I might somehow be ‘changed’ by his way of seeing the world. Maybe it’s like a crown that does not quite ‘fit.’ Perhaps this teaching starts as an irritant and goes on to change everything and everyone that is nearby. Starting with me.
Amen