Get ready for some radical teaching

The first time I heard my husband speak publicly (I didn’t know he was to be my husband at that stage!) was at an event organised by the Christian Union at Warwick University where we were both students: an event called ‘The Upside Down Kingdom’. That term has stayed with us both for over thirty years since that day, as we’ve been trying to work out in practice what the upside kingdom looks like for us and our family.

We caught a glimpse of what it meant for Jesus yesterday as he answered the question ‘Who will be greatest?’ in ‘How am I doing compared to you and you and you?’.

The last will be first. The least will be greatest.

Forget everything you’ve ever been taught up to this point.

In this kingdom, everything you’ve ever learnt is about to be turned on its head.

At the beginning of his collection of teachings in the book of Matthew that we now call ‘The Sermon on the Mount’, Jesus starts with a short poem-like passage entitled The Beatitudes. A beatitude is a blessing and these blessings are all the things we desire as we continue on our spiritual journey….as we long to be a part of the kingdom of heaven, see God and be called a child of God. We yearn for to be comforted, to be filled, to be shown mercy…

We all want a bit of that, right?

Just tell me what to do to receive these blessing and I’ll do it.

OK, are you ready? Well, here goes…

Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:1-11

You’re kidding me. You’re really expecting me to live this way?

So I’m going to have to be vulnerable and lack all the resources I need to be able to go it alone…I’m going to experience loss…be humble…always seek to do the right thing in every situation…show compassion to those I feel really don’t deserve it…keep my mind and heart from being tainted by the thinking of the world…not feel the need to be right all the time and win every argument…be prepared to be teased and badly treated because of my faith…

All of that sounds like the opposite of being blessed to me!

There are so many challenges in this one short passage, aren’t there? It would take a whole year to unpack this passage alone and work out what it means in practice! When we were at Greenbelt this year, we came across the Nine Beats Collective, a group of Christian artists devoted to expressing these truths in a unique and fresh way.

Somewhere between a story and a dream, there is a whisper of another world, a different rhythm rising…

An international collective of amazing troubadours, poets, rebels, provocateurs, sages & activists on the trail of the ancient sayings known as ‘the beatitudes’

A haunting. A cry. A new beat.  Nine Beats Collective

If this captures your imagination as it did ours, there’s plenty to explore on their website and Facebook page 9BEATS. The creative work that this talented group have already done may prove to be a real inspiration to you as you work out the impact of the Beatitudes on your personal faith journey.

It’s time to set aside the values that have been ingrained in us since we were children and walk a different path: the path of the kingdom. It’s so hard to do because everyday we’re bombarded with the values of the world that tell us how to think and what’s important. This worldview seeps into our consciousness in the most subtle of ways (because the people behind the advertising and marketing are really, really good at what they do) and affects the way that we act and speak and think.

But you know what? It’s time. I really believe that it’s time. Time to be different. Time to show the world a different way. For too long, we (I) have been desperate to fit in, to not stand out and be different. But come on, take a look at what’s going on in our crazy world and tell me that you still really want to be a part of that…

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.  Romans 12:2

We can’t have it all ways. We can’t belong to two different world orders at the same time. There’s a choice to be made here.

Jesus’ way of living is a radical approach to life that challenges everything we thought we knew about the best way to get by in this world in which we live. It’s way out there beyond our comfort zone – an unexplored territory for each one of us. It’s hard to go it alone – that’s why we need others to join us on this journey. We need to find others we can walk alongside on this road less travelled. There are others out there, don’t worry about that.

We spent last week looking at how attractive this kingdom of life and light and love is – let’s not lose sight of that as we consider the scary side of potentially leaving behind much of the thinking we’ve built our lives upon and stepping out into Jesus’ radical, revolutionary kingdom of love in action.

Are you ready for some radical teaching? There’s much more where this came from. Jesus is only just getting started here. Join our journey through the Sermon on the Mount this week and let’s see where Jesus is wanting to take us…