Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: “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 receive 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 for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Heather Cox Richardson is a political history professor and author. In a recent post she described the two very different worldviews currently battling for the control of our country. One of those worldviews wants to return our country to a time when income and wealth were more equal. A time when government played a role in leveling the playing field, regulating businesses, protecting workers, and investing in regular people. It’s a worldview that believes that when people come together to care for and help one another, everyone ends up better off.
The other worldview began, in it’s most recent incarnation, in the 1980’s when conservative politicians labeled the other world view as “socialism” and promised to restore what they believed was better… American Individualism. They used the image of the cowboy from the Old American West to sell it. This image has nothing to do with the actual history of the Old West, but it worked well to capture the imaginations of those who liked the idea that all anyone needed was to be left alone, to work hard, and to protect what was his with a gun.
During that same time, a new strain of religiosity grew up in support of American Individualism. It is billed by it’s followers as Christianity. It is better labeled as the Prosperity Gospel, Christian Nationalism, or Christo-fascism rather than genuine Christianity. That’s because while it has roots in evangelicalism, pentecostalism, and charismatic Christianity, and the people in these movements use Christian sounding language, the way that they treat their neighbors makes it quickly clear that this is something very different than genuine Christianity.
Their religiosity believes that it is within the power of the individual to overcome poverty, illness or other difficulties through their own devotion. They believe that personal wealth and power is a sign of divine blessing, and being so blessed it becomes their divine right and duty to orient the rest of the world to their individual ideas of what is good and what is bad… what is right and what is wrong. It is literally a religion created to support a worldview of American Individualism so they might claim God’s stamp of approval on all that they believe and do.
But Individualism isn’t Christian. In spite of dishing up a continual buffet of christian sounding word salad, their actions are just not those of Christ. Their actions do not show a Love of God, nor of Neighbor. They derisively call the love of neighbor… which has compassion for the least, lost, and last… socialism. In doing that they mock self giving love, which is what Jesus called the summation of the Law and the Prophets.
Their actions also put them firmly on the wrong side of the sermon Jesus preached in today’s Gospel text. This sermon is a reminder that God has a worldview preference. God’s preference is for a world that has come to understand that God did not create us to do this life as Individuals but as part of an interdependent community. The poor in spirit, the meek, the pure in heart, the merciful and the peacemakers are blessed because they have seen Individualism for what it is, a heresy, wrapped in a tissue paper thin layer of meaningless god-words, with no care for the preferences of Father, Son, or Holy Spirit, but only for me, myself, and I.
The poor in spirit, the meek, the pure in heart, the merciful and the peacemakers are further blessed because now, having rejected Individualism, they find, apropos of today’s celebration of All Saints Sunday, that they are genuinely surrounded in this life and beyond by ALL THE SAINTS, all of whom are working together toward abundant life for all! Our country… and really our whole world… is currently battling over which worldview we will follow into the future. Will it be a worldview of Individualism, where wealth and power are seen as a license… or even a divine mandate… to impose on their neighbors all they personally believe is true and right? Or will we put our hearts and hands, minds and souls behind a worldview where community, neighbor, and the needs of our planet as an interconnected whole are lifted up as the way to abundant life for all?
The Law, the Prophets, Jesus, and All the Saints call us continually to reject the heresy of Individualism and it’s selfish and destructive worldview. The Law, the Prophets, Jesus, and the Saints call us continually into an ever deepening, self-giving love of neighbor and to the worldview that flows out of that love, building up all of creation beginning with the least, the lost and the last. Genuine Christians call that worldview The Kingdom of God. It is not a place in the sweet by and by. It is this world transformed. This world resurrected, becoming a place where everyone has enough… enough to eat, enough of a place to live, enough equality, safety, security, peace, purpose, dignity and worth.
May we answer those calls in all we do each and every day. May we reject the heresy of the Prosperity Gospel, Christian Nationalism, and Christo-fascism and instead join with All the Saints to build up the Kingdom of God… God’s vision of creation as a place where everyone has enough. And may we build up that worldview with a daily, ever deepening, self giving love for ALL of our neighbors. Amen.
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