On Day 4 we first visited the Church of the Beatitudes, where I shared the following reflections:
At my first training weekend as a curate the Bishop of Barking performed a handstand to demonstrate the way in which Jesus, through his teaching in the beatitudes, turns our understanding of life upside down. As opposed to the survival of the fittest or looking after No. 1, the Kingdom of God, as it is described in the Beatitudes, is a place of happiness for those who know they are spiritually poor, a place of comfort for those who mourn, a place of receptivity for those who are humble, a place of satisfaction for those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires, a place of mercy for those who are merciful, a place in which God is seen by the pure in heart, a place in which those who work for peace are called God’s children, and a place which belongs to those who are persecuted because they do what God requires. We might like to stop and reflect on what might God be calling us to do that would bring about the kind of vision of life.
Later in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says that God’s provision for the birds round us is a sign of the worth that he sees in his creation as a whole and in each specific part. Just as the creation as a whole is “good,” so are the birds which are found within it. If that is true of birds, then is it not also true of human beings? “Aren’t you worth much more than birds?” Jesus asks.
In the fullness of time God made us in his image, the crown of all creation. Genesis 1 tells us that God made us to be like him, to resemble him and be made in his image. That gives us incredible worth and value, in and of ourselves and regardless of how we feel about ourselves. Jesus is saying that the power we have over creation and our unique position in creation - being conscious creators – speaks clearly to us of this incredible privilege of having been made in the image of God.
To what extent do we appreciate this reality? Often we can be so caught up in the busyness of daily life that we do not stop to reflect on the wonder of existence and our existence. We might like to stop for a moment to think about the incredible complexity of our physical bodies and of our conscious existence.
Jesus also asks, Isn’t life worth more than food and isn’t the body worth more than clothes. Often we can be so caught up in the busyness of daily life that we do not realise the wonder of our existence and do not realise all that we could achieve if we were to use our abilities and creativity more fully in his service. “We were meant to live for so much more” is how the rock band Switchfoot put it. Jesus challenges us to be concerned with more than the worries of daily life, to be “concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he [God] requires of you.”
Jesus argues that the goodness and worth of all created things can be seen in the way that creation provides all that is needed for creatures and plants to live and thrive. Our worth is greater still because we are made in the very image of God having power over creation and innate creative abilities ourselves. It is incumbent on us then to use the power we possess for the good of others and for the good of creation itself. We are, as God says, in Genesis to cultivate, tend and guard creation. Bringing happiness, satisfaction and belonging by giving comfort, practising humility, sharing mercy and working for peace are all powerful ways of tending and guarding creation and building the Kingdom of God on earth, as in heaven.
We might like to stop for a moment to recognise the something more for which we are meant to live.
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Switchfoot - Meant To Live.
