Dearest Rachel –
So the men’s Bible study is back on its regular Saturday schedule – at least for the moment, since next week will be taken off due to what they refer to as “Man Camp” next weekend (which I suspect you’d be pushing me to go to, but I still think there are others who would get more benefit from my space there, and there’s only so much space to go around) – as we begin the new season of… well, basically everything here. School is in session and summer is effectively over, and correspondingly, programs like Awana and other group studies reboot and restart with the season. It’s strange to realize that this wouldn’t be on my radar if you were still around (as we had other things to occupy our Saturday mornings with, of course), but these days, it feels like I’ve been doing this for ages.
In any event, this reboot for the new year includes a new series of studies, beginning with one on the Beatitudes. I’ve never been a fan of the whole “blessed are” list, mostly because the word “blessed” has gotten so absorbed into Christianese that it doesn’t seem to have any meaning outside of those spouting such holier-than-thou vocabulary. The only exception are the prevalent Instagrammers and TikTokers that humblebrag about their lives, using the word as a hashtag to drive the point home about how wonderful their lives are to their viewers (which is either obnoxious or pathetic, depending upon how real or fake one perceives said humblebrags to be). I get that we need a word that makes it clear that one’s good fortune is not truly due to mere luck or circumstance; that there’s a higher Power that gives us more than we deserve out of life (and after life, for that matter). It’s just that the way this word has been used, and continues to be used, too often feels forced and fake in my ears.
Maybe it’s just me. You would use the term unironically yourself from time to time, so you would probably say I’m overthinking this, and that would be a fair conclusion for you to arrive at, given your experience. I don’t know how to explain it, but the word just doesn’t sit well with me. There are other such words, like ‘praise’ (and, for that matter, certain words used in the act of praise, such as ‘hallelujah’) that seem to have no use in the English language outside of a church setting. If they can’t translate to secular use, so that those on the outside can understand what is truly meant by those words, then perhaps we need to use a different word or phrase, rather than letting our jargon render us indecipherable to the outside world.
Then again, maybe there are just certain things that can’t properly be explained with our limited vocabulary – although if any language should have the right words to convey every concept, every action, every emotion, it should be English. At the same time, for us to expect any human language to cover the mysteries of the universe – to say nothing of the Deity behind its origin and continued existence – well, we might as well expect an ant to have the words to comprehend the human world, and convey this knowledge to her queen in a way that she could come to a similar understanding.
Or maybe, it’s like a comparison one of the guys came up with, since so many of the Beatitudes refer to the ‘kingdom of heaven’; how can we relate to that? Even Jesus Himself would start with “with what shall I compare the kingdom of heaven?” If He had trouble describing it to us, how much more will we have difficulty grasping it. But the analogy this guy gave was that of a newborn baby. This child has spent its first nine months of its existence within the confines of the womb. It’s a cramped, dark place, but it doesn’t know that, because it’s the only home it’s known since obtaining sentience. Suddenly, it pushes itself through an even more confined corridor, until it finds itself in a whole new universe, wider, broader, brightly lit and insanely loud in comparison. It’s no wonder it screams in terror at this frightening and confusing new place that is so far beyond its ability to take in at that moment.
Come to think of it, I wonder if the transition from this world to that one is in any way similar to that of the process of childbirth – not that any of us really remember that experience in the first place – but once again, i’m in no position to expect an answer from you on the subject. It does, however, give a whole new meaning to the concept of being ‘born again,’ doesn’t it?
And so, I wonder if, as we try to replicate heaven here on earth by following that one line from the Lord’s prayer about “may Your will be done [here] as it is in heaven,” we have to bear in mind that we understand no better what His kingdom is like than that newborn can understand what the world around them is like. Our best attempts at heaven here would be nothing more than a particularly pleasant version of our own world, when in fact, His kingdom might be so far removed that we cannot fathom what it should be like, let alone expect to replicate it. Still, I suppose we have been left here in order to try to do so nonetheless, so keep an eye on us as we make that effort, and wish us luck. No doubt, we’re going to need it.
Letters to Rachel 