Wednesday, April 2

Stuffies and the Upside-Down Kingdom

Courtney Blacksten

Reading

Jesus raised his eyes to his disciples and said: “Happy are you who are poor, because God’s kingdom is yours. Happy are you who hunger now, because you will be satisfied. Happy are you who weep now, because you will laugh. Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and condemn your name as evil because of the Human One.

But I say to you who are willing to hear: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you.

Treat people in the same way that you want them to treat you.
Matthew 6:20-22, 27-28, 31

Reflection

My 9-year-old daughter and I are reading through the Gospel of Luke during Lent. It’s one of the last things we do before she goes to sleep. But the night we read the Beatitudes, I heard her awake long after I thought she was asleep. When I went to her room, her eyes were watery and her cheeks tearstained. When I asked what was wrong, she said she had been thinking about what we read that evening.

“Happy are the poor, because God’s kingdom is yours.”

She asked, Where are we in that?

It’s a good question: How do I fit into God’s kingdom?

The Beatitudes expand who is included in God’s kingdom. Here, Jesus turns the world upside down, declaring that it isn’t the wealthy, powerful, or elite who inherit God’s kingdom, but those whom society often casts aside. At the heart of the Beatitudes is a call for Jesus’ followers to do God’s will on earth—to relieve suffering and confront oppression. That’s where we fit in: by seeking to do God’s will. It may look different for each person, but the important question we must ask ourselves is, How do I respond when I see a wrong in the world?

Now, as you might guess, that’s not exactly how I answered my 9-year-old.

Instead, we talked about how God created us with hearts to care for others. We discussed the importance of sharing what we have with those in need and explored ways she, even as a child, could show compassion. One idea we talked about was participating in a “stuffy drive” organized by a library in Oklahoma to provide stuffed animals to children who lost everything in the recent wildfires.

Living in God’s upside-down world—helping create the kingdom of God on earth—means noticing injustice and acting to care for those who are cast out. Even if we aren’t the poor, the hungry, the weeping, or the downtrodden, we can still do something to help. We can fight injustice. Even children can give out of their abundance of stuffed animals to comfort those who have lost theirs.

Pray
God of mercy and grace, break my heart for what breaks yours. When I see people in need around me, help me to consider what I can do, and spur me to action. Help me to give what I can to those in need. Amen.