Luke 6:20-31

 Luke 6:20-31   Standing with All the Saints

In his book, Tattoos on the Heart, Greg Boyle, S.J.  wrote “Scripture scholars contend that the original language of the Beatitudes should not be rendered as ‘Blessed are the single-hearted’ or ‘Blessed are the Peacemakers’ or ‘Blessed are those who struggle for justice.’  Greater precision in translation would say, ‘you’re in the right place if  ... you are single-hearted or work for peace.’  The Beatitudes is not spirituality after all.  It’s geography.  It tells us where to stand.  Compassion isn’t just about feeling the pain of others; it’s about standing in solidarity with them.  If we love what God loves, then, in compassion, margins get erased.  ‘Be compassionate as God is compassionate,’ means the dismantling of barriers that exclude.”

I have spent a great deal of time and energy over the years “doing my homework” – gathering reliable data and studying scripture so that I could take the “right” stand on issues.  Boyle suggests that striving for justice is less about taking the right stand then it is about standing in the right place – with the outcast, the marginalized and those whose differences frighten us.   How can we stand with the homeless becoming ever more numerous at the head of State St?  How do we stand with those increased numbers becoming increasingly dependent upon food pantries to make it through the month?  How do we stand with our African American children, less than 50% of whom graduate from the Madison schools on time?  How do we stand with those who distrust us?  Boyle reminds all of us that it's easier to let down the barriers and stand with “the other” once we start seeing them as individuals “who are exactly what God had in mind when God made them.”