Envied or Pitied
There is something about the way human beings are built that leads us to continuous comparisons. We judge the things going on around us and the people we notice. We compare ourselves to others. We compare our situations to what others seem to be. If anyone is out there trying to “keep up with the Joneses” that person is clearly comparing and judging. There are bound to be more reasons for this than I can even comprehend.
On the positive side, I think our brains are built to be scrutinized for the general sake of safety and security. It is a survival thing that we notice the lay of the land. On the negative side, this scrutinizing spills into all kinds of judging that is a complete waste of time. Our own insecurities drive us to assess that we should be envied or we should be pitied. Avoiding this fruitless preoccupation requires intention, practice, and discipline.
The scriptures this week invite us to do some fruitful comparing and assessment. I hope to dig into this over the next several writings. In a brief survey of the lessons, take first Jeremiah 17. In verse five, we read, “Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals and make mere flesh their strength, whose hearts turn away from the Lord.” Compare that to verse seven, “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.”
The Psalm is similar. Here are some phrases from Psalm 1: “Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, … Their delight is in the law of the Lord … They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season” These phrases are put next to other contrasting descriptions: “It is not so with the wicked; they are like chaff which the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgment comes …For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.”
Our Gospel is a portion of Luke’s “Sermon on the Plain.” Jesus strings together two lists, those who are blessed, and those to whom woe is due. It is his kingdom of God version of which people are happy and which are woeful. Here is an example: “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. … Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. (Luke 6:21, 25)
The comparison found in 1 Corinthians is fascinating. Paul compares what would be the case to what is the case. He names himself and all believers as folk who proclaim the resurrection of Christ and the resulting promise of their resurrection. He emphatically asserts, that because of this fact, we have every reason to rejoice. He sets this bold claim up by stating the condition that is not in play. He makes, in effect, the claim that we are people of the Resurrection, and we carry that message. He says that if Christ has not been raised, we are most to be pitied, but that since in fact he has been raised, our message is true, and we stand to be gloriously happy.
If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; ... If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. Then those also who have died in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have died. (1 Corinthians 15:13, 17-20)
This is a week to focus on Sunday lessons that move us to rejoice in the Resurrection of Christ. Who wants to be among the pitied, the cursed, and the woeful? We are being moved to be among the happy and blessed described in the sermon of Jesus, among the happy whose delight is in the Lord, among the blessed, whose trust is in the Lord. Human beings, flawed as we are, don’t seem to be able to drop our comparisons and judgments. But if we must compare, let us do so in categories that help us find ourselves, raised to life, happy, trusting, and fruitful.