A HIDDEN BEATITUDE

Reading: : Jeremiah 17: 5-10

Whenever anyone mentions the beatitudes we immediately tend to think of Matthew 5 or Luke 6. Actually there are many more, hidden away in the pages of both the Old and New Testaments. I am always filled with rejoicing when I find another one. It’s as if I have stumbled across buried treasure – which is what, in fact, these beatitudes are. If you break down the word ‘beatitude’ what it is really saying is, “Let this be your attitude” and then goes on to spell it out. And here, hidden in Jeremiah, amidst all the prophecies of doom, the weeping and mourning, as well as the promises of hope, is one such treasure. “Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Because the people of Judah have continued in their idolatry, worshipping at pagan shrines and placing their trust in humans rather than God, they are bringing disaster upon themselves. God says, through Jeremiah, that he knows how deceitful the human heart can be and that he searches all hearts and examines their secret motives. However, always there is a remnant, no matter how small, those who have remained faithful, often at great cost to themselves. These are the ones who are blessed. And like the beatitudes in Matthew 5, after naming those who are blessed, there comes the promise, the reward, if you like. Here it is, “They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they go right on producing delicious fruit.” There is a sense in which all the beatitudes listed in Matthew’s Gospel could be summed up in this one. If we place our trust in God, if he is our hope and confidence, then, in recognition of our need for God, our lives will be characterized by the fruits of mercy, humility, a purity of heart, a hunger for justice. We will mourn over all the preventable dyings and losses, we will be makers of peace, and we will be willing to pay the price to see right prevail.

If this is our attitude, then we are going to have an effect on the world around us. If our roots go down deep into God, drawing our nourishment and life from him, then we become his image bearers and others will begin to hunger and thirst for that life as well. It is interesting that two other spiritual giants, one a prophet from the Old Testament and the other a seer from the New Testament use the same metaphor to describe their visions of healing and wholeness that are central to the new world God is in the process of bringing into being. Ezekiel talks about the river flowing from the Temple along whose banks are trees that never wither and provide fruit for food and leaves for healing. And John, in Revelation, sees the river of the water of life flowing from the throne of God. The leaves of the trees that grow on either side are for the healing of the nations. Jeremiah, Ezekiel and John were beatitude people. Are we?

Reflections in this series