Laughing and dancing our way to Heaven

In Luke’s Gospel, Jesus prays at important moments of his life – His Baptism, when He taught the forgiveness of sin (Luke 3:21), at the Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-36) and beginning of the Passion (Luke 22:39-46).  He also prayed just prior to selecting the twelve who would become the apostles.  Having prayed and called the apostles, they came down the mountain and were surrounded by a large crowd.  Jesus healed everyone.  Then He looked at His disciples, His followers, and spoke the Beatitudes in what is called the Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:20-26).

Jesus began His ministry, announcing the fulfillment of Isaiah, ‘to bring good news to the poor and liberty to captives.’ (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18)   Through word and deed, He set to work proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  Speaking as a prophet, He described the values necessary for those who will work for the Kingdom of God.  They will believe that the poor will be rich, the hungry satisfied, the weeping will laugh, and those whose values are rejected, who are pushed to the margins and called evil, they will be like the prophets of old. They will receive the reward of the prophets.

For Luke, Jesus is a prophet, and those who follow Jesus will share His calling.  Expect a surprise; there will be a great reversal.  Woe to the rich and satisfied, those now laughing, and the false prophets!

It might do us a world of good to imitate Jesus this week and surround our reflections on the Beatitudes with prayer.  The Beatitudes are real and among us today. It’s not just those trapped in war or made refugees who are poor and hungry.  The pandemic has spread hunger and poverty along with illness. Weeping is close at hand.  Weeping follows suffering and pain, but anger follows next – for the good or for the bad – to redress the causes of suffering.  We’re dealing with the anger of much frustration. Values are rejected, people are marginalized, and judgments passed.  Many ‘deaths,’ not just the physical deaths, but things that touch the control of many aspects of life that we take for granted, cause us sorrow.  The pandemic we expect—and hope—will bring about new scientific understanding and health.  We hope there’ll be a deepening knowledge of our human family that even as values are tested, we’ll grow closer together in community.

The Beatitudes tell us we’ll ‘laugh.’  Scripture scholars tell us that’s the only use of that word in the New Testament.  And we will ‘dance.’  The word used here is the same as when John ‘leaped’ in the womb of Elizabeth upon the visit of Mary (Luke 1:39-56), who carries the Savior in her womb.  Strong but simple words in the Beatitudes.  It might be helpful to read them alongside our newspapers these days—hopeful blessings alongside worrisome news.  Jesus said them looking at His disciples; let us surround them with prayer and turn our hope-filled faces to Our Lord, as well.