Transcription
Here's the initial question that we're asking God in this process is what blocks me from receiving from you. How do I give the gift of my identity to the world, but I'm afraid to leave my neighborhood or I'm so worried about money? God can't speak through all of that fear. You're not really asking an actual question. You're like, how can I do this and be in control of the whole thing?
So, we've been talking about the creative process um in in some of our other sessions. I want to talk about the beatitudes because the beatitudes really are the introduction to how to live life in the kingdom. So, no matter what process we're talking about, actually, the um the beatitudes are the preamble to it. So I want you to think about in Matthew when Jesus is getting ready to deliver this incredible teaching. Um, and what he does is in the opening passage he talks about how G, it says Jesus went up on a hill and he sat down and that whole imagery of Jesus sitting down and you know again we're even when we talk about using your imagination to image that beautiful scene of Jesus and all the people spread out in the on the hillside there and he goes to sit down and it says he sits down and in some translations it says he he took a breath, he breathed and then he spoke. And that whole action of sitting down and breathing out words is very kingly. That's what a king would do. A king sits on his throne and then when he speaks, he's actually breathing out onto the the subjects of his kingdom, his wisdom, his guidance, his leadership. And that's what that's why the emphasis there in Matthew of the breathing. Matthew is very much about the kingdom. And you think about Jesus sitting on a hillside. Where where's the where is God's throne? It's creation. So his throne would be that that beautiful hill. It's creation itself. So you have this amazing picture of this happening. And what Jesus is getting ready to do is to explain what's the what's the mentality? What's the quality of my being that would allow me to live now in the kingdom on earth as if it's in heaven? How to fast, how to pray, how to think about your enemies. All of those things are coming. But there's a certain mentality, a certain quality of of my identity that needs to be in place for for me to be able to walk like that and to love like that. And so that's the importance of how of of this what we would say is the preamble into the constitution of the kingdom on earth not in the future now living like this now. And so the opening phrase is critically important. And Jesus stunningly his opening phrase is blessed are the poor in spirit or blessed are the the translation is the empty ones for theirs is the kingdom of God. Can you imagine that it that his opening challenge is for us in order to receive the kingdom, we have to be the empty ones. What what does that mean?
I think when we if we think about it, think about you're coming you're coming into relation with God. You're coming into and we've been talking about the creative process like what's in me. What's my identity is my gift to the world. And so how do what what does that mean? How do I how do I give the gift of my identity to the world? When we talk about the ex identity exchange process and the burdens processes that we refer to, what is the gift I'm giving to the world? And and and how do I approach God on understanding that? And it's I'm going to really you're going to ask a question to God. How do I give the gift of my identity to the world? Is it going to show itself in in medicine? Is it going to show itself in mission work in in education? Like what is that? So you're going to be asking these very important questions to God if as part of a contemplative process that leads to innovation. All innovation comes from contemplation. So it' be key to ask the right questions in relationship to God. How do we get to the place where we know the right questions to ask God? And so Jesus is telling us here, the first step is to get empty of all of the things that prevent you from receiving from God anything. So it it makes sense if I'm going to come to God and say, "Would you help me understand this? Would you can I receive this instruction from you?" If my spirit and my brain are all clogged up with fear, guilt, shame, anxiety about money, anxiety about reputation, you're not going to receive anything. A person in fear can't receive. So, so the challenge of Jesus is blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the ones the empty ones for they can receive the kingdom. Theirs is theirs is the kingdom to receive. That's the beauty of that. So get empty. That's the beginning part of any learning. Get empty.
When we're training people, when we're teaching people, that's a that's a process that we do before we even start. It's a simple process of that that we can do now of just sitting with the Lord breathing and just asking the Lord what are things in my life that prevent me from receiving from you? What are things in my life that would prevent me from receiving from you? And then just listening to the Lord. It's funny because see here's here's the initial question that we're asking God in this process is what blocks me from receiving from you and let the Lord say it to you. You know you're you're it's if I come to the Lord and I'm asking him for direction and wisdom and and how do I give the gift of my identity to the world but I'm afraid to leave my neighborhood or I'm don't like this these people over here or I'm so worried about money. God can't speak through all of that fear and all of because you're not really asking an actual question. You're like, "How can I do this and be in control of the whole thing? You have to get empty of all of that." So Lord, what prevents me from receiving all that you have for me? This this is the question that Jesus is challenging. Those are the people that can receive the kingdom of God. So even even when I'm talking with people when they say um we feel trapped, we feel stuck, we feel like alone, um we feel like we need to to get involved in something and I would ask them like tell me what restrictions you have on the answer to that question like will you move to another country? Will you leave your job? Will you um will you uh change change vocations or like that kind of thing or or not? See those are preventative to even even asking God the question. So get empty. That's what he says first. Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the empty ones for theirs is the kingdom of God.
Which then leads to something really empty as something interesting. If I empty myself out of all of my concerns and fears and all of that stuff and it's just down to the real me, the true me, my real identity. There's things that all of us are troubled by in the world. Things that we're what we would say make us sad. And sad is a God emotion. Sad is a very beautiful. It's a it's a love. Things that make you sad have to do with love. Things that make you mad or fearful or or embittered, those aren't love. Sad is is a God emotion of compassion. So as I empty myself out, then I can ask this really interesting question. Lord, what did you make me to be sad about even in different seasons? And Jesus says it this way after he says, "Blessed are the blessed are the empty ones, the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom." He next says, "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." So instead of reading through the beatitudes like there's this one, this linear, this one, this one. It's more of a a a process upward. So get empty. We're empty of all the false. We're going to sit in the true and then Lord, what did you make me to be sad about in the world? This is where your passion will be. This is this is where this is where it will be directed. And so asking the Lord, what am I sad about? And the Lord's promise is I will meet you there to comfort you in that. But if you're sad because you don't have enough money or you're sad because the politics aren't going the way that you think or the world's not going the way that you think or your team's not winning, that's that's not sadness, right? That's self-protection and self-promotion. Lord, what did you what was Jesus sad about? When Jesus wept, he was empty of his own concerns. And he would weep for others, for for Mary and Martha and Lazarus and for Jerusalem, who he wanted to gather under his wings, but they wouldn't do it. That's what he that's what he was sad about. That's what he mourned for. And he gave his life for that for those to to bring salvation and redemption. So we do this process. Lord, Lord, I'm empty of all that prevents me from receiving from you. Lord, what did you create me to be sad about, to be passionate about? Because you will meet me there and guide me um in that sadness.
So for me personally um in my in my identity I'm a a person who who I'm a militant peacemaker and I'm a person who likes to unravel knots and stuck situations and stuck things. And so when I'm in a situation where I see people knotted up and struggling or or um country struggling, it it makes me sad and and the sadness is the place where I say to the Lord, Lord, would you come in here and comfort me in the sadness? And the way he does it is he allows me to give the gift of my identity into the situation to help untie the knots, right? And so that and that brings me joy. So as we as we go through the beatitudes thinking a lot about the creative process and just thinking about how do I become fully myself whole and resilient so that I can live this life in the kingdom as Jesus describes in Matthew. It begins with getting empty. Getting empty. Lord, what am I? What prevents me from receiving all that you have for me? And then once that's removed and we've given that to the Lord and we're open and ready to receive, the next question is, "Lord, what did you make me to be sad about? What am I sad about? What are the injustices that provoke me in the world?" And then comfort me there as we move into finding resolutions for those things in order that my identity becomes a gift to the world. Imagine all of us in our identities moved by compassion and sadness into the injustice of the world giving our identity as gifts. We would hit every problem that exists in the world. We would we would begin to resolve all of these problems, get empty, get sad, and then go forward with Jesus into the next um levels of the beatitudes. It's