Today's piece is full of images of victims and scandal that leads to good reflection on who we are as these followers of Jesus.
This is the understanding behind the Matthean Sermon on the Mount. All those who are called makarioi (blessed) are those who have been "scandalized" by the order of this world and live in a relation of dangerous proximity to being victimized by the order. Because they have been scandalized by the order of this world, precisely because of the precariousness of their belonging, they will not be scandalized by Jesus himself, and thus are able to identify with the "blessed one" of Matthew 11:6 who is not scandalized by Jesus. These will be able to form part of the new victim people whom the new Moses is projecting from the mount in fulfillment of the old, a victim people salted for sacrifice (5:13) that will be the new Zion, the city on the hill (5:14), which alone will accomplish the law and the prophets (5:17).
Wow. Too much to handle in one sitting. Therefore I will start today with that image of 'the city on a hill.' Often, some people in American politics say that we are that city. And yet, we are not a people who will live for the well-being of the victims - the outcast - the ones who have not 'done their part' or 'pulled themselves up by their bootstraps' . Rather, we take this to be something quite different. We are the ones on the top - we have made 'it' - we are the life that everyone wants. And yet, the way of Jesus - the way of the cross - the journey of scandalizations is not what everyone wants. More and more I am amazed at the way some folks try to tie Christianity to Nationalism - especially American Nationalism. We may be a 'city on a hill' - but it is not the city referenced in Scripture. It is a fortified city - a city of wealth - a city of exclusion - a city afraid of the world - a city willing to be idolatrous by following the way of might and power and the ability to Lord it over others. The 'city on a hill' is much more a vulnerable image. Out there in full sight - being those who suffer with the forgotten and do not follow the ways of the powers. We are invited to be a part of that city. Not everyone wants to go their and live there. That's why we change the image to fit one of elite opportunity and privilege.
Connection: How will the vulnerable city make it in this world? Well, we are. not expected to make it. We are simply invited to be that city of wholeness and healing and peace and justice in the middle of a world that rejects all of that - and yet a world that uses those words to get whatever it wants. The vulnerable city will simply be that vulnerable presence even when we must be present in a way that is not consistent with the world around us. Even when we must 'stick out' like a 'city on a hill' open for pot-shots.
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