{"id":3640,"date":"2017-05-02T15:16:10","date_gmt":"2017-05-02T20:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=3640"},"modified":"2017-05-02T15:16:10","modified_gmt":"2017-05-02T20:16:10","slug":"god-is-on-your-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/05\/god-is-on-your-side\/","title":{"rendered":"God Is On Your Side"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The next 266 words are best read with an English accent.
\nWhen we moved to America, one of the things we had to get used to was how folks greet each other. You\u2019d think it would be the least of our worries. But it was confusing at times\u2014so many choices! Once when I was picking up a rental car from an airport, I walked out to meet the guy who was going to give me my keys. Wanting to make a good impression, I\u2019d narrowed my greeting down to two options:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Howdy<\/li>\n
  2. Hi<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Really simple! Just pick one.
    \nSo I approached the man, a lovely older gentleman, and with my hand outstretched and my brain narrowing the choice further in my head, it all felt so easy. That is until I opened my lips. I tripped over the words, and a glorious \u201cHow\u201d came out of my mouth.
    \nEmbarrassing!
    \nThe one American greeting it took me a while to get the hang of was \u201cwhassup.\u201d Now I\u2019m not saying I don\u2019t know what it means\u2014What is up? But I didn\u2019t know how to respond. I always wanted to answer with something like, \u201cWell, actually, I\u2019m kinda feeling it today; we just moved over and everything\u2019s a bit unfamiliar and disorienting and we didn\u2019t know what dog food to get or laundry detergent\u201d and so on. That\u2019s what\u2019s up!
    \nWhat I didn\u2019t know was that the correct response would have been simply to say, \u201cWhassup,\u201d back to the person. It\u2019s totally not required to enter a dialogue about your well-being.
    \nBut I thought they cared.
    \nI guess the equivalent I grew up with was:
    \nPerson 1: \u201cAll right, mate?\u201d
    \nPerson 2: \u201cYeah, all right?\u201d
    \nSo there we are. Is everything all right?
    \nWell, probably not entirely. Not if we\u2019re like the people listening on the hill that day, the kind of people Jesus calls blessed.
    \nLooking back at what we\u2019ve seen so far: The Beatitudes are not about achieving anything, but about what\u2019s missing.<\/p>\n

    <\/div>\n

     
    \nOur Teacher is announcing the incredible promise that here and now, in our poverty, sadness, and lack of power, when we can\u2019t get it right, God is on our side.
    \nI like the way Frederick Bruner puts it: \u201cGod helps people who need help simply because they need help, not because they meet spiritual conditions.\u201d
    \nJesus is also announcing that something\u2019s about to change, that a new way of looking at things is here, and more is coming. As N.\u00a0T. Wright says, \u201c[The Beatitudes are] an announcement, not a philosophical analysis of the world. It\u2019s about something that\u2019s starting to happen, not about a general truth of life. It is gospel: good news, not good advice.\u201d
    \n\"\"<\/a>
    \nSo there is something of a not-yet-ness to the Beatitudes. Jesus is announcing that the Kingdom of God is coming, and it\u2019s upside down from the way the world currently works. And it is really good news because God is with:<\/p>\n