The Upside-Downness of the Gospel: A Look at the Beatitudes, Part VIII

Part VII, Part VI, Part V, Part IV, Part III, Part II, Part I

Perhaps in the history of the 20^th century no one hated the idea of humility, gentleness, meekness, and peace–as described in the Beatitudes– more than Friedrich Nietzsche.[1] Though he was the son and grandson of Lutheran pastors, he rejected the Christian faith in his student days and became what one author described “the representative unbeliever of the 20^th century.”[2] Even though he lived in the 19^th century, the 20^th century was the century his works became known all over the world. And they became known primarily because of his famous declaration that God is dead. You may also be aware of the famous humorous reply: “Nietzche said God is dead; God said Nietzche is dead.”

If you know the story of Nietzche you know that he went mad; insane. But a year before he went insane, he wrote one of the most violent and polemic works against the Christian faith entitled The Anti-Christ. “In answer to his own question: “What is more harmful than any vice?” he replied, “Active sympathy for the ill-constituted and weak – that is, Christianity.”[3] Christianity, according to Nietzche, was a religion of pity instead of power. He believed the Christian God was the god of the sick and weak. Further he writes: “I condemn Christianity,” he wrote. “…it has made of every value a disvalue.” For all his ferocious antagonism for the Christian faith, he understood that the values of the kingdom of heaven are completely different/opposite to the values of the world he envisioned. In Nietzche’s world, only the strong and powerful and those possessing authority were valued; those who cannot help themselves have no value in his world. Adolf Hitler took these ideas quite strongly and the application of Nietzche’s philosophy led to the barbaric slaughter of millions of Jews in the 20^th century. Ideas have consequences. It is no wonder that Nietzche’s madness became a perfect demonstration of where worldly values must eventually lead.[4] In Nietzche’s world, only the strong could reign, where mercy and meekness were mocked. The kingdom of heaven through its great message in the Beatitudes created an entirely different world; a world that is upside-down to those who are perishing.

We will see once again the upside-downness of the kingdom and the heavenly nature of it when we see that the way we are called to live is in direct confrontation to the way the world lives.

Jesus says in verse 9: “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”

There is a fundamental error we make as those who believe and trust in the Prince of Peace; and that is, that by our own efforts we can bring peace to the world; corporately, we fall into this trap by believing that somehow through the political process if we elect the right man then he will establish a society of peace; to use political language, there will be such bi-partisan agreement that the great divide that exists in our culture will be solved, and then we will find peace. This is the great political lie; and many politicians make a living by using this rhetoric. On the other hand, in the first century, the Romans were known to have brought peace among the nations through the use of the sword; the Romans possessed a powerful army; and the Roman emperors were known as the great pacifiers; bringers of peace. “Through the exertion of power and might and force we shall find peace,” they said. It is in this context that Jesus brings this radical message of peace. His message was in direct confrontation to the current models of the kingdoms of this world then and now. This should not have been a shock to the early disciples nor to us, because the prophet Isaiah prophesied that the child will be called

“Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end…”[5]

St. Luke tells us that Christ came “to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”[6] Jesus desires his kingdom people to embrace His agenda of peace.

There are two fundamental levels in which this is applied. There is a personal and corporate dimension to this beatitude.

One of the great concerns when we approach the beatitudes is to read them in isolation; to view them as an application to me, rather than viewing them as an application to how the community ought to operate. And Jesus corrects possible misunderstanding by making all these beatitudes plural. The individual can’t simply take these beatitudes and tuck them away in the closet; the individual sees these beatitudes as ways of incorporating them into the life of the community.

There are two applications for us as a people. First, to be a peacemaker in the kingdom means to have the unity of the kingdom as a central concern. Particularly, we can look to the church and ask ourselves, “In what way do we seek harmony and unity in this body?” On a scale of 1-10, 10 being a strong desire to pursue unity, where do you fall? The Apostle Paul addressed the Church in Corinth in very strong language at times, because he saw the devastating effects of divisions in the Church. For Paul, to divide the church of Christ was to fail to discern the body. You are failing to discern the body when you are not a peacemaker.

The Psalmist also delves into this theme of peace in a very practical way when he says in Psalm 34: “Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.”[7] The Psalmist says that those who do not seek peace are those whose lips speak deceit.[8] Stay away from lies and evil conversations. Rather, your posture as a kingdom people is to pound at the door of peace. Do not wait for others to seek peace for you are honored and exalted when you seek peace first.

The other sense in which we become peacemakers is by pursuing harmony between human beings and God. This is the more corporate application of being a peacemaker. This is more of the evangelistic task given to the people of God. We are called God’s ambassadors of peace; there is a cosmic distance between those outside the covenant and the God of the covenant and our duty is to make the kingdom a place of refuge and safety for the lost. The incarnation accomplished this task by bringing Jesus nearer to His people in every way; by bringing the kingdom to earth; by proclaiming a message of reconciliation. Our mission is then to make this kingdom such a part of our lives that others outside the kingdom will realize by God’s grace that they live in a world of chaos and calamity, and that only in the Kingdom of Heaven will they find true and everlasting peace.

[1] Illustration from Robert Rayburn; slightly altered.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Rayburn.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Isaiah 9:6.

[6] Luke 1:79.

[7] Verses 13 & 14.

[8] Strong theme in James.

[9] Twitter quote of Lewis.