On Level Ground

At the beginning of the reading today, a statement is usually totally overlooked. And yet I think it is the heart of the wisdom in this reading. The Gospel says Jesus found a place on level ground. It was from the level ground that He taught them.  

It reminded me of a parish I once belonged to in Mount Vernon, NY. It was also dedicated to the Sacred Heart. I lived pretty far from the parish but chose to go there because it was filled with life and love. The people were happy and welcoming. It was a marvelous place to worship. It was also an all-black parish located in a poorer area of Mount Vernon. God was so present in those people and that celebration that I longed for Sunday when I could go and worship with them. So here I was, a young (at that time) white woman who, compared to them, came from privilege, and they welcomed me as a member of their community. They invited me to make their faith community my own.

Father Irwin was the pastor. I remember one day after mass asking him why the people always came dressed up so beautifully to mass. The men came in suits and the women with hats, shoes, gloves, and purses that matched. Mass was definitely a class A dress-up affair in the parish.  

He explained that first, they did it for God. They came and brought God their best. Part of that was dressing their best. But Father Irwin told me the second reason was more subtle and far more critical. When they all came dressed up in their finest, there was no difference between the bus driver and the physician in their church. There was no difference between the house cleaner and the teacher. All were the same. In all of their lives, there were inequities. But here in the house of God, they were standing on level ground. The garbage collector gave communion to the doctor, the maid read the word of God, and the unemployed carried the gifts up to the altar with the lawyer. They were standing on level ground. They were standing on Holy Ground.

When Jesus speaks the beatitudes in the Gospel today, he says much the same thing.

In the time of Christ, when people were sick, infertile, poverty-stricken, it was thought of as punishment for their sins or the sins of their parents. Jesus is powerfully proclaiming that it is not so. They are not punished by God but rather that God holds them close and promises blessings. When all around them is bleak, He is there, and He will be their strength, their light in the darkness.

But that brings us to the “Woe to you” part of the reading. Jesus was cautioning those doing well, were well fed, and had cause for joy. He let them know that their current state is not a seal of approval for their behaviors or actions. The sin of their ancestors did not curse the poor. The goodness of their forefathers did not bless the rich. God was holding them to account as well. Jesus was reminding them that to those that much is given, much will be required. Their wealth and good fortune are not evil themselves. However, not helping to meet the needs of others and feeling a blind arrogance of being better than others is a cause for woe.

Jesus came down and found a place on level ground, and he began to teach them. Perhaps that is far more than a throwaway sentence. What Jesus is calling us all to is level ground. He tells us that we are all the same in God’s eyes, rich or poor, hungry or full, mourning or joyful. We have different challenges and responsibilities, but God does not bless the wealthy and curse those in need. Wealth and need are conditions of this world. They are not conditions of heaven.

When we all stand before God, the ground is absolutely level. When we stand at the foot of the cross, the ground is level. When we stand in our goodness and sin with all humanity, the ground is level. We are one, and we are responsible to and for one another. We are accountable to God.

In God’s Unending Love,

Gwen