{"id":1349,"date":"2016-06-01T08:00:46","date_gmt":"2016-06-01T12:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/?p=1349"},"modified":"2016-06-08T17:35:56","modified_gmt":"2016-06-08T21:35:56","slug":"sublime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/sublime\/","title":{"rendered":"‘SUBLIME’…"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/span>n an article, \u2018<\/span>Big and Little Loves<\/a>\u2019 in\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0<\/i>yesterday (May 31), David Brooks began by noting that\u00a0philosophers since the time of ancient Greece \u2018have distinguished between the beautiful and the sublime.<\/b>\u00a0Beauty,<\/b>\u00a0\u2018 he notes, \u2018is what you experience when you look at a flower or a lovely face. It is contained, pleasurable, intimate and romantic.\u00a0Sublime<\/b>\u00a0is what you feel when you look at a mountain range or a tornado. It involves awe, veneration, maybe even a touch of fear.\u00a0A sublime thing, like space or mathematics, over-awes the natural human dimensions and reminds you that you are a small thing in a vast cosmos.\u2019<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

SUBLIME<\/h2>\n

A sublime figure:<\/b>\u00a0We can well see that the vast crowds who came to Jesus of Nazareth were drawn to him because they saw in him a sublime figure. On one occasion, as Luke records (6:17), Jesus addressed a huge crowd that had gathered below a mountain. Many had travelled great distances \u2013 from Jerusalem, Judea, Tyre and Sidon.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sublime power<\/b>: Some had come to be healed or released from demon possession (6:17-18). Luke tells us that Jesus had the\u00a0power to heal<\/i>\u00a0everyone<\/i>\u00a0who came to him (power went forth from him<\/i>, 6:19).\u00a0No-one, before or since, has been recorded doing the kinds of things Jesus did<\/b>. Indeed, we also have the attestation of Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian writing in the 1<\/span>st<\/sup><\/span>\u00a0century AD:\u00a0Jesus was a doer of extraordinary or startling deeds\u2026<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sublime teaching:\u00a0<\/b>Once again Jesus\u2019 acts of healing were accompanied by\u00a0teaching<\/i>. His miracles revealed his compassion and\u00a0power<\/i>; they were also signs that authenticated his word.<\/span><\/p>\n

THE MOST SUBLIME TEACHER<\/h2>\n

In his teaching that day,\u00a0Jesus<\/b>\u00a0first\u00a0reversed the way we look at life<\/b>. Consider Luke 6:20-26:<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/i><\/span>20<\/sup><\/i><\/span>\u00a0Then he looked up at his disciples and said: \u2018Blessed are you who are poor,\u00a0for yours is the kingdom of God.\u00a0<\/i><\/span>21<\/sup><\/i><\/span>\u00a0\u2018Blessed are you who are hungry\u00a0now,\u00a0for you will be filled.\u00a0\u2018Blessed are you who weep now,
\nfor you will laugh.\u00a0<\/i><\/span>22<\/sup><\/i><\/span>\u00a0\u2018Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you<\/i>*<\/sup><\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on account of the Son of Man.\u00a0<\/i><\/span>23<\/sup><\/i><\/span>Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a024<\/sup>\u00a0\u2018But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.\u00a0<\/i><\/span>25<\/sup><\/i><\/span>\u00a0\u2018Woe to you who are full now,\u00a0for you will be hungry.\u00a0\u2018Woe to you who are laughing now,\u00a0for you will mourn and weep.\u00a0<\/i><\/span>26<\/sup><\/i><\/span>\u00a0\u2018Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

GOD’S BLESSINGS<\/h2>\n

Why did Jesus spoke so harshly of the rich and those who love life?<\/b>\u00a0Are not riches, food, and laughter signs of God\u2019s blessings (see for example Deuteronomy 28:1-12)? In fact, should we not expect these things if God is all-powerful and all good? In Jesus\u2019 answer we begin to discern a framework that answers some of the tough questions of life. We learn a number of things:<\/span><\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Blessed<\/i>\u00a0<\/b>in the Greek world had to do with inner happiness and contentment.\u00a0In the Old Testament Hebrew world it was a reference to God\u2019s favor<\/b>\u00a0(Psalms 1:1; 127:3-5; Job 29:10-11).<\/span><\/p>\n

By contrast,\u00a0woes<\/i>, translated \u2018alas\u2019<\/b>\u00a0in the New English Bible, convey the sense of regret or sadness. While the language Jesus used here is not found in Greek literature, there are many examples of its use in the Greek translation (LXX) of the Old Testament.\u00a0Woes<\/i>\u00a0are the opposite of\u00a0blessings<\/i>.\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

2. To focus only on\u00a0blessing<\/i>\u00a0is\u00a0to forget the conditions for blessing<\/b>\u00a0that we find in the Old Testament:\u00a0obedience to God.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

THE LAW<\/span><\/h2>\n

The wisdom literature and the prophets of the Old Testament warn of the consequences of disobedience to God.\u00a0Jesus\u2019 parallel structure of\u00a0blessings<\/i>\u00a0and\u00a0woes<\/i>\u00a0shows us that he was applying the meaning of God\u2019s commandments in a fresh way.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

By placing the\u00a0blessings of God<\/i>\u00a0in an eternal perspective, he calls for a paradigm shift in the way we view life and life\u2019s priorities,\u00a0<\/b>bringing God\u2019s perspectives into our lives. Our human hearts do not handle well God\u2019s material blessings.<\/span><\/p>\n

Indeed,\u00a0Charles Dickens\u2019 Martin Chuzzlewit\u00a0<\/b>(in the book of the same name), despaired of his family\u2019s ability to cope with his wealth:<\/b>\u00a0\u2018I plainly see to what foul uses all this money will be put at last,\u2019 he cried, almost writhing in the bed; \u2018after filling me with cares and miseries all my life, it will perpetuate discord and bad passions when I am dead. So it always is\u2026 Heaven help us, we have much to answer for!\u00a0Oh self, self, self! Every man for himself, and no creature for me!\u2019<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

How much do we, and the world around us, still need to feel the impact in our lives of the words of this\u00a0most sublime Teacher<\/i>.<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a9 John G. Mason<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

n an article, \u2018Big and Little Loves\u2019 in\u00a0The New York Times\u00a0yesterday (May 31), David Brooks began by noting that\u00a0philosophers since the time of ancient Greece \u2018have distinguished between the beautiful and the sublime.\u00a0Beauty,\u00a0\u2018 he notes, \u2018is what you experience when you look at a flower or a lovely face. It is contained, pleasurable, intimate and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n'SUBLIME'... - The Anglican Connection<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How much do we, and the world around us, still need to feel the impact in our lives of the words of the Bible and actions of the most sublime teacher, Jesus?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/anglicanconnection.com\/sublime\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'SUBLIME'... - 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