Epiphany VI 02/16/25
The Still Point
A Time of Meditation and Reflection
The Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany
... At the still point of the turning world. Neither flesh nor fleshless;
Neither from nor towards; at the still point, there the dance is,
But neither arrest nor movement. And do not call it fixity,
Where past and future are gathered. Neither movement from nor towards,
Neither ascent nor decline. Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance... T.S. Eliot, Burnt Norton
Peace on each one who comes in need;
Peace on each one who comes in joy.
Peace on each one who offers prayers;
Peace on each one who offers song.
Peace of the Maker, Peace of the Son,
Peace of the Spirit, the Triune One.
Opening Prayer
Eternal God, who by a star led wise ones to the worship of your Son: Guide by your radiant light the nations of the earth, that the whole world may know your glory. In the name of the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, and by the Holy Spirit, we pray. Amen.
Scripture Reading Luke 6:17-26
Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."
Poem: “Spells” by Eva Salzman
A curse on the lover with shyness as plausible cover for his black lies.
A curse on his leather furniture sticking to the skin.
A curse on his row after row of tasteful jazz
and the glass table's cutting edges.
A blessing on my cobalt blue vase
and a spray of lemon fuchsia, and forgetting.
A curse on 4 a.m., the light like soot or burnt milk in a pan.
A blessing on the dawn and dusk, when the sun and moon are large and shimmering.
A curse on the memories like storm clouds in my heart.
A blessing on the storm clouds outside my window.
A curse on the useless letters I never throw away.
A blessing on my right arm for its sharp delivery.
A curse on my sharp tongue for its sharp delivery.
A blessing on the Lyric muse when she is kind to me.
A curse on the Lyric muse, for she is on holiday in the Bahamas.
A blessing on the warm salt seas for their constancy and power.
A curse on the razor-clams slicing bare feet.
A blessing on foreign countries: their birds and trees, their people, their clothing, their houses and songs.
A curse on their wars, our wars.
A blessing on their dawn, their dusk, their seas, even their deceitful men.
A blessing.
Meditation
Lesser-known, harsher, but more radically immediate, Luke's beatitudes come from what is often known as the Sermon on the Plain, and they describe what Boenhoffer called the costs of discipleship. They elevate and bless those that society looks down upon, while unsettling us from the comfortable positions from which we see the world. And like today’s poem, they acknowledge that within us is both holy vulnerability and destructive egotism.
In a radical flipping of the script, the 'woe' that Jesus uses as a counterpart for each blessing tackles something that is normally a sign of power. A ‘healthy,’ successful entity, whether it is an institution or a country or a person is quite often defined by its wealth, its fullness, and its degree of luxury. After all, those who ‘have enough’ also have the time, energy, and privilege to be merry, to laugh at trivialities, at situations, at oneself, or, worse, at the misery of others. The successful, as Jesus says, enjoy the benefit of having been spoken well of - they’ve received good feedback, praise, approval, the vote, the stamp of mainstream-ness. With each woe, Jesus acknowledges that this situation of power is temporary, and for him that is a good thing, for losing power, stepping into a vulnerable space, puts one in that holy human space that is Jesus himself: a king as infant, a leader mocked, a dying God.
Today’s poem shows how a normal, everyday person finds God in a mundane, everyday life.
Her version of blessing isn’t quite the same - it doesn’t elevate the ‘bad side’ of a hierarchy until the last line, but rather acknowledges sources of beauty, joy, and goodness. It also humanizes, I think, what it might mean for us to try to find God here in now: in the natural, human-crafted, and material beauty around us, in our own strivings to seek justice, and in our pursuit for love.
Further exploration:
For another modern take on the Beatitudes, check out Simon and Garfunkel's "Blessed".
Questions for Reflection
What would you add to your own personal list of Beatitudes? What makes you say 'Whoa!' or 'Wow!'?
What about your personal 'Woe!' items? If there is any discomfort in Jesus’s list of ‘woes,’ what does that discomfort invite you to do?
What vulnerabilities do you feel invited to call ‘blessed’ today? How do you feel lifted by Jesus’s beatitudes?
Prayers
We bring before God someone whom we have met or remembered today
We bring to God someone who is hurting tonight and needs our prayer
We bring to God a troubled situation in our world
We bring to God, silently, someone whom we find hard to forgive or trust
We bring ourselves to God that we might grow in generosity of spirit, clarity of mind, and warmth of affection
We offer our thanks to God for the blessings in our lives
We name before God those who have died.
Now to God who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or conceive, by the power which is at work among us, be glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus throughout all ages. Amen.
Accept our thanks for all you have done, O God. Our hands were empty, and you filled them.
May Christ’s holy, healing, enabling Spirit be with us every step of the way, and be our guide as our road changes and turns, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer and Giver of life be among us now and remain with us forever. Amen.
Reflections this month offered by: Matt Bentley
