Happy Church by Tim McConnell

Author:Tim McConnell [McConnell, Tim]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780830893690
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Published: 2016-01-25T00:00:00+00:00

Happy Reversal

As Luke recounts the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus outlined the paradox of the kingdom of God in this way:

Jesus looked at his disciples and said,

“Happy are you poor;

the Kingdom of God is yours!

“Happy are you who are hungry now;

you will be filled!

“Happy are you who weep now;

you will laugh!

“Happy are you when people hate you, reject you, insult you, and say that you are evil, all because of the Son of Man! Be glad when that happens and dance for joy, because a great reward is kept for you in heaven. For their ancestors did the very same things to the prophets.” (Luke 6:20-23 GNT)

It’s as if Jesus says, “Happy Church! Happy are you! Happy are you poor, for the riches of the kingdom of God are yours to be claimed! Happy are you hungry, for the deep satisfaction of being fed by God himself for all eternity is yours to be claimed! Happy are you who cry, you who are sad! Now you cry. Now you shed tears. Now the pain of this world is too much at times, and you lose yourself in the sadness and the darkness and the tears flow. Now there are moments of deep shadow; days of unshakable doubt and strain and stress. Now you are part of a world that takes away. But be happy, you church! God has grabbed hold of you and lifted you and placed you in his care. God has made you a people of his own keeping. God has set you in the gunnels of his own ship, and the waves of life in this world will never tip it.”

Jesus’ preaching in the Sermon on the Plain and the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) are often described as great reversals. He seems to turn the whole world on its head.

Humor emerges when the unexpected arrives. When the next thing we expect is replaced by its opposite. Why do we laugh? Because Christ has set up for us a great reversal. The kingdom of God is breaking through in our lives, in our own hearts, and as it breaks through it makes the all the false kingdoms of life look silly—silly enough to laugh at.

The kingdom of God is breaking through in our lives, in our own hearts, and as it breaks through it makes the all the false kingdoms of life look silly—silly enough to laugh at.

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