Blessedness

Lectionary Reflections for the Fourth Sunday after Epiphany (A)

By Ginny Doctor

Readings for Epiphany 4, Year A, Jan. 30, 2005

Micah 6:1-8

Psalm 15

1 Corinthians 1:18-31

Matthew 5:1-12

When I was a child, I always listened intently to the Beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mount. They seemed to offer so much hope for a child living on an “Indian reservation” in the late 1950s. The reservation was not a bad place to live, but we knew that other parts of the world had things of which we could only dream. I never felt poor when I lived on the reservation. In hindsight, I would have to say that I was blessed to have lived there. True, housing was sub-standard, but the richness of the culture and the freedom of the land compensated for not having indoor plumbing and other amenities.

These twelve verses of the fifth chapter of Matthew, called by some the “ordination address” to the Twelve Apostles, are packed with values that are esteemed in many cultures. I was always taught to be kind to others and to never think that I was better than anyone else. Jesus isn't just telling us who is blessed, he is telling us what we need to be in order to be blessed. As a person from another culture, one that was colonized, the Beatitudes give me a great sense of relief.

My people had slipped into a meekness that almost destroyed a culture. Fortunately, leaders snapped out of that meekness in the late 1960s and began to look at ways to strengthen and hold on to the culture. Now, many nations are looking to that culture to protect Mother Earth.

When I read those words like “poor” and “meek,” I can really relate to them – at least I could back then in the late 1950s. My people had slipped into a meekness that almost destroyed a culture. Fortunately, leaders snapped out of that meekness in the late 1960s and began to look at ways to strengthen and hold on to the culture. Now, many nations are looking to that culture to protect Mother Earth. Our leaders travel all over the world trying to instill in others the love for the earth and that it is our responsibility to take care of our Mother.

Then there are words like “righteousness” and “persecuted” that also find their way into my past and even into my present being. These are “justice” words. We need to be righteous, but not for the purpose of persecution. To some, the whole concept of placing Indians on reservations is persecution. It was, in a sense, but now we see it as a connection to the land. These reservations, now called “Territories,” can't be taken from us. Many have tried but that land has attained sacredness because that is what the Creator intended. In other words, we made the best of what was thought to be an atrocious situation.

Where I was raised is not very different from where I live now. I spend lots of time on the banks of the mighty Yukon River in Alaska. Every Sunday the people gather in small log churches and give thanks for the blessings that God has given. This is what the Sermon on the Mount is all about. It is about being thankful for what has been given in order to live in harmony with what God created. Everywhere I look – both past and present – there are blessed people. Jesus tells us that blessings come even to those who don't think they can ever be blessed. If we continue to be thankful, there will be blessings. If we continue to respect and honor what God gives us, there will be blessings.

Every time I return to my Homelands, I drive slowly through them to recapture the memories. Even though some things have changed, it is still a place of blessedness. A place where the “meek have indeed inherited the earth.” And, “it will continue to be so.”

The Rev. Ginny Doctor is a missionary serving in the Diocese of Alaska. She is Mohawk, Turtle Clan, and was raised on the Onondaga Nation Territory in Upstate New York. Ginny may be reached by email at GinDoctor@aol.com .