Renungan Senin 6 Februari 2023, Luke 6:21

Luke 6:21

Bvr. Tiarma, M.Th.

Happiness is what everyone is looking for. People are competing to achieve happiness by trying to have a lot of wealth, popularity, position, achievements, etc. Therefore people will be surprised when they hear this passage which says: Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Be happy, you who weep now, for you will laugh. How can people be happy when they are hungry and crying?

What humans think is very inversely proportional to what Jesus is thinking. The happiness that humans think about is artificial happiness that comes and goes so quickly.  Humans can be happy quickly when they get what they want, but they can cry when everything they have is gone or even what they have led to destruction. Indeed, the happiness that humans strive for is imperfect and limited. Meanwhile, the happiness that Jesus meant was eternal happiness.

Happiness that is not obtained from this world, is not human effort but from Him who owns it all. Eternal happiness can be obtained only by following Him. Therefore let you be hungry now because of Him because you will be satisfied, let you cry now because you are reviled for the name of Jesus because you will laugh.

Truly, Jesus was not anti-riches but riches tend to make people stay away from God and exalt themselves. Wealth is often god for many people because it is considered the source of their happiness.  Therefore this text wants to encourage Jesus’ disciples and the crowds who came at that time to follow Jesus and listen to Him so that they reminded faithful to follow and do ministry. Even though they were sometimes hungry because they had to walk far to preach the Word, don’t be afraid that God will take care of them and will satisfy them. Even though sometimes they cried because they were insulted, were not accepted, don’t be afraid because they will laugh.

Let’s learn from the first-century apostles, many of them left their wealth, and chose a life of poverty and begging, for the sake of the ministry of God’s Word. They didn’t want to be controlled by wealth but they were called to follow Christ and leave their wealth. One of my writings rose the life of Saint Clara from Catholicism. A disciple of the Saint Franciscan from Assisi who chose to live a monastic life, leaving all her belongings that could give him comfort. Many times her parents tried to bring her back to their house with the excuse that they did not want to see their child live in poverty and suffering. Even with physical violence, she persisted with the principle of living in poverty, hunger, and crying for Christ because she was sure of God’s promise that heavenly happiness surpasses earthly happiness.

Jesus contrasted: poor-rich, hungry-filled, weeping — laughing, and being hated-praised. Truly out of the ordinary, Jesus said that what the world considers as suffering, could give happiness, on the other hand, what the world considers as happiness, is what causes harm.

The certainty of happiness will be experienced if we leave all wealth, stomach satisfaction, worldly pleasures, and human praise. Being His disciple means being ready to live imitating Jesus Christ. Maybe we have to lose or sacrifice some things related to the happiness of this world that make us not live happily outwardly.

This may well be understood by students who had entered Zending services. As a missionary, you sacrifice the happiness you had. Before you were there,  You were free to buy food with the money you had, you stayed in a decent place and all the facilities were complete, but after you were there everything is inversely proportional not as you imagined, sober mats, sober blankets, sober water and limited food, even a very modest residence. And sometimes not everyone liked you in your ministry. This illustrates that serving God is not as beautiful as our worldly imagination, but by willingly sacrificing all that for Christ, you will receive eternal happiness.

And you must know that, because by being here in this place, you are preparing yourself for that, that if you believe in Christ, you must be able to release all the happiness of this world so that it is worthy of Christ and your reward has been promised, which is eternal happiness.