Jer 17:5-8
1 Cor 15:12, 16-20
Lk 6:17, 20-26

That place of Unknowing
This week as I have reflected on the gospel reading from February 11th, I have found myself looking for beatitude people. It seems a simple task when looking at it from the surface. I encounter a lot of people who live simply, who suffer, who are hungry and voiced a sense of being persecuted. There are days when I think I might be even able to slip my name under some of the categories.

However, what I realized this week that I want to be changed by the encounter with these holy ones of God. You know a deeply visceral experience of God, like one feels when rained upon…saturated with moisture. Yet much to my surprise when I got close to experiencing saturation, I stopped. What I found lacking in myself was the inner freedom to accept the unknown change that might happen, if indeed I did open myself to the power of the “Blessed” to call forth transformation within me.

In the reading from Jeremiah, I am encouraged as he describes what will happen to the one who trusts in this kind of transformation in the following way:

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
it fears not the heat when it comes;
its leaves stay green;
in the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.

I think that the beatitude people have found the way to plant themselves bebeing persecuted. There are days when I think I might be even able to slip my name under some of the categories.

However, what I realized this week that I want to be changed by the encounter with these holy ones of God. You know a deeply visceral experience of God, like one feels when rained upon…saturated with moisture. Yet much to my surprise when I got close to experiencing saturation, I stopped. What I found lacking in myself was the inner freedom to accept the unknown change that might happen, if indeed I did open myself to the power of the “Blessed” to call forth transformation within me.

In the reading from Jeremiah, I am encouraged as he describes what will happen to the one who trusts in this kind of transformation in the following way:

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD,
whose hope is the LORD.
He is like a tree planted beside the waters
that stretches out its roots to the stream:
it fears not the heat when it comes;
its leaves stay green;
in the year of drought it shows no distress,
but still bears fruit.

I think that the beatitude people have found the way to plant themselves beside the waters. The invitation to us is to trust, to trust that the longings of our souls are strong enough. Strong enough to risk that time of not knowing exactly what kind of blessing is waiting to nourish our tree’s roots.