epistemological dialectic in real time

it occured to me during mass today
specifically during the reading of the gospel
that there is an interesting contrast
in interest at work in the world
this very moment

it is the national humanist liturgical
high point for american sports lovers
the super bowl

and then i began to think
what about the beatitudes today
in contrast to
the outrageous spectacle
of male exertions of energy
for no particular purpose other than
a moment of potential fame
and the visceral delight
in pushing and shoving and
hurting
other people
in the context of what may be
an impressive strategic phenomenon
of being successful amid the
threat of physcal punishment
successful in moving a ball down a grass field
with the hope of doing it better than
the other guys
and getting paid insidious amounts of money
for doing just that

it is barbaric human behavior
dressed up to be something
like social virtue

the game is being played as i type
so i will entertain these two thoughts in
my mind
why the beatitudes?
why football?

as i do a play by play commentary
on each beatitude

blessed are the poor in spirit
for theirs is the kingdom of god

i rather doubt that one of the 50 million or more people
watching the game
right now is thinking in terms of
the "poorness of spirit"
suggested in this teaching

beatitude is accurately translated as
happiness

now i am sure that the people are happy
watching this game
thrilled
a momentary vacation
overpriced over hyped
over stated
over exagerrated
overrated
but they are happy
they are supposedely united in their happiness
but i am not with them

this game is not making me happy

i do know my need for god
and this while sustaining me in hope
does not always keep me happy

the contrast here seems to be one of effort
people make extraordinary effort
to make the super bowl happen
families treat it as a necessary event
i dare say that for the duration of the game
it is far more important to most americans
than jesus christ

the kingdom seems a bit lonely tonite
yet it is where my heart longs to be

blessed are they who mourn
for they shall be comforted

it's hard to mourn a loss
when in fact you'll be paid
some ridiculous sum of money
not as much as the winner
but still ridiculous
for losing
i doubt the losers will feel bad

the complication here is that
happiness and mourn are stated
almost simultaneously as
compatible ideas in the
kingdom of god

my thought as i listened to the
gospel today was
each beatitude
carries an echo of the previous one

there is a way of mourning which knows
only god can give the heart the comfort it craves
in sorrow

blessed are the meek
for they shall inherit the earth

meekness does not come to mind
when thinking about the attributes
which go into making a
great professional football player

meekness does not come to mind
when thinking about the motivations
for war in the tigris euphrates region

the economic principles of milton friedman
do not bring meekness to mind

football is violence
lived vicariously
and translated into a game
the fans are pathetic
but are they meek

blessed are those who hunger and thirst
for righteousness
for they shall be satisfied

in a mindset
in a heart dedicated to nonviolence
there is a desire
the desire that the needs of the poor
will not go ignored
the desire that human beings will one day
work toward caring for the real needs
of real people

i think this is what john lennon meant
in his song
imagine

blessed are the merciful
for they shall obtain mercy

i think it is safe to say
that for the duration of the game
the two teams are set
on a psychological agenda
of mercilessness
win at all costs
take advantage of mistakes
batter your enemy into humiliation

who thinks about magnanimity?
of being so large hearted as to
forgive humanity
forgive individuals for stupidity
forgive oneself for failures

it is much more characteristic of the
human person to foment revenge
to carry wounds in vengeance
and berate oneself for failure

i would go so far as to say
to be of merciful dispositon
is not inherent to human beings
it must be learned

it will not be understood
until the blood on the cross
is contemplated

blessed are the pure in heart
for they shall see god

i think it safe to say
that the players on the teams
are of singular purpose
they all want the same thing
and are willing to work
together in order
to attain it
and they will be rewarded handsomely
with "in god we trust"
( or is that passe'?)

i am reminded of the book by
henri de lubac
"the mystery of the supernatural"
wherein he traces the various arguments
through the biblical
and intellectual history of
christianity regarding the question
whether man has it in him naturally
to seek god
or is it a learned behaviour

if god is god
and we are given to one day
seeing him
it must be a greater pleasure
than anything we could possibly know here
on earth

the "song of songs" comes to mind

blessed are the peacemakers
for they shall be called sons of god

in fact it appears quite amazing
that millions of people can participate
in observing a violent game
and share in the glory or disappointment
with relative peace
we hear of soccer games overseas
which get out of hand
and the crowds descend into
mass madness

enough vicarious violence
enough food
enough alcohol
enough noise

( i was just informed that the
underdog won the game)
how is that for real time?

and tomorrow is another day

i would feel much better
if all the overpaid athletes would give their
money
to the "micro-loan" project

peace will come
with prayer and intellectual life
which has the seeing of god
the knowledge of god
as the end the goal

blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

what is this?
happiness in persecution
properly endured?

other translations have
"because of me"
that willingness to follow the dictates of christ
carries with it the real possibility
of having to endure what he endured

the football players get beaten up
they know they will
some will have bones broken
for the love of the game

this is the epitome of
unrighteous gain
yet we extol this
as social virtue
we reward it
we make these people into heroes

sacrificial heroes
for our national happiness
for our psychological distraction

it is a liturgy of excess
a spectacle of inanity
a ritual of hyperbolized importance

perhaps the truly persecuted are the
people who get caught up in the thinking
that says
this is important

more accurately the persecuted
are the poor the neglected souls
who get lost in the madness
of this spectacle
the ignored

could they not just once
give all the earnings
to a needy cause

the game is supposed to say something like
the american dream is hard fought and hard won
but the golden calf is awaiting

christ tops off the
litany of fellowship
with a zinger:

blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you
and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account
rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven
for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you

who wants to be a prophet?
here again
the challenge is to make peace
the challenge is to step into the arena of fallen humanity
and speak the mercy of god
or simply just live it
at all costs

a few years ago
when the so called "sex scnadal"
was plagueing the catholic church
i recall having a moment of exhilaration
when i pondered this last beatitude
for it became apparent that to be out there
representing christ as a roman catholic
especially one committed by vow
to follow above and beyond the baptismal call
carried with it a stigma of
sexual perversion

somehow it seemed that in a culture that
is completely fucked up when it comes to
a healthy understanding of human sexuality
to be wearing the clothes of commitment
with that stigma
perceived as it were by society
was an honor

the people who were caught up in it
they are a little pathetic
and they've been made to pay dearly
but maybe
just maybe there is a way to understand
human nature
in a clearer light than what psychology holds
because of all this

the values represented in the beatitudes
take us beyond the basic social instincts
of the "normal" human being

to contemplate these values is to contemplate
the possibility of transcending
the baser instincts which get so much
air time on TV and other media

mankind is more often than not
not too kind

would these beatitudes carry any weight
for human social consciousness
if the ultimate object of desire
GOD
was not part of the picture

somehow i doubt it

blessed are the sleepy
for they shall take naps