God’s Remnant in Our Midst

The readings for Sunday, February 3, 2002, the Fourth Sunday of the Year, are Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13, I Corinthians 1:26-31, Matthew 5:1-12a.

	Fr. Roger Vermalen Karban

Thirty years ago, Father Robert North, my biblical archaeology professor, mentioned that he believed Jesus never envisioned that his followers would comprise more than a very small part of the general population.

Considering the prophetic ministry of the historical Jesus, Father North’s opinion certainly makes sense. Almost every biblical prophet eventually discovers that only a few followers of Yahweh are actually willing to be and do what Yahweh commands. The vast majority of those who wrote “Israelite” on the religion line of information forms simply carried out some of the cultic rituals which their religion demanded, but never committed themselves to the lifestyle of real followers of God.

That’s why Zephaniah refers to those who faithfully observe Yahweh’s law and seek justice and humility as “the remnant” in our midst. They alone “. . . do no wrong and speak no lies.” Though the majority of the prophet’s audience might at times think about doing such things, they usually end up condemning those who do.

When proclaimers of the good news, like Paul, try to develop a profile of this remnant, they reach the conclusion that it rarely includes the socially acceptable. “Consider your calling,” he reminds the members of his Corinthian community. “Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.”

Paul surfaces the contradiction which gives life to the remnant. “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise . . . the weak of the world to shame the strong . . . the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.”

Only those who are willing to throw human logic into the background of their value system are ever able to accept God’s logic.

It’s no accident that Matthew has Jesus begin his famous Sermon on the Mount — that great discourse on Christian values — with the beatitudes. Each time someone finds happiness in following Jesus, it’s in the midst of the pain which comes from following Jesus.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,” Jesus proclaims, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn . . . the meek . . . those who hunger and thirst for righteousness . . . those insulted because of me . . .” In each case, there’s a cause to be glad about a situation which the vast majority of people judge to be ridiculous.

Perhaps one of the most significant dimensions of the beatitudes revolves around the fact that Matthew isn’t actually present, taking notes, when Jesus delivers this well-known list on that mythical mount. The evangelist shares them with us more than 40 years after the event into which he inserts them took place. In other words, Matthew’s not so much telling his audience what to expect as he’s helping them reflect on what’s already happening. If his community, like Paul’s, hadn’t already experienced the contradiction, he wouldn’t be mentioning the contradiction.

If we’re really listening to today’s readings, we should be surfacing that small minority in our present Christian communities who are willing to leave their culture and social status behind and actually give themselves totally to God. They’re the individuals who seek peace in the midst of war, love in the midst of violence, forgiveness in the midst of revenge. They’re the individuals who never talk about a “just war.” Instead of referring to them as “kooks,” perhaps we would be calling them God’s remnant in our midst.