• Parker Palmer

For several months, I have been reflecting on the first beatitude, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” (Mt. 5:1) However, I have been using Sarah Ruden’s translation of the Gospels, in which she translates Scripture from the original Greek. Ruden states the most likely translation of this beatitude would be “Happy are those who delight (are happy) in life-breath, for theirs is the Kingdom of the Skies.” We are invited in this translation to delight in life and each breath that we breathe. God has created us for delight. It is the little things we encounter each day that invite us to delight, which echoes Ignatius’ belief that we can find God in all things.

Psalm 34:5 says, “Look on God and be radiant.” What if we believed every part of creation held something of the radiance of God? If we delight in God’s presence all around us, would our faces glow like Moses coming off the mountain? How would our radiance impact the individuals we encounter? Practicing delight as an act of resistance is an invitation to become radiant with God’s love.

The day Pope Francis died, my heart was heavy and the world felt ten shades darker. It was a massive contrast to the delight I felt on Easter Sunday. It was as if I was thrust back to the Passion after a brief taste of resurrection joy. I spent most of the day reflecting on the Pope’s life, works, and words. The one that stood out to me was his desire to catch the scent of the good Shepherd. As a leader, he was not drawn to riches or power, but to the lives of those most in need of God’s love and generosity. A shepherd who spends his day with sheep does not emit a fragrance most would be drawn to, but it is the scent that indicates the shepherd’s proximity to his sheep. Pope Francis wanted to maintain close proximity to God’s beloved. The story I think represents this well is the time Pope Francis kissed the feet of children in a Juvenile detention center. 

The Holy Trinity is delighted by the scent of humanity and creation, including the stinky feet of a bunch of teenagers! When we delight in the God of all things, we bear the very essence which God refers to as beloved. We are all beloved of God, yet each of us is so unique. Our individuality as humans, and the diversity we find in other creatures and the natural world, offer infinite opportunities to delight in God. When we delight in the image bearer before us, it becomes challenging to hate or cause harm to that person, creature, or environment. Maybe this is an element of what Parker Palmer meant when he said delight is an act of resistance.