Beatitude

10Jun
Blessed are the poor in spirit [in one translation, ‘those who know they are poor’] for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek [those who live a healthy kind of humility] for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
-Matthew 5:3-6

When Jesus offers the nine examples of those especially blessed in what we have come to call the Beatitudes, he is giving his disciples—and us—a particular way to live our lives. The Beatitudes may not bring happiness in the contemporary understanding of that word, but they will bring fulfilment, knowing that God is with us. Think of the great witness we could make, as Christians, in our polarized angry society if we as individuals and churches set out to live the Beatitudes. These three have special meaning for me these days:


Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who know they are poor—whether or not rich in possessions. Think of the parables, especially when Jesus praises the poor-in-spirit tax collector and not the self-righteous, prideful Pharisee. Or the rich man who could not give to the poor so as to follow Jesus. But note that Jesus still loved him!


Blessed are the meek, those who have a healthy kind of humility. These meek stand tall. They are not doormats to be walked on. Think of Jairus, the lofty ruler of the synagogue. When his little girl (in Aramaic, the language of Jesus, his “lamb child”) is dying, the powerful Jairus throws himself at the feet of Jesus begging for his lamb child’s healing. In throwing himself down, ironically, Jairus stands tall.


Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteous. When Jesus begins his ministry, he could have chosen any passage from the Hebrew Scripture to introduce himself. It is so significant that he chose a passage from Isaiah. Here are the words of Jesus drawing on Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release of the captive and the recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free (Luke 2:18).” How might we follow in the way?


“Rejoice and be glad,” Jesus said for your reward is great in this life and the next."


Musical Reflection - The Beatitudes - Paul Winter Consort

Help us, Lord God, to bring the love and the love of justice that Jesus taught and lived to our church, our city, our state, and our nation, and especially to our relationships. Amen. 

HumilityMeekness

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