Thank You – Bless You! Matthew 5:1-12 The Beatitudes 1When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. This “sermon” by Jesus is called The Beatitudes (meaning Supreme Blessedness/Happiness). A lot has been written about them. Often they are upheld as Christian ideals for our lives. By contrast, in certain circles they are attacked/used as an example of why the future cannot belong to Christians: Obviously anyone/any nation following such teachings would crumble. Today, I won’t comment about such positions. Rather, perhaps, the words are simply what the words are. How they uplift you, is what is important to you. To me, today, I see an acknowledgment that life is actually tough. Jesus isn’t a “Pollyanna”; He is NOT saying follow me and everything is wonderful. RATHER, each of these blessings addresses a component of life that is a challenge for us. When we face life’s challenges it is often hard to do the right thing (at times, even figuring out what is the right thing can be hard). Perhaps Jesus is blessing us who face and work the challenges of life in accordance with God’s will! YES, you are also going to face challenges when you follow me, stand up for me, and practice my teachings; because fully following Christ is not to be trivialized. So when you do that, Thank You. Bless you! Just a thought. All views on today’s reading are welcome.
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 14:40:01 +0000
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