Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
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 be shown 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 because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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 be shown 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 because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I invite you to reflect on these words:
"Jesus is the one who will now mark the path to God as the path of this specific lowliness, mourning, meekness, mercy, and peacemaking. This God will be found in no other way, and this way will also be stained by the world's revulsion, rejection, persecution, slander, and purposes of death. The divine dynamic of the world where power flows from the powerful, the socially acceptable, and the beautiful through the circuits of influence they created. God desires to render their power useless, exposing it as that which comes from dust and must eventually return to dust. The theological matter at play in this dynamic is the identity of God, which might mistakenly be equated with worldly power. Unlike worldly power, the power of God will make its home in weak places."
-Luke A. Powery and Willie Jennings (Abingdon Theological Companion
to the Lectionary - Preaching Year A, page 59)
May we too find God's power in the broken and weak places of our lives and may we be vessels of that power towards others. Amen.
3 comments:
When the beatitude says weak in spirit what is the definition of spirit there?
Mabarber,
Great question! If you read the beatitudes in the Gospel of Luke you read about the poor...literally poor. In the gospel of Matthew's text we have for this lectionary period, Matthew adds the words in spirit. I don't feel that this is meant to take our attention away from the literally poor, nor do I believe that this is an over spiritualization of what Jesus was attempting to teach. Remember that from the beginning of the composition of the Psalms, the "poor" was used to mark a group of people who reflected the true characteristics of the people of God. Simply put, they knew that their life was not their own; they were dependent upon God. I believe that that message is clear in both the New and the Old Testaments, so I would akin the word 'spirit' in this part of Matthew's text to the word 'will'. So when read in this way, what ends up being at stake for Matthew is not economics nor spirituality, but rather the identity of the people of God. It is a reminder and an invitation to bend our will, our desires, and our spirit towards God. Hope that helps!
Took me awhile to get back but yea that does make better sense and helps bunches. :)
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