Blessed are Those Who. . .

I frequently wake up with songs in my head. And the one this morning was, "Good morning, America, how are ya?" So, good morning to your little corner of America. How are you today? So far so good?


Today's question:
Wed, Jan. 7: What 5 animals does Abram use in the covenant with God? (Gen 15)

And the answer to yesterday's question:
Tues, Jan. 6: Fill in the blanks: “You are the _____ of the earth. . . . You are the _____ of the world.” (Matt 5)
Matthew 5:13-15 13 "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

And today's reflection:
Blessed
I'm planning on using this text (Matt 5) for my sermon this Sunday. So I've been doing some thinking about yesterday and today. I seem to remember first learning the "Beatitudes" as saying, "Happy are those who. . ." and I could never make sense of that. Even once I learned it as "Blessed are those who. . ." it still didn't make sense. Really? Happy are those who mourn? Who are persecuted? When I look around at those who are grieving or are persecuted, they look anything but happy or blessed. One author explains it like this:

To be blessed, in this case, is to be made privileged or fortunate by the action of Almighty God. It carries with it a sense of salvation and peace and well-being. You might say that the opposite of blessed is not “unhappy.” Rather, the opposite of blessed is “cursed.” To be blessed is to be given the gift of divine favor, a gift that we all have a deep human hunger to receive.

Stated this way, it’s clear that the blessing of the Beatitudes is not about us, and it’s not about how we feel. Instead, it’s all about what God has done for us.

We might discover, for example, that we are “poor in spirit” (v. 3) — a term that describes people who find their true identity and security in the One Lord God. There is nothing weak or pathetic or shameful about being poor in spirit, but instead it means that we are not deluded enough to think that we are masters of the universe and in complete control of our lives. This spiritual poverty is really an excellent quality to have in this post-9/11 world of terrorist threats, international tension and economic uncertainty — it means that we are dependent on God, first and foremost, and that the Lord will reward us with the gift of his kingdom.

We might also find that we are among “those who mourn” (v. 4) — people who feel grief as we look around and see pain and crying, suffering and dying. We mourn because there is evil in us and around us, erupting in bedrooms and boardrooms, back alleys and battlefields. There are temptations all around us, and weaknesses deep within us, that make it an everyday struggle to follow the Lord in faith. But the promise of today’s passage is that this grim and often grotesque reality is not the final chapter of human history — there is going to be an unexpected twist in the tale with a turn toward love and peace and justice. God is writing a surprise ending to this story, and he invites each of us to play a part by doing what we can to live by the values of Christ’s kingdom. (www.homileticsonline.com)

So, go forth this day with a little more hope than you had yesterday becuase this is not the final chapter of human history. The Light of Christ is dawning and each day we get closer to His kingdom for indeed THAT is the final chapter of human history.

Blessed are those who read this blog, for they will learn the Word of God! (Hopefully!)
Allison