When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. He opened His mouth and began to teach them, saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. “Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:1-12)

I think of The Beatitudes as a kind of Magna Carta of the human soul – not a description of the souls’s rights so much as a description the soul’s rightful condition – the state of blessedness God aspires for it. Yet, when asked to offer our testimonies, do we often hear people explain just what the blessing has turned out to be and how they went about qualifying themselves to receive it?

That’s ok. It may be that God in His kindness and wisdom prevents us from doing this math as it pertains directly to ourselves. Yet, Jesus did say these things to His followers. No doubt He knew that throughout their lives they would be rehearsing these other-wordly pronouncements, making observations and asking their questions, if to no-one other than themselves.

What does it mean to be poor in spirit? What does the kingdom of heaven look like when it belongs to us?  What type of mourning was Jesus referring to? What will our comfort look and feel like? How gentle must one be and to whom? And what does this earth (the whole thing?) look like when one inherits it? Should one expect it in this life? We have only considered three beatitudes. There are five more and a flood of question that would accompany them.

I truly believe the Holy Spirit within us uses the experiences of our life to expound on Jesus’ words. Don’t we know a bit more today about being poor in spirit than we once did? I think we do.  Don’t we mourn more today than we did in the prime of our youthful strength and idealism? Hasn’t time and the delayed fulfillment of God’s grand promises produced a kind of hunger and thirst within us. I think for many of us it has.

Hasn’t God been at work in us (beyond slaying us in His Spirit that is), producing a more gentle and mercifull view of our neighbor? Aren’t we a bit purer in heart, having suffered in our relationships, our vocations and our aging bodies? I suspect we have.

And as aliens and strangers in this earth who have identified openly with Jesus, haven’t we experienced ridicule and rejection from this world? I pray so. If these things are ours, we are experiencing the life of Jesus Christ. Even if only in very small ways, we are being transformed, in some measure, into the image of Jesus Christ – the image of God.

We know we have received mercy and our soul’s have known a measure of satisfaction that this world never provided us. When we aimed at inheriting the earth we missed it. When we embrace the kingdom we gain eternity, which contains this world. Ours is the kingdom of God. Even if our vision is incomplete, we are seeing God, in Christ as we behold these transformations in each other. As His sons and daughters, we are being well-equipped to be peacemakers, fulfilling our responsibility as ministers of reconciliation.

May God give us words of Life and lives of the Word to demonstrate with authority our rightful place as blessed souls, called to appear as representative samples of Jesus’ very own life. May we rejoice and be glad, for our reward in heaven is great.

 

 

 

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