BLESSED REVERSAL (9 OF 52)
Scripture: Matthew 5:1-12
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Blessed Reversal (9 of 52)
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Matthew 5:1-12
How many celebrities do you know who would be categorized as poor, meek, peacemakers, hungry for justice, pure in heart, and persecuted for being righteous? Those do not seem to be the values of our society. They are not really the values of much of what passes itself off as Christianity. Why do we have such a disconnect between what Jesus taught and the way we follow Jesus?
When I was a child, my mother had me memorize the Beatitudes. She did not give me a reason. She just set it out as a task for me to accomplish. I am not sure that I gave a lot of attention to it. I don't recall following through with it. I do remember to this day that this was one of three Biblical passages that she felt important enough for me to memorize. Perhaps what was so significant for me is that this is one of those passages that I know but rarely hear believers refer to other than in passing.
Matthew sets these words out as a summary of what Jesus would spend his ministry fleshing out with his disciples and the multitudes that followed him. These were the words Jesus seems to have deemed of special importance, yet we do not allow them to take up residence in our lives with the same degree of meaning Jesus and Matthew gave them. We read them, then hurry on to other passages that feel more pressing and relevant.
We don't seem to know what to do with these words. The phrases seem disjointed, even if they are connected by the opening words of each phrase. They elevate those our society deems irrelevant. They upend our system of values in a way we just cannot accept. They recast what seems so obviously true in the world around us that we just don't know what to do with them.
How can the poor be truly happy, when we invest our energy to avoid poverty at all costs? How can those who mourn be happy, when we so desperately want to help them break out of their sorrow and thus ease our d ...
Series: Lectionary, Year A
Christopher B. Harbin
Matthew 5:1-12
How many celebrities do you know who would be categorized as poor, meek, peacemakers, hungry for justice, pure in heart, and persecuted for being righteous? Those do not seem to be the values of our society. They are not really the values of much of what passes itself off as Christianity. Why do we have such a disconnect between what Jesus taught and the way we follow Jesus?
When I was a child, my mother had me memorize the Beatitudes. She did not give me a reason. She just set it out as a task for me to accomplish. I am not sure that I gave a lot of attention to it. I don't recall following through with it. I do remember to this day that this was one of three Biblical passages that she felt important enough for me to memorize. Perhaps what was so significant for me is that this is one of those passages that I know but rarely hear believers refer to other than in passing.
Matthew sets these words out as a summary of what Jesus would spend his ministry fleshing out with his disciples and the multitudes that followed him. These were the words Jesus seems to have deemed of special importance, yet we do not allow them to take up residence in our lives with the same degree of meaning Jesus and Matthew gave them. We read them, then hurry on to other passages that feel more pressing and relevant.
We don't seem to know what to do with these words. The phrases seem disjointed, even if they are connected by the opening words of each phrase. They elevate those our society deems irrelevant. They upend our system of values in a way we just cannot accept. They recast what seems so obviously true in the world around us that we just don't know what to do with them.
How can the poor be truly happy, when we invest our energy to avoid poverty at all costs? How can those who mourn be happy, when we so desperately want to help them break out of their sorrow and thus ease our d ...
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