Summit, Spirit, Sky: connect to community and creation!
Now the Beatitudes take a turn. Who are the merciful? They would seem to have some power. Some agency. Some choice. What is mercy anyway? John Stott says, ‘Mercy is compassion for people in need.’ Another scholar substituted the word kind in lieu of merciful. The Message’s contemporary wording of the Gospel reframes this Beatitude […]
God promises comfort for those who are heartbroken. The simplest understanding of consolation is that people will regain the capacity to experience healing and joy. Interpreters also assert that comfort will come within the anticipation of being forgiven and restored to a more healthy and whole self, and reconciled to Godself. Sometimes our comfort […]
Tue, Mar 2: MOURN At first pass, in English, this sounds like a blessing for the bereaved. As if it was meant only those who are grieving. Yet it encompasses more. All by itself, grief is a defining human experience. People mourn for those who have died. According to Maxie Dunnam and Kimberly Dunnam Reisman,“Sorrow […]
The people referenced in these blessings are considered in a communal way. In particular, they are the followers of Christ within the Greek-speaking community for whom the author of the Gospel of Matthew wrote. They are also, in another sense, all humans. Common folk. People like you and me. We might not want to recognize […]
Beatitude texts for week two: 02. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 03. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Sun, Feb 28: BLESSED The scholars Malina & Rohrbaugh suggest that the blessedness of Beatitudes also refers to honor. It means to ‘bring honor’ or to be ‘filled […]
