A Beatitude Attitude

Gen 11:1-13:4, Matt 5:1-26, Psalm 5:1-12, Prov 1:24-27

In our western, American understanding, how do we view what it means to be blessed?  Today’s reading from Matthew turns our world upside down as far as what our world is telling us to follow.  But then again, we are reminded that following Jesus is not easy.

What we want it to say is, blessed are the hard workers who pull themselves up by their bootstraps to achieve the American dream of being a major shareholder of a Fortune 500 company.  Or something like that.  We want approval for our desire for accumulation of goods and services.  But how does Jesus understand blessed?

Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourners, the meek, the hungry and thirsty for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted.  I find myself wondering why no one is arguing about placing this on the statue at the courthouse?  Think about that?  What if we truly had a beatitude attitude?  It would make a difference in how we share a concern for the common good of all God’s people.

Consider this through the call and blessing of Abram and Sarai in our Genesis reading today?

I think about our young people that are unchurched or dechurched.  If we listen to why they say they want nothing to do with it, the common perception is that the church is hypocritical in judging all of these things.  Jesus specifically confronted this by standing on the margins and finding blessings there.  May we meditate and pray on what Jesus is teaching us as disciples and our care for the common good of all of our neighbors.

Let’s Keep on Walking Together.

Pastor Rob