“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets […]
Tag: Humanity
On Our Peacemaking
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) If we want to be like Jesus, we must be peacemakers. Full stop. There is no way around this. In the beatitudes, Jesus says that the peacemakers are the blessed children of God. In this statement, Jesus is proclaiming a unique […]
On Our Virtuousness
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8) As the beatitudes progress, so does the difficulty to achieve these blessed characteristics that Jesus asks of fully devoted followers. The latter blessings require us to do more; to not simply be satisfied with ourselves as we are. They require intense character […]
On Our Mercifulness
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7) At face value, this beatitude seems so simple and obvious: to those who are merciful, mercy shall be given. It is a “reap what you sow” statement, a karma-style mantra, and a “what goes around comes around” mindset. Yet, for being such an easy […]
On Our Meekness
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” (Matthew 5:5) As the listing of the beatitudes progresses, we see a shift from a focus on typically unchosen realities (poverty, mourning), to core values that are more self-imposed and that shape our overall character—meekness, righteousness, mercifulness, virtuousness, and peace making. Meekness, the third mentioned […]
On Our Mourning
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) Along with the poor, Jesus is always at the side of those who mourn. Our Lord and Savior knew great loss and sorrow and is always ready to comfort all those going through periods (sometimes lifetimes) of mourning. The role of comforter and […]
On Our Wealth
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:3) This Lenten season, I am reflecting on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. This is a sub-series of writings as part of a yearlong effort to ponder the gospel of Matthew and look at this text as it relates to the […]
On Our Core Values
Jesus’ declaratory Sermon on the Mount begins with what we often call the “Beatitudes”, a short litany where Jesus calls out the happily blessed in the Kingdom of God. (Matthew 5:2-11) This opening dissertation of the New Testament (as arranged by the early followers of Jesus) brings us immediately to the heart of our Lord […]
On Joining a Movement
When Jesus discovered his first friends and followers along the shore, I doubt the five of them (Jesus, Peter, Andrew, John, and James) knew what they were beginning. What joys and sorrows were ahead of them. What miracles and horrors. What great number of disciples and deserters. What life and death waited for them. We […]
On Outside Wisdom
The birth of Jesus as told in the gospel attributed to Matthew focuses on a family fleeing a horribly oppressive political regime that is threatening to kill their newborn. Matthew’s murderous telling of events makes the birth narrative in Luke look merely pastoral—which is saying a lot since Luke’s version of events is also quite […]
Relevant Reformation 