The beatitudes found in Matthew 5:1-12 are well known to many of us. They can be taken a few different ways. They might be read in a way the encourages comfort and maintains the status quo. “Everything is good. I know my place. I am blessed by God because I see myself in these words. Others are blessed because God says so. We are all blessed, and everything is unfolding in this life as it should.”
At different moments in our lives we might identify with these blessings:
Blessed are the poor in spirit
o Do we have anything left in us?
o Can we still see God?
o How is our mental and emotional health?
o Covid might be stretching some of us to these limits.
Blessed are those who mourn…
o We all grieve…the death of a loved one
o The loss of what was – routines, connections
Blessed are the humble
o Most of us have moments where we feel like no on can see or hear us
o Most of us have moments when we feel hurt and left out
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness
o I hope most of us have us have had a time in our life when we tried to change the world for the better, to make life better for someone else
Blessed are the merciful
o These are the moments when we can forgive or let go of a grudge
o These are the moments when we can believe that others have the best intentions
Blessed are the pure in heart
o I hope we have moments where we feel really connected to God in our lives
o We have vision and purpose
o We seek goodness and love
Blessed are the peacemakers
o Many of us have tried to smooth over an argument,
o helped people to see different points of view
o tried to mend broken relationships – either our own or someone we care about
Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness sake
o Sometimes doing what is good and right can be challenging or painful
o It might mean the loss of a relationship, a job, financial hardship
Finally, we are told to rejoice and be glad because God will fix it all in the next life. The challenge for many of us is not just to endure these times but live with grace and compassion for ourselves as we move through them. I sometimes hear a sense of resignation in these words. “Well, that’s just how it is, and it will get better.” For some of us, it does get better. For some of us, these “blessings” last a lifetime.
November 1 is All Saints Day. Saints are people who have struggled with the realities of these “blessings” in their everyday life. They might be famous but more often they are people who live ordinary lives. Saints are people who hear these “blessings” and recognize them as challenges in their own lives. Saints are not people who have their lives together. Their lives are complicated and challenging. Like all of us they muddle through. In the process of life, saints unsettle us. They bring discomfort to our own comfort with these blessings.
Rev. Eliza Buchakjian-Tweedy writes
God blesses the poor in spirit. And then asks, do we bless the poor in spirit?
• Are we working for adequate mental health supports in our community?
• Are we offering a listening ear and support to those who are struggling?
• Do we try to share the load with those who are just exhausted by life?
• Do we find ways of connecting with those who are most vulnerable?
God blesses those who mourn. Do we bless those who mourn?
• Do we offer comfort?
• Do we seek to understand the complexities of race related violence?
• Do we stand with the families of missing and murdered indigenous women?
• Will we remember LGBTQ+ youth who have committed suicide or been killed?
God blesses the meek. Do we bless the meek?
• Do we see people who are often invisible?
• Do we see the person who can’t leave their home for any number of reasons? Are we able to connect, support and encourage them.
• Do we welcome the refugee or immigrant in our community?
“God blesses those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Do we bless those who hunger and thirst for righteousness?
• Do we stand with Black, Indigenous and people of colour in challenging systemic racism in Canada?
• Do we try to change a world where some of us can be wasteful while others starve?
God blesses those who are merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers. Do we bless the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers?
• Do we support efforts to seek justice and resist evil?
• Do we teach others to forgive?
• Do we stand against violence and war?
God blesses those who are persecuted, and reviled, and slandered, for standing on the side of God. Do we bless with those who are persecuted, reviled or slandered?
• Where do we choose to stand?
Blessing is repeated throughout this passage. We sometimes think of blessings as gifts from God. We sometimes think of a blessing as a prayer: communion elements, water of baptism, even the prayers that we say when we baptize someone. Blessing also has to do with where we put our support. When we give someone or something our blessing. So in this passage, God puts God’s support, with the poor in spirit, with those who mourn and so on. We might say God chooses to stand with those who are persecuted, reviled or slandered.
Our saints are people who live their life as a way of blessing the world. They choose to stand with the most vulnerable people in our world and they encourage others to do the same. Think about saints you know and offer a prayer of thanks for their faith.
Twirling Jen 