Few passages in the gospels are more familiar than the Beatitudes.* We’ve all read and recited them so many times; they are like a familiar old blanket to wrap ourselves in as we aspire to a Christian lifestyle.
Blessed are the poor in spirit …
Blessed are those who mourn …
Blessed are the meek …
But let’s put this teaching in context: Jesus is speaking to the everyday people of his time. Many of them are politically oppressed and economically struggling. They are grieving, hungry, worn out, and pushed to the edges. Jesus isn’t simply describing who they should aspire to be. He is describing who is in front of him. And he tells them they are blessed just as they are.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness …
Blessed are the merciful …
Blessed are the pure in heart …
The Beatitudes assure us that we are blessed in our struggles as well as our accomplishments. If the kingdom belongs to the poor in spirit, then admitting when I am at my limit is not a failure, but an opening to God’s grace. They also invite us to become a blessing to others. If the merciful are blessed, then I am invited to offer mercy, even when my sensibilities tell me otherwise. If those who desire righteousness are blessed, I need to seek justice for others, not only for myself.
Blessed are the peacemakers …
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness …
I notice how easily I want to wear these blessings as that familiar old blanket. I want to be comforted without mourning, filled without hungering. I want to be called a child of God without taking the risk to make peace. And I certainly don’t want to be persecuted! The Beatitudes describe a way of living, and they invite me to step into it before I feel ready.
We belong to a community that encourages and steadies us as we make that transition from admiring these words to living them. We are called to sit with the grieving and show up with food where needed. We are called to engage in difficult conversations long enough for peace to emerge. None of it is comfortable, and all of it is blessed.
As I say yes to God’s call each day, I am being asked to do more than wrap myself in that familiar old blanket. I am asked to share its warmth with others, to stand alongside those who struggle, and to allow these familiar blessings to come alive in me and through me for others.
