Epiphany

February 2, 2020

Scripture Reading
Matthew 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Blessed are you when people 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 in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The word translated blessed in the above scripture means when God extends His benefits*.  Jesus creates a laundry list of actions states of being about which God intervenes with God’s benefits. Is Jesus providing us with guidance on how we might provide our benefits to others? He uses examples of a broad array of people and the situations in which they my find themselves. Most are rather serious, and many are situation that are uncomfortable for us or even boring. Is our natural inclination to believe that, for example, the wealthy or attractive or talented are the blessed? That those are the ones with whom we want to interface and be like.

The funny thing is that most of us have experience each of these situations in our lives. Jesus, I think, is saying loving one another includes both the good times and the bad. We must learn and practice empathy rather than envy. We must do justice rather than turn a blind eye to injustice.

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to love deeply and be blessings to all around us. Amen.

*https://biblehub.com/greek/3107.htm

All scriptures are quoted from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicized Edition, copyright 1989, 1995, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights are reserved.