Luke 6:17-21
Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.
Then he looked up at his disciples and said:
“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.
“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
Context matters
Blessing the people NOT the status
It is not blessed to be poor
unless your poverty has come from giving away all that you have
so that another might reach that ethereal bread line
It is not blessed to be hungry
unless your hunger arises out of sharing the food that you have
or out of recognising that you’ve over-indulged in what does not satisfy
It is not blessed to weep
unless your weeping stems
from the realisation of love lost or squandered
or for opportunities not realised
or from compassion for others who grieve
Poverty, hunger and weeping are only blessed
when they come from choosing
what serves another.
So enough of absolving ourselves of responsibility
Enough of taking these beatitudes out of context
Jesus blesses people not their status
let’s choose to make a difference
for the poor, the hungry and the weeping
by noticing
by sharing
by feeding
by accompanying
And, in so doing, to know ourselves blessed.
