The Beatitudes tell us what it means to follow Jesus as a disciple. By sitting down, Jesus takes the position of a teacher. In teaching these nine statements, Jesus describes the qualities of a disciple. They are not the same as the world's expectations. Have you ever thought about what they mean? Perhaps I can share with you what I am currently teaching my students. These are simple meanings from our text book.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The poor in spirit know their need for God."Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted." Those who mourn are sad because of the sorrow in our world. They will do what they can to help.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land." The meek are kind to others and treat others fairly.
"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied." These people give to God and others what is right and work for justice.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy." The merciful forgive others as they want God to forgive them.
"Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God." The clean of heart keep God first in their lives.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." Peacemakers solve problems without hurting others.
"Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom heaven." These people do what God wants even when doing the right thing is difficult.
"Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad for your reward will be great in heaven." Sometimes we will be called names and be hurt because we choose to follow God and his commandments.
There is so much we can reflect on in this passage. I think I will take time to reflect on how I am following Jesus in light of the Beatitudes. My students will have a test on this on Tuesday. Blessed are they who study, for they will pass the test.
No comments:
Post a Comment