Rev. Reed Lee Pedersen's
5 1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Looking into what to write for this week I figured I would take a look at the gospel text for this coming All Saints Sunday, Matthew 5:1-12. Is this how life works in today’s world? I invite you to read through this passage again and after every verse, starting with verse 3, think or write down how the verse agrees or disagrees with today’s society. Please take time to go through all the verses for this exercise before going to the next paragraph. What did you think? Did the exercise do something for you? Next time you go to pray give God thanks for the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the hungry and thirsty, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted, and the hated. Give them thanks to God because God has provided them with the Kingdom. If any of us are down on ourselves or feeling rejected by others we can hold on to this promise from God. So instead of getting angry or sad you better check your beatitudes! God will provide. Please leave answers from the exercise in the comment section. I’d love to hear your take on this passage.
2 Comments
Cortés
11/5/2017 04:19:45 pm
"Blessed are the poor in spirit" - In today's moder city life people are encouraged to have a brave individualistic "spirit" Being conscious of our spiritual need is not something that is taught in our modern schools were the focus is not on dependency of a being we call God, but rather on self determination and on being independent, in self development. Being a church member since my childhood I learned to focus primarily my attention on a being we call God and to put myself second as I move along life's path. The beatitudes are not in accordance with the spirit of a world that is corrupted with the power of sin. The beatitudes are an expression of God's principles that should guide us as we move along our way in this world. Thank you for your spiritual reflection. God bless you.
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Pastor Reed
11/7/2017 08:04:22 am
Thank you for sharing your take on this bible passage!
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AuthorPastor Reed is a first call pastor at Augustana Lutheran Church in Andover, Illinois. Archives
July 2019
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