The Paradox of Faith

My devotional reading this morning was Matthew 5:1-12, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes. It's certainly a strong opening for this section of the Gospel, for this series of teachings. Everything Jesus says here seems so... upside down.

Dictionary.com com says beatitude is "supreme blessedness" or "exalted happiness." These pronounced blessings certainly get our attention, right?

Blessed are... the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, the persecuted... 

I get the pure in heart and the peacemakers - maybe those who hunger and thirst for righteousness - but the rest? Not likely feeling "supreme[ly] blessed" or happy to the point of exaltation. We've mourned - it doesn't feel good, it doesn't feel blessed - meek and poor in spirit? Maybe... but it's hard to feel blessed when you are persecuted. 

And, of course, Jesus doesn't say "feel blessed, you who are..." but, simply, you are blessed.

Mourning? You will be comforted. There is a powerful blessing in comfort.

Poor in spirit? There's something about poverty of spirit that speaks powerfully about the Kingdom of Heaven - about being open to living in that Kingdom. Perhaps the blessing is being truly open to the movement of the Holy Spirit?

There's so much about Kingdom living that seems upside down to us.

The great are to be the servants of all.

The last will be first.

To save your life you have to give it away.

Die to live. 

When I am weak, then I am strong.

A random sampling, right? The meek inherit the earth, rejoice when you are hated and reviled. Even "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." That's as backward as anything, isn't it?

Yet... it all makes sense when taken together. It requires a depth of trust and faith in God that actually demands that I think differently about power structures, about relationships, about material possessions, even about other peoples' intentions. 

Blessed are the meek indeed... 

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