What I’m Thinking: Blessed

Jesus began his Sermon on the Mount, as Matthew relates it, with a series of declarations: If you are in a state of need or sorrow, God is with you to bless you.

Here is a transcript:

I’m thinking this week about the beginning of the fifth chapter of Matthew. Now, that is the opening of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, but the first twelve verses have their own title in the lore of Christendom. We call them The Beatitudes, from the Latin word for “blessing.”

You’ve probably heard them: “Bless are the poor in spirit.” “Blessed are those who mourn.” “Blessed are the meek” – and so on.

Well, what I think about these is: in them Jesus shows the comprehensiveness of God’s care and compassion for us. Whether we are in mourning, or whether we find ourselves among the meek of the earth, God is with us to bless us, to care for us, to comfort us, to lift us up.

Each of the Beatitudes is a situation in which human beings find themselves at a loss – at a sad or sorrow point – and to each of those circumstances, says Jesus, God comes with blessing.

That’s what I’m thinking! I’m curious to hear what you’re thinking. Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below; I’d love to hear from you.