When
Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down,
his
disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught
them,
saying:
“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. 12Rejoice and be glad,
for your
reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the
prophets who
were before you.
Did
you know that Tuesday is
a very special day? It’s Election Day – and not just any election day,
because
for the first time in eight years we’re going to have a new president
to lead
our country.
You
might have seen that
there is a lot on TV about the election. This is a time that the people
who
would like to be our leaders make a lot of speeches about how things
will be
different if we elect them to be in charge.
And
it’s a funny that that’s
happening in our lives this week – because Jesus makes a very similar
speech in
our gospel reading this week. It might be his most famous speech – it’s
called
The Sermon on the Mount – and in it Jesus tells the disciples how the
kingdom
of heaven will be different from what we know on Earth.
There’s
a very special
section of this sermon called the Beatitudes. Can you say that?
(Beatitudes) The name Beatitudes
comes from a Latin word, beatus –
which means “blessed” or “happy” - and in the Beatitudes Jesus tells us
who
will be happy and blessed in heaven.
But
you might be surprised
by some of what he says. In our world we think a lot about being happy and rich and
strong – and sometimes even people who do all the wrong things
can be rewarded
in these ways.
Jesus
tells us that in God’s
kingdom things will be different. He tells us that blessed are the poor and the sad and the hungry. Those
don’t sound like things we try to be on purpose here, does it? But
Jesus tells
us that God will take care of these people – both because he will – and
to
remind us of our job to help others in need.
There
are eight Beatitudes –
eight different groups that are blessed by God – in today’s lesson.
Will you
listen carefully and see if you can count each of the groups that
Jesus mentions?
Let’s
pray.
Dear
God,
We
thank you for the
blessings you provide us here on Earth. Help us to be mindful of the
needs of all
your children – especially the poor, the sad and the hungry.
Amen