Pastor Tom's Community

Blessed

 
When Moses went to the mountain, he came back to the camp with a law.
 
When Jesus' went to the mountain, he sat down with the masses and interpreted that law in the light of a new kingdom reality.
 
"Blessed are the poor."

Why not start with the most radical, unimaginable, counter-intuitive statement possible?

 
 
Title: 12 years long homeless commando... [Click for larger image view]
 
 
Dunikowski, Lukasz. 12 years long homeless commando…, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=54237 [retrieved April 23, 2018]. Original source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukasz-dunikowski/3674881568/.
 
 
Title: Endless Road [Click for larger image view]
Hofheinz-Doring, Margret, 1910-1994. Endless Road, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55314 [retrieved April 23, 2018]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Endlose_Stra%C3%9Fe,_Margret_Hofheinz-D%C3%B6ring,_Strukturmalerei,_1971_(WV-Nr.5001).JPG.
 
A now, to turn the world upside down on the road to right-side up
 
… to redefine the undefinable
 
…. to reorient the universe and inaugurate the visibility of the invisible kingdom
 
… to elevate the downtrodden and exalt the debased
 
… to turn our hearts and minds from the futility of earth-bound materialism and decaying values, Jesus speaks.
 
Here is the essence of our ethic, the core of our curriculum, the clarity of our every motivation.
 
Here, buried in the ambiguity of irrationality is the clear, consistent rationale God's new government that governs us with grace, love, and freedom.
 
Here is true justice.
 
Here is truth itself … life that flows and grows.
 
Here is what drives us and thrives within us.
 
This is the life that lives!
 
Matthew 5:1-10:
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.
 
Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
 
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
 
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
 
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
 
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
 
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
 
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
 
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 

 
Title: Sermon on the Mount [Click for larger image view]
 
Ferenczy, Károly, 1862-1917. Sermon on the Mount, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=56296 [retrieved April 23, 2018]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:The_Sermon_on_the_Mount_K%C3%A1roly_Ferenczy.jpg.

Title: Sermon on the Mount, detail [Click for larger image view]

Olrik, Henrik, 1830-1890. Sermon on the Mount, detail, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55347 [retrieved April 23, 2018]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sankt_Matthaeus_Kirke_Copenhagen_altarpiece_detail3.jpg#.

Title: Martyrdom of 10,000 Christians [Click for larger image view]

Dürer, Albrecht, 1471-1528. Martyrdom of 10,000 Christians, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN.http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46272 [retrieved April 23, 2018]. Original source: http://www.yorckproject.de.

 Rejoice and be glad.

Blessed are you!

Rejoice and be glad!

Yours is the Kingdom of God!

"The contemporaraneity of Jesus' Beatitudes in general and of the Persecution Beatitudes in particular is suggested in a Newsweek [April 16, 2001, p.50] cover story, which in a review of the astonishing worldwide growth of the church in the last century notes: "What many U.S. Christians fail to realize is that when Asians convert to Christ it requires enormous courage. Converts typically are ostracized by family and neighbors — and often targeted for persecution…For most Asians, however, what makes Jesus attractive is his identification wih the poor and the suffering." The cultural climate of the earliest Christian centuries was persecution; it is gradually becoming so again." (Bruner, p.183)

 

tomsims Avatar

Published by

tomsims
I am a pastor and internet citizen in Fresno/Clovis, CA.
Categories:
Tags:

Leave a comment