Lately, my preaching, writing, and teaching have kept circling back to the same place: a hillside where Jesus sat down, looked at ordinary people, and began not with commands, but with blessing.

The Beatitudes are familiar to many of us. We’ve heard them read, preached, and quoted. But familiarity can sometimes dull their force. What Jesus says there is not comfortable or obvious. It is counter-intuitive. He calls blessed those the world often overlooks—the poor, the grieving, the meek, the hungry, the merciful, the peacemakers.

He does not deny the pain or difficulty of those lives. He simply insists that God is already at work there.

That insistence changes how we see ourselves. It also changes how we see one another.

Jesus was not only offering encouragement on that hillside. He was forming a people—a community shaped by a different set of values, learning to live by a different rhythm. Some have called this the “upside-down kingdom.” If so, it may be upside down only because the world itself has lost its balance.

What strikes me most is that Jesus begins by re-naming reality before he ever addresses behavior. He blesses before he fixes. He forms hearts before he gives instructions. And in doing so, he invites us to examine not only what we do, but how we see.

That invitation still matters.

In recent days, I’ve explored this from several angles—through preaching, writing, and conversation. If you’d like to go deeper, you may find these resources helpful:

• A full sermon reflection on the Beatitudes exploring blessedness as formation rather than reward (available on YouTube).
• A written companion on Substack that includes prayer, discussion questions, and deeper theological reflection.
• A Voices Heard podcast episode reflecting on Jesus as a communicator who tells truth to people already walking another path.
• A leadership mini-podcast exploring how the Beatitudes challenge and reshape the attitudes that guide our leadership and influence.

You don’t need to follow every link. Even sitting quietly with Jesus’ words is enough work for one day.

But if the Beatitudes are stirring something in you—if they are unsettling old assumptions or opening new possibilities—pay attention. That may be the sound of a different drumbeat, inviting you to walk a little differently in the world.

Grace and peace,

Tom

One Stop Link: https://tomsims.substack.com/p/beatitude-people