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. Matthew 5:1-10
In the past they looked on our children and thought them poor and in need of fixing. They took our children from their parents and placed them in boarding schools far, far away. These sweet blessings were seen as problems and treated harshly for "their own good". The government believed that we would disappear and didn't want us to thrive. But we did thrive and a wonderful resurgence of people and traditions flourishes in the land.
Jesus is teaching the people who gathered around him to find hope. They were the outcasts, the poor, the people who society wanted to disappear. They had lived rough and treated harshly. And yet, here was the incarnate God, love made flesh, telling them of how blessed and how desired they were by God. In these people was the hope of the world, and it is among the marginalized where our hope is found today. God invites us today to move from our safety to our blessings.
Today I ask God to help me see the blessings at the very margins of our world. May we all move from our comfort to find the face of the living God in places and people were do not understand.
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