From our Pastor's Desk
The Sermon on the Mount contains the essence of Jesus’ teaching. The Beatitudes are the essence of the Sermon. They contain the qualities Jesus wishes to see in his followers, qualities which are a complete reversal of conventional values and standards. The Beatitudes are a prescription for real and genuine happiness, a prescription for blessedness. Perhaps we could say that the teaching of today’s Gospel is the most important instruction Jesus gave us. The Beatitudes are as important for our happiness as living according to the Ten Commandments. In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us that what is in our heart is vitally important for our happiness.
These Beatitudes, like some other teachings in the Scriptures, are paradoxes. In literature, a paradox is a statement that appears to be a contradiction but contains truth. A paradox simply puts logic on its head. It contradicts conventional thinking and turns logic upside down. For example, the beatitudes go completely against the worldly standard of happiness and suggest ways of happiness that are strange to people who consider themselves intelligent and smart in worldly affairs. The world tells us that the road to happiness is to have more money, power, and material possessions; but Jesus says the way to happiness is to be more humble and merciful. According to Jesus, each of the eight milestones to happiness has a corresponding reward that follows it.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
The world says: Happy are you who are well-off. You can have whatever you want. Be glad and rejoice when the money is coming in fast. Never stop to ask by what means or at whose expense. You will be the envy of all. Jesus says: Happy are you who put your trust in God rather than in money. Happy are you who realize that it is not the amount of possessions you have that makes you truly rich but the kind of person you are. You will be rich in God’s eyes, and that is what matters.
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