Blessed Are
YOU
Against the dominant voices of power, wealth, and privilege, Jesus valorized and lifted up the lowly, marginal, and oppressed in both his life and his teachings, notably the Beatitudes.
The Brothers of SSJE, in collaboration with the Communities for Spiritual Vitality, are pleased to offer a series of reflections this Lent on the Beatitudes. We invite you to join us each week, from Ash Wednesday until the First Sunday of Easter, in hearing afresh Jesus' countercultural message in our own day.
Blessed: The Blood that Speaks
When we hear of blessedness, our heart should beat a bit faster, our souls should quicken, we should be alert, excited, maybe even uncomfortable. There is a holy strangeness to an encounter with true blessing.
Br. Lucas Hall looks at the Old English roots of the word "blessed" and reminds us that this is the stuff of life and death.
Humble Blessings
What is holding you back from a similar honesty before God? What of the world and its expectations do you cling to as you stand before God in prayer?
Br. Lain Wilson asks us to notice and name where we are most dependent, and to accept Jesus' invitation to gaze at that place and enter it.
Strength and Consolation
Our honest outpouring of mourning and lament itself becomes the means of our experiencing God’s ever-present compassion, support, and healing in our times of sorrow.
Br. Jonathan Maury finds comfort, strength, and hope in the assurance that God is always present to our cries and walks alongside us in all circumstances.
Meek Power
The meek are not weak. They use power, often choosing restraint and downward mobility, surprisingly for good.
Br. Luke Ditewig asks how we might find in the examples of Jesus and the saints a model for the gentle and restrained power of the meek.
Aching for a Restored World
To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to ache for the world to be restored to its intended order as a networked community of care where all are fed and no one thirsts.
Br. Jamie Nelson sees in our hunger for righteousness a vision of equity, harmony, and flourishing of all.
Practicing Mercy
Being merciful may be easier said than done, but God gives us so many opportunities for practice.
Br. Jack Crowley alerts us to God's invitations that surround us to show mercy, both to others and to ourselves.
Distilled to Their Essence
When the response to God’s love that we call prayer becomes the center of who we are, many other dimensions of our carefully manicured and cherished self-identities fall away.
Br. Keith Nelson reflects that our persistence in the ups and downs distills us, purifies us, so that the eyes of our hearts may be open to see the glory of God.
Becoming Peacemakers
The peace that God gives is true peace, not the false peace that is obtained and maintained through power and violence.
Br. David Vryhof challenges us to live in God's victory this Easter, and beyond, and be peacemakers in a world that desperately needs them.
The Bad News Precedes the Good News
The Beatitudes offer us a deep encouragement; however, they do not promise an intervention from suffering.
Br. Curtis Almquist shows how, in difficult times, the Beatitudes offer us the encouragement of Jesus' companionship, the gift of hope, and the promise of God's blessing.