We read the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount this week in our Gospel lesson. I remember the day years ago when I was invited to preach for the women of the Northern Province of the Moravian Church on this topic. It caused me to spend weeks in study about the context and true meaning of Jesus’ words in the part of the Sermon on the Mount. He’s teaching us what the Reign of God will look like, he’s telling us what will be coming into the world. It’s a prophecy as much as anything else.

The word that is translated as “blessed” in the reading today can indicate that an experience or a person is standing in the presence of God. Or it can mean that God is especially present in the moment or in the person. When Jesus uses the word repeatedly as he does in this passage, it feels to me like he’s sketching out a map of where God’s presence is in the everyday world. When you find yourself in the presence of one who thirsts for righteousness, know that the Reign of God has come near to you.

The direct like to the video is found here.