Category Archives: Psalm 146

Blessed are we

Laura James
Sermon on the Mount, 2010
from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Original source: Laura James, laurajamesart.com/collections/religious/

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Matthew 5:7-9

The Beatitudes give me guidance as I practice following the Way of Jesus Christ.
• I must learn to be humble, let go of thinking I have all the answers, and stop lying to myself and others.
• I must learn to move from denial through the stages of grief to accept the sorrows and injustices of life.
• I must learn to endure hardship with patience and without resentment.
• I must learn to desire wholeness, oneness with God and all of Creation.
• I must learn to be compassionate and to forgive those who have hurt me.
• I must learn to embody peace, to be a unifying presence in our divided world.
• I must be willing to do God’s will, to love and respect and seek justice for all people everywhere—even when it means insults and persecution, and perhaps even being killed as Jesus was.

Today I will make the Beatitudes my blueprint for living as a follower of Jesus Christ. In a spirit of humility, I will ask the Lord to cleanse and heal me of my mental, emotional, and spiritual wounds. I will pray for the courage to let go of any fear I have of being insulted, ridiculed, or persecuted for responding to the Lord’s command to love my neighbor as myself.

Take notice

Lawrence W. Ladd (fl.1865-1895)
Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus
watercolor and graphite on paper, ca.1880
Smithsonian American Art Museum

Jesus said to the Pharisees, “There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day. And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.” Luke 16:19-21

Often when I am out and about, I encounter people who look the other way, stare at their feet, or keep their eyes on their phones. They avoid eye contact. They avoid greeting me. I generally say hello anyway. Sometimes I get a response, which is such a pleasure.

It gets me to think: Who are the people I avoid, fail to notice, ignore, or am indifferent to? What make me afraid to be aware of others and their needs?

Today I will remember that all people are precious. I will love my neighbor by taking notice of everyone I encounter and speaking respectfully to them. I will make a special effort to lift up those who are in need.