And he [Jesus] opened his mouth and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:2-12 ESV).
When I lived in Spring Hill, Tennessee, I often went to a local coffee shop to do some of my studying and writing. It was owned and operated by a local church and was tolerant of my taking up a table for lengthy periods of time during the day. I would always have coffee and most of the time order pastries or sandwiches made to order. One of the most interesting things to happen while I was there was the day a homeless-looking man walked in and asked for some water. Everyone looked uncomfortable. He got his water, meandered around for a bit, and left. Then everything went back to “normal.”
In his teaching to the crowds, Jesus often “flipped the script,” saying and doing things that were not expected. “Blessed are the poor in spirit”? “Blessed are those who mourn”? “Blessed are those who are persecuted”? This makes no sense to our “normal” way of thinking, and most of it makes us uncomfortable.
But faith isn’t formed in comfort. It is formed when challenged and when we aren’t allowed to sit smugly in our preconceived notions about people and the world around us. Faith is formed when Jesus looks at a crowd of people and points out that the ones who are blessed are those who realize they are not self-sufficient but depend totally on God. When we wake up to that realization, we are blessed as well.
Though we don’t deserve it, God’s blessing is available to all of us. Blessed are you when you know you depend on God, because his love will see you through.