Picture This. Jesus pulls up a metal folding chair in the parish hall
or takes a seat on the couch in the living room and begins to teach:
“If you’re struggling to pay the bills, but insist on making time to
be with your children whenever they need you, blessed are you – you
may never own the big vacation home and the Lexus, but heaven will be
yours.
“If you are overwhelmed by the care of a dying spouse, a sick child
or an elderly parent but you are determined to make a loving home for
them, blessed are you – one day your sorrow will be transformed into
joy.
“If you willingly give your time to cook at a soup kitchen, vacuum
the church, help in a classroom; if you befriend the uncool, the
unpopular, the perpetually lost, blessed are you – count God among your
friends and biggest boosters.
“If you refuse to take shortcuts when it comes to doing what is
right, if you refuse to compromise your integrity and ethics, if you refuse
to take refuge in the rationalization that ‘everybody does it,’ blessed are
you – you will triumph.
“If you try to understand things from the perspective of the other
person and always manage to find a way to make things work for the
good; if you’re feeling discouraged and frustrated because you are
always worrying, always waiting, always bending over backwards,
always paying the price for loving the unlovable and forgiving the
undeserving, blessed are you – God will welcome, forgive and love you.
“If you struggle to discover what God asks of you in all things; if
you seek God’s presence in every facet of your life and every decision
you make; if your constant prayer is not ‘give me’ but ‘help me,’ blessed
are you – God will always be there for you.
“If you readily spend time listening and consoling anyone who
looks to you for support, for guidance, for compassion; if you manage to
heal wounds and build bridges; if others see in you graciousness, joy and
serenity; if you can see the good in everyone and seek the good for
everyone, blessed are you – you are nothing less than God’s own.
“If you are rejected or demeaned because of the color of your skin
or the sound of your name; if your faith automatically puts you at odds
with some people; if you refuse to compromise to ‘get along’ or ‘not
make waves,’ blessed are you – one day you will live with God.
“Rejoice and be glad,” Jesus tells those who have gathered, “you
are the blessed of God. In the end, heaven is yours.” Remember this.
Tags: 1-29-2023