Who is Blessed?
This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy and St. Mark Lutheran Churches on Sunday, 1/29. The scripture text is Matthew 5:1-12 . So sorry I couldn't add an apropos picture to this post. The computer was not cooperating. Today's gospel is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, which is called the Beatitudes. Prior to this trip up the mountain, Jesus was healing and speaking while the disciples basically observed. They had a lot to process, so Jesus put some distance between himself and the crowd. Then his disciples joined him. Jesus' teaching was primarily for his disciples. Jesus is meeting on the mountain like a new Moses training his disciples in a new kind of righteousness. What exactly are the Beatitudes? To better understand what they are, let's look at what they are not. Some of you may be familiar with this explanation where the beatitudes are understood as the Bee------attitudes. Simply put, we are to try and try and try as hard as we can to live...