The Radical Default

~~~ 1 Kings 17:1-6 ~~~ Psalm 121 ~~~ Matthew 5:1-12 ~~~

Pentecost is over...we have the Holy Spirit...what is next?

Today, what does the church do?

It plunges us right into the Sermon on the Mount or the Beatitudes.

These eight sentences are meant to challenge us

 and indeed they are successful.

Without the breath of the Spirit how could we 

hope to live these Beatitudes?

The Beatitudes are a Christian's "identity card" and "life plan", 

said Pope Francis at Mass this morning.

Everything about the text of the Beatitudes

 goes against everything we see and hear from our world today. 

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the land.

Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be satisfied.

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.

Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,

for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you

and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

for your reward will be great in heaven.

Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

We do desire to enter the Kingdom of heaven...

we want to be comforted and satisfied...we hope 

one day to see our merciful God.

Ultimately we want to rejoice and be glad, 

but it is more often than not a struggle.

We live in a world that is constantly looking for ways to avoid suffering...

suffering of any kind; from hunger to physical pain.

We routinely turn a blind eye to those treated unjustly in our society.

We simply look the other way or we create

 our own excuses to soothe our feelings.

We avoid confrontation at all cost.

We believe those who advocate justice for all are too radical.

The truth is Jesus was very radical in how he treated everyone.

Jesus gives us the blueprints in the Sermon on the Mount

for the most fulfilling Christian life.

A life, many would say, filled with contradictions.

Sometimes the truth lies within the contradictions of our life.

For Jesus, contradiction was something he met with on a regular basis.

If you are serious about living a holy life...as a complete Christian;

then you must put into practice these Eight Beatitudes.

It is not enough to practice them when it is 

convenient; they must become the default manner

 in which we live our lives.

Blessed to be given these eight ways to be a better Christian.

Lord, help me to put these into daily practice.

Make them my default program.

!!!Peace!!!