Day 5 – Genesis 13-15; Psalm 5; Matthew 5
Matthew 5: Attitude. Be-attitude. Beatitude.
Attitude: I picture Jesus sitting on the side of the mountain, surrounded by disciples, eager to hear what has become Jesus’ most famous sermon – the sermon-on-the-mount – the first of five significant discourses we’ll read in Matthew. I picture Jesus, with attitude, leaning in toward his friends, his students, eagerly encouraging them to be different, to have attitude. I hear Jesus saying, be real. There are times when we are all poor in spirit, in mourning and meek. We are still inheritors of the kingdom and the earth. So we hunger and thirst for righteousness; we are called to be merciful, pure in heart, to be peacemakers.
Be attitude: Jesus says, These are not the ancient days, but… “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” The stakes are high. You must take on the attitude and actions of a merciful person, act as a peacemaker. When we do that today - sometimes this world still scorns and beats us back.
Beatitude: You have likely heard this section of Matthew 5 called “the beatitudes” These are eight blessings statements eagerly taught by Jesus, blessings in spite of scorn, blessings because we are beaten back by the world around us. Jesus teaches with respect for the law and the prophets, yet fulfilling the law and the prophets in a way that draws us forward even today. The word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin name for this section of scripture – Beatitudines - in the Latin Vulgate (4th century translation of the Bible into Latin – see St. Jerome). In Latin, the word means be happy, fortunate, blissful.
Attitude. Be-attitude. Beatitude. Be real, be blessed, be blissful, be salt, be the light of the world today.
The Very Reverend Kathleen P. Gannon is Curate at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, FL and Dean of the South Palm Beach Deanery in the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.
Matthew 5: Attitude. Be-attitude. Beatitude.
Attitude: I picture Jesus sitting on the side of the mountain, surrounded by disciples, eager to hear what has become Jesus’ most famous sermon – the sermon-on-the-mount – the first of five significant discourses we’ll read in Matthew. I picture Jesus, with attitude, leaning in toward his friends, his students, eagerly encouraging them to be different, to have attitude. I hear Jesus saying, be real. There are times when we are all poor in spirit, in mourning and meek. We are still inheritors of the kingdom and the earth. So we hunger and thirst for righteousness; we are called to be merciful, pure in heart, to be peacemakers.
Be attitude: Jesus says, These are not the ancient days, but… “Do not think I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill.” The stakes are high. You must take on the attitude and actions of a merciful person, act as a peacemaker. When we do that today - sometimes this world still scorns and beats us back.
Beatitude: You have likely heard this section of Matthew 5 called “the beatitudes” These are eight blessings statements eagerly taught by Jesus, blessings in spite of scorn, blessings because we are beaten back by the world around us. Jesus teaches with respect for the law and the prophets, yet fulfilling the law and the prophets in a way that draws us forward even today. The word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin name for this section of scripture – Beatitudines - in the Latin Vulgate (4th century translation of the Bible into Latin – see St. Jerome). In Latin, the word means be happy, fortunate, blissful.
Attitude. Be-attitude. Beatitude. Be real, be blessed, be blissful, be salt, be the light of the world today.
The Very Reverend Kathleen P. Gannon is Curate at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach, FL and Dean of the South Palm Beach Deanery in the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.
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