“Blessed are those who know their need
for theirs is the grace of heaven.
Blessed are the humble
for they are close to the sacred earth.
Blessed are those who weep
for their tears will be wiped away.
Blessed are the forgiving
for they are free.
Blessed are those who hunger for earth’s oneness
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the clear in heart
for they see the Living Presence.
Blessed are those who suffer for what is right
for theirs is the strength of heaven.
Blessed are the peacemakers
for they are born of God.”
~ The Casa del Sol Blessings of Jesus
This Sunday is the celebration of All Saints in the protestant churches, the day when we name and mark those saints living and departed who have graced our lives. This particular Sunday the scripture reading from the Christian texts is what we commonly call The Beatitudes. These sayings of Jesus to the people gathered at the Sermon on the Mount are some of the most beloved words in the Bible. The reading above is certainly an adaptation by a group of people who looked long and hard at what Jesus’ words meant and what they mean. They are printed at the beginning of J. Philip Newell’s book Christ of the Celts: The Healing of Creation.
The poetry of the beatitudes is beautiful. But I think that one of the reasons we love this scripture so much is that in it we can find ourselves and we can be affirmed that Jesus is talking to us. He is talking to us, including us, in all our neediness, our brokenness, our strength, our passions, our dreams. He is talking to us, naming the deepest part of who we are right here, right now, and then blessing the steps we are taking, blessing our life’s journey. And depending on the day, we might see our path as one of peacemaker or one who needs our tears wiped away. It changes all the time with all the twists and turns of living…..but the blessing remains.
As I look out my window right now, the autumn day is breathtaking. As I walked into the building, people I passed remarked on the beauty of this day, how lucky we are. Lucky, maybe. Blessed, certainly. These are the days we mark and tuck away in our memory for those cold, gray, dark days of March when the bloom has worn off the winter wonder. It is easy on a day like today to know what it means to be blessed. Of course, this is not always the case and we need reminders…from ourselves, from friends, from family, from the words of the scriptures.
How are you being blessed today? What are the circumstances of your life that direct how you are walking in the world? When I was younger we used to sing a song:”Count your blessings, name them one by one.” It is a good exercise to take stock of how we are blessed. In taking stock we come to see ourselves as a part of those who seek to recognize the holy within our days, within our living. It is, perhaps, a good first step in walking the way of the saints.