Bless Your Heart

Epiphany 4A

Are you poor? Are you sad or hungry or feeling unworthy? Are you persecuted? Well then, blessed are you. Enjoy all your blessings!

Do Matthew’s beatitudes leave you just a bit uncomfortable? Blessings might a great reward in heaven, but—let’s be honest here—these earthly attributes that apparently bring about heavenly blessing are kind of hard to bear in … Read the rest

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Leveling on the Plain

Epiphany 6C

I can’t quite escape the irony of ascending this pulpit, when we’ve just heard about Jesus coming down from the mountain to teach. Luke’s version of the beatitudes parallel Matthew’s account of the sermon on the mount, but here his teaching is delivered on a plain. On the level ground, where you might say that the mountain and … Read the rest

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