Matthew 5:1-12

Epiphany 4 - Year A

Matthew 5:1-12

These wonderful words of the Sermon on the Mount are addressed to those apprenticed to Jesus, “the committed”, as The Message has it.

If just tossed out to anyone, they lose their power. Aphorisms, platitudes, and the like are more likely to act as barriers to learning.

Rather these are are part of a periodic snap quiz, variously constructed.

1) Give evidence that the following statements are blessings.

2) Rank the following blessings in your life from the most evident to the one you are most uncertain of.

3) Note an intermediary blessing between each of the following that connects the blessing before it with the one that follows.

4) What would change were Pilate or Herod to recognize these blessings were the expected outcome of their rule?

5) For each blessing, note 3 people who are doing better than you are with acting out of that blessing and then go to them for further instruction.

6) What is another blessing that should be added to the list for at least a day?

7) Complete the sentence: “Blessed are the blessed, for they . . . .”

When these blessings are engaged as part of an on-going self-study, they deepen one’s spirit. When joined into as a community journey, they widen the reach of the common good. Note that these are not conclusions, but quizes of our life and lives.