"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Friday, 27 January 2017 with Scripture Matthew 5:1-12

"The God Pause Daily Devotional" from The Luther Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States for Friday, 27 January 2017 with Scripture Matthew 5:1-12
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Matthew 5:1 Seeing the crowds, Yeshua walked up the hill. After he sat down, his talmidim came to him, 2 and he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
3 “How blessed are the poor in spirit!
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 “How blessed are those who mourn!
    for they will be comforted.
5 “How blessed are the meek!
    for they will inherit the Land![Matthew 5:5 Psalm 37:11]
6 “How blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness!
    for they will be filled.
7 “How blessed are those who show mercy!
    for they will be shown mercy.
8 “How blessed are the pure in heart!
    for they will see God.
9 “How blessed are those who make peace!
    for they will be called sons of God.
10 “How blessed are those who are persecuted
because they pursue righteousness!
    for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “How blessed you are when people insult you and persecute you and tell all kinds of vicious lies about you because you follow me! 12 Rejoice, be glad, because your reward in heaven is great — they persecuted the prophets before you in the same way.[Complete Jewish Bible]
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Confession: my personal social media page is curated, meaning that I choose not to share photos that I feel look too much, too little, too this or too that. It also means that I avoid sharing words, articles, etc. that are too sharp, grammatically in error, too ribald or not interesting, caring or well-spoken. In short, like in a museum, I only display the best kinds of pieces that match a certain image I wish to portray. I believe I'm not alone in this effort. If you are on social media, I suspect you do that, too. So, it is rare to see photos shared depicting us when we're poor in spirit or red-eyed, rumpled and scrubby from mourning. Images of real hunger and thirst are generally reserved to advertise for appeals to support charitable organizations.
Yet, in this well-known part of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Jesus points to moments of risk and fearless faith that God "curates" into the kingdom of heaven. The meek, the merciful, the peacemakers--those who offer themselves for the sake of others, even at greater or lesser personal cost--are those God calls to dwell in the holy kingdom. Perhaps those aren't the images of ourselves that are the most visually appealing. Yet, when we give ourselves for the sake of others, Jesus tells us that we are at our very best. 
Holy God, I'm often not the person I'd like the world to believe I am. Thank you for receiving me just as I am. You give me every reason to rejoice and be glad. In Christ's name I pray. Amen.
Natalie Hall, '09
Canon for Evangelism and Faith Formation, Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh
Matthew 5:1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.
2 Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. [New Revised Standard Version]
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