Mini-Retreat: blessed and blessing

Blessed and Blessing - the Beatitudes for everyday life.

The Beatitudes are a set of short sentences from Jesus’ teaching that have guided and challenged Christians for centuries.  Are they still relevant today?  If so – how, and what do they have to do with everyday life, our wellbeing, with us being blessed and being a blessing to others?

This reflection is designed to use either in one go, or you might like to reflect on a different beatitude each day for a number of days.  

Equipment:

• Notebook and Pen/Pencil to record your thoughts
• Bible

Preparation:

• Find somewhere comfortable where you have space and quiet.

• Before you start - take a moment to pray and ask God to speak to you through this reflection

BLESSED AND BLESSING - The Beatitudes for Everyday life.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.                                 

Matthew 5:3-10

Each ‘beatitude’ begins with the word ‘blessed’, but this can mean different things in English depending on how it is pronounced.  If we say “bless-ed” we mean – holy, “super-spiritual”, beloved of God – it makes sense that the poor, those who mourn or seek to make peace would be beloved of God, but are they necessarily holy just because they are poor?  If we say “bless’d” we tend to mean rewarded or given good things, but what kind of a reward is persecution for your beliefs?

Our English Bibles translate from a Greek word “μακαριοι”, makarios which means “happy”, but by definition if you’re mourning, you’re not happy!  Perhaps it might work better as “don’t worry, be happy those who mourn, one day you will be comforted,” but that seems somewhat unfeeling to someone’s current experience.

Except, Jesus wouldn’t have spoken in Greek, he spoke in his local language of Aramaic.  Elias Chacour (whose mother tongue is modern Aramaic) writes in his book We Belong to the Land “when I look further back to Jesus’ Aramaic, I find that the original word was ashray, from the verb yashar.  Ashray does not have this passive quality to it at all. Instead, it means, “to set yourself on the right way for the right goal, to turn around, repent; to become straight or righteous.” Now that changes the way we might read the Beatitudes doesn’t it! 

However we translate the word “blessed”.  If we have the “attitudes of the beatitudes”, this will benefit our wellbeing – our sense of purpose and fulfilment in life, and the wellbeing of others.

After reading each of the Beatitudes below – take a moment and pause to ponder:

• What does this show us about Jesus’ ideal for our behaviour and attitudes?
• How would living out the Beatitudes affect your, and others wellbeing?
• How would you re-write the Beatitudes?

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

What if Jesus had said…

Is your spirit crushed and worn down?  God sees and cares…