"Is this a gift?" asked the officer. "No, I bought it for myself, " he said, "and I made a mistake.
"Did not you like the translation? Or format ?"
"Oh no, " the man said, "format was clear and the translation was wrong. I made a mistake"
official said: "Well, I have to write the reason for return ."
"In this case," said the man, "write that there is much in this book that is hard to swallow ."
Sometimes it's tempting to boil the whole Bible to a few verses, like those in Luke's version of the Beatitudes. It is an impossible task. There are some passages in the Bible that are hard to swallow. This is one of them. burden on us not to believe some astonishing miracle. There are events described in the Bible that stretch our credulity, moments that challenge us to scratch our heads in curiosity, but this text is not talking about any of them.
Jesus speaks to those who were victims and the oppressed. He is not telling them to roll over and play dead. His words are a form of nonviolent resistance to oppression. All the New Testament, Jesus showed compassion for the less fortunate of their society of his time-the same compassion he showed today. We as Christians are called to demonstrate the same compassion.
Luke 6:20-31 is understandable because the Lord describes the world in a way quite different from the way we are accustomed to seeing it. one that ignores the world are those who receive God's blessing. those that the world honors those who curse you. It's a complete reversal in the way we usually see things. God blesses those who are hungry for justice.
Jesus gives us a picture of how we should live. We are poor, hungry, and grief. We are often poor in spirit. Our souls are often hungry for spiritual food. We cry for those who do not know God. Key looks at the Beatitudes is fidelity.
Jesus told people to find new ways to confront evil. "Love your enemies" does not make much sense in today's world. It does not seem practical in today's world where people often do whatever it takes to get ahead. It is not very practical, and not in terms of getting ahead in the world and do what comes naturally.
May some of you remember the story of Matthew Shepherd, Wyoming man who was brutally neaten for gay, was beaten because one man felt that he made a pass at him. man feels silly and unmanly, and got a friend to help him put a young student in his place. The pair beat Matthew again and again, tied him to a fence on the road, and I left it in the freezer overnight. At a time when someone found him the next morning and took him to the hospital, there was no way to save him. Matthew Shepherd died while hundreds stood in candlelight vigil outside the hospital.
two men who killed Matthew were arrested, tried and convicted of the brutal hate crime. Guilty of first-degree murder, they deserve the death penalty in Wyoming. But Matthew's mother, came before the judge. She asked the judge to spare the life of these people are guilty. Who can understand what he went through all the painful months leading up to trial? What mother can sleep with images of his beloved son, tied to a fence, beaten, and only through the cold night? What kind of people can do to another human being?
"Love your enemies," Jesus said to do good to those who hate you. "When we hear these words, we need to remember Matt's mother, his life shaped by the Gospel deeper than hate, stronger than revenge. I do not know if I could do what he did. But, we should see her as a witness to the power of the Gospel. Such love is not practical, but can change the world.
Luke is out to prove that Jesus came to destroy the differences that made some people think they are better than others. His gospel is universal and the universe inhabited by the less fortunate. Luke and Jesus are on their side. rich had trouble hearing and joy in the Gospel, because he told them to change their ways and to share. This is bad news for them. On the other hand, the poor heard him gladly because the message of hope and liberation. This is where the gospel is essential and life-changing.
Christ asks us to reverse the normal way of thinking and let our hearts and minds of the governments blessing, love and forgive those who persecute us. As we do these things for others, we learn to do them yourself. Beatitudes MUST be our attitude. If not, why not? Beatitudes call us to look at our lives and accept the blessings God gives us as a sign of God's faithfulness to us and come back to live in such a way that we show by word and example of our loyalty and commitment to proclaim the Good News of God in Christ to others.
on All Saints' Day, we remember those ordinary people extraordinary dedication. Saints are ordinary Christians whose lives reflect the life of Jesus. Beatitudes call us to live lives that reflect Jesus' life. In this way, we become saints in the country. It will not be easy, just as it was not easy at the time of Jesus. He spoke these words to encourage people, and can encourage us today. When bad things happen to good people, they should rejoice, because they will get just reward in heaven. When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
We are building on foundations laid by saints in the past placed the deposit of Christ's message to the next generation. To do this, we have to be ordinary people extraordinary commitment as well. We all should count on this number, as it says in the old song, "When the Saints go Marching in ."
We are materially rich and we are full of material. We may not think we are rich, if we compare with professional athletes, entertainers or corporate executives who have more than us, but we are rich, if we compare to most of the world's population. Our stomachs, closets, drawers, basements, attics and garages are full. Jesus was sad when he sees that we make decisions that are inconsistent with what is best for us, for what is in store for us. He teaches us to see the world feel sorry for little treats for what they are compared to God's heavenly banquet. the world's poor will receive God's blessing.
on our behavior is a natural expression of inner goodness. In other words, you do as I believe, and you believe as you do. Those who meet only their physical needs will experience tremendous spiritual hunger. You can take control over their lives. Do not let someone else or something else define it for you. Do not let the world squeeze you into its mold. You can do your part of the world into their mold.
injustice in this life will be reversed in the next life. God will win over all the forces that take away a person of humanity. If God accepts us, the world can take away. Grow into becoming a Christian, in no small part, be converted into seeing the world as God sees it. It should be given new eyes to look at people and events from the perspective of eternal love. Christians have responded by becoming the Beatitudes advocates for the poor. That is why we have organizations such as Food Bank and Salvation Army.
How to share the blessings of poverty? Here are some ways:
1 Celebrate freedom, hope and salvation to come.
2nd Share our blessings
3rd Accept the forgiveness of those who use
4th Know that God has saved us is a form of sin, death and the grave
5th Learn from the poor that there is joy-joy in the Gospel for which we desire
Jesus describes what it means to be Christian. Christianity is the work among the people, not from distant places. That is why Jesus came down from the mountain to deliver the Beatitudes for students, and through them, for us. Our obsession with wealth has a tendency to our values of whack. It deadens us to the spiritual rewards that await those who serve God. It takes practice to change our way of love and less happy and live a Christian life. When we die and fall to the ground, what energizes us is that our old man, but a new creature, forever bound to God. Jesus is our higher standard, and we are closer to it, the more willing we are to love the poor.
Happiness comes from within. When people look for happiness somewhere else, they are less fortunate, rather than more. If you live according to Christ's plan for our lives, we would have zest for life to have no limits.
How should we treat our enemies?
One day long ago when things were looking for the darkest of the free world, Adolf Hitler told a large audience in Germany. In the first row sat a man of pronounced Semitic features. After the speech, Hitler came down from the platform, he approached the man and said: "As I said, these laughed. What are you laughing about?" The man replied: "I laughed. I thought. " "What do you think?" asked Hitler.
One day long ago when things were looking for the darkest of the free world, Adolf Hitler told a large audience in Germany. In the first row sat a man of pronounced Semitic features. After the speech, Hitler came down from the platform, he approached the man and said: "As I said, these laughed. What are you laughing about?" The man replied: "I laughed. I thought. " "What do you think?" asked Hitler.
...
One day long ago when things were looking for the darkest of the free world, Adolf Hitler told a large audience in Germany. In the first row sat a man of pronounced Semitic features. After the speech, Hitler came down from the platform, he approached the man and said: "As I said, these laughed. What are you laughing about?" The man replied: "I laughed. I thought. " "What do you think?" asked Hitler.
...
One day long ago when things were looking for the darkest of the free world, Adolf Hitler told a large audience in Germany. In the first row sat a man of pronounced Semitic features. After the speech, Hitler came down from the platform, he approached the man and said: "As I said, these laughed. What are you laughing about?" The man replied: "I laughed. I thought. " "What do you think?" asked Hitler.
...
Jewish man had a point. We must love our enemies, if at all possible, but sometimes we need to heed the words of an old Irish blessing that goes like this. "May God bless those who love us, and those who do not like us, it can turn your heart. If he does not turn their hearts, Let turned ankles to make them aware of their lame ."
on All Saints Day, we remember that Christians are not isolated individuals who live in the world sam. We are linked. We pause to remember those who have passed on, but in whose memory we hold dear. Also remember their impact on us and our own impact as people of God throughout the world. Following Jesus involves a certain kind of politics, politics of love. This is in contrast with the politics of today's world, policies of hatred, superiority and "me first ".
We show mercy to others because God has mercy for us. Those who are redeemed by God can be generous to others. People who we can hurt him to have pain as causing them to act in a way that they would never normally do. When you are injured, it can affect how we react to others. The only way we can look out Christ's commandment of love as he loved us to give up his spirit. If we surrender our hearts to him and ask him to come into our hearts with love and there, we can note his command to love one another as He loves us.
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