On All Saints Sunday, the gospel lesson for the day is Matthew 5:1-12. We know it as the Beatitudes.
In each of the "blessings," a particular group of people is designated. In the final blessing it is directed to "you."
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
When we trust what God has said about us and for us in Christ, Jesus, we will be living according to a Word that others may not have about us. In addition, if we trust that this Word of love is for us...the "us" cannot be contained by an "us" that is limited to who it is we may want to be a part of the "us." The "for us" is for all God's beloved. God's beloved is defined by God. Last week I quoted 1 John where the author writes, "See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are." That is the "us." It is the Word we trust as our foundation and the very breath we breathe for life. Blessed are you...who trust that defining Word. For when we live according to that Word...when we define our world according to that Word...when we are shaped according to the Word, that is a radical departure from the ways of the world and the ways of many "religious" folks who want nothing to do with the grace of God and what life it brings. Therefore, we may not be talked about with the most kind words and treated with the best intentions.
Connection: Blessed are you. Blessed are you. Blessed are you. It is and it always will be enough. Blessed are you, O children of the Most High God.
Most High God, you come to us as a word for life that is as filling and life giving as fresh bread broken and shared among hungry people. We long for this living bread so that we may be sustained by your grace alone. Amen.
P.S. It is election day. Vote!
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