WATCHWORD:
One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.
6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. 12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way. Matthew 5:1-12
Jesus stood and cried, saying, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 7:37.
Meditation:
The Sermon on the Mount
The Beatitudes, setting a standard for Christian Life and faith. The sermon on the Mount is found in Matthew, chapters 5, 6 and 7. This is Jesus, early in His ministry, teaching and emphasizing moral foundations for living. This sermon takes place after His baptism, after His time in the desert, probably after His first miracle at Cana, and after His return from Jerusalem for Passover. This takes place at the very beginning of his ministry to towns throughout Galilee. In the Sermon, in addition to the Beatitudes, we find the Lord’s Prayer, and the central elements of Christian discipleship.
Has circumstance ever driven you to prayer, almost in desperation? Maybe you’re being rushed to the hospital and prayers are on your lips, almost without thinking. You’re desperate, you are in need, and you call on your Lord and Savior. Those people that Jesus was reaching out to in Galilee did not know how to reach out to a Lord and Savior, yet, Jesus’ message touched them exactly in their needs.
Our Lord begins where we would never begin, at the point of human need, maybe even destitution. The greatest blessing a man ever gets from God is the realization that if he is going to enter into His Kingdom it must be through the door of our need. We would never begin there, we do not want to begin there, and yet, in the face of our reality, we do call out to our Lord.
We go through our smooth and easy days, maybe with only a single intentional thought about God in our early morning meditations. Those morning moments of Grace are wonderful, but rarely do we call out in desperation. When faced with the adversities of our lives the only One worth listening to is the Lord.
You have heard it said, never to pray for patience, or God will give you cause. But the reality is, each one of us needs to find comfort in deeper patience. We learn to welcome the patience of Jesus only when we get to the point of crisis. It is not that God will not do anything for us until we get there, but that He cannot. God can do nothing for me if I am sufficient unto myself. However, when we come to the place of spiritual need or the crush of adversity, we find the Lord, there, waiting and we hear him say “If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink.” Amen.
Bulletin Board:
Reminder: Now that Lent is behind us, we return to our regular schedule — No Watchwords on Wednesdays and Sundays.
Maybe a bit of humor to cover your disappointment — Two cannibals met one day in the jungle. One says, I went to the river and got me a couple of Catholic monks the other day and brought em home and boiled them and they tasted terrible. The other one says, You boiled em? No wonder they tasted terrible, those were friars! Ta Da!
Closing Prayer:
Precious Savior and Lord — We receive your blessings and pray for the Holy Spirit to make them real in our lives. Renew a right spirit within us, a poor spirit, a spirit which knows our deep need of your grace and deliverance. Free us from trying to save ourselves. Free us for the fullness of your kingdom. Soften our hard hearts with the gift of tears. Help us mourn our brokenness and the brokenness of our world. Help us feel it fully. Help us welcome the refreshment of your comfort and share it well with others. Generous Savior, you fill each person with gifts, talents, and strength. Open us to meekness, that we may gladly surrender them to your authority and discipline. In our hands, they are often weapons. With you, they are refined for your glory and the common good. Lord, break our hearts as yours is broken. In the breaking, create in us clean hearts, pure hearts, undivided hearts. Our deepest desire is to see you at work in us and all around us and to one day see you face to face. We offer these prayers, Lord, in your precious name. Amen.
