All Saints
Apocalypse 7:2-4,9-14 | Psalm 23(24):1-6 | 1 John 3:1-3 | Matthew 5:1-12
It’s that time of year again to reflect on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, specifically the eight famous Beatitudes. I personally think of them as the Be-Attitudes, reflecting the spiritual and Spirit-filled positions we are called to adopt as children of God:
- Be poor in spirit, knowing that no matter how rich and famous we become on this earth, we are still completely dependent on God’s mercy.
- Be gentle, mastering our inner urge to lash out at those who torment us, and helping them to understand and eventually find the God of love whom we follow.
- Be mournful for our own faults, and for those who have walked away from God.
- Be hungry and thirsty for what is right, striving daily to lift others in goodness, instead of focusing on our material goods and comforts.
- Be merciful, with compassion to all God’s creatures, especially the downtrodden and helpless.
- Be pure of heart, quashing urges of the flesh and lust for power over others, anything that would make us hide from God’s face.
- Be peacemakers, urging calm and reconciliation, for the world has had enough of war between nations, violence in the streets, and strife in families.
- Be righteous in persecution, holding firm to our belief that we are all God’s children – even the ones who reject Him, and us by association.
This is truly a day to rejoice with all the saints in heaven. May we renew our faith and stand firm against sin, and so be blessed to join their ranks on the last day.
Amen.