Winner of 2021 Illumination Book Award for best Bible study!

What does it mean to be “blessed”? Some people think it means that God intervenes in our lives, often in a material way, like receiving a gift: perhaps a new house, a new car, a job, children, or even good weather or good health. Such things can be seen as blessings, but the biblical concept goes much deeper. Donald Schmidt dives into the language and context out of which the Beatitudes emerged. After all, Jesus was speaking to peasants 2,000 years ago, not to wealthy North Americans. And yet are we, as modern Christians, any less vulnerable to temptation, loss, grief, desperation, ridicule? Ultimately, says Schmidt, we are blessed when we recognize the presence of the divine in our lives – a state of ultimate grace that, in its purest form, tells us that God is with us. 

Let’s admit it. We live in a complicated world where things are a bit crazy – and not in a good way. A global pandemic, wars, racial strife, social injustice, wealth disparity, death and destruction: we are all affected by these things in one way or another, even if only through the media. And we all suffer because of them – sometimes directly and physically; usually emotionally; and often spiritually, though we may not always recognize it. Some us suffer more than others, of course, particularly those of us who are or have been touched directly by tragedy and trauma. It’s enough, sometimes, to make you question your faith. It’s enough, sometimes, to make you wonder if you’re cursed.

“Not so!” says Jesus. Not only are we not cursed, it is in these painful extremes that we are most blessed. 

With genuine pastoral sensitivity, Schmidt says, “The Beatitudes tell us that we can find and experience God’s presence in difficult times. We can know our lives are expressions of divine love when we seek to bring about peace and justice in our world. We can find comfort when we are grieving and hurting. And at those times when people put us down for our adherence to living the gospel, we can feel assured that – despite ridicule – we are on the right path.”

Winner of 2021 Illumination Book Award for best Bible study!

What does it mean to be “blessed”? Some people think it means that God intervenes in our lives, often in a material way, like receiving a gift: perhaps a new house, a new car, a job, children, or even good weather or good health. Such things can be seen as blessings, but the biblical concept goes much deeper. Donald Schmidt dives into the language and context out of which the Beatitudes emerged. After all, Jesus was speaking to peasants 2,000 years ago, not to wealthy North Americans. And yet are we, as modern Christians, any less vulnerable to temptation, loss, grief, desperation, ridicule? Ultimately, says Schmidt, we are blessed when we recognize the presence of the divine in our lives – a state of ultimate grace that, in its purest form, tells us that God is with us. 

Let’s admit it. We live in a complicated world where things are a bit crazy – and not in a good way. A global pandemic, wars, racial strife, social injustice, wealth disparity, death and destruction: we are all affected by these things in one way or another, even if only through the media. And we all suffer because of them – sometimes directly and physically; usually emotionally; and often spiritually, though we may not always recognize it. Some us suffer more than others, of course, particularly those of us who are or have been touched directly by tragedy and trauma. It’s enough, sometimes, to make you question your faith. It’s enough, sometimes, to make you wonder if you’re cursed.

“Not so!” says Jesus. Not only are we not cursed, it is in these painful extremes that we are most blessed. 

With genuine pastoral sensitivity, Schmidt says, “The Beatitudes tell us that we can find and experience God’s presence in difficult times. We can know our lives are expressions of divine love when we seek to bring about peace and justice in our world. We can find comfort when we are grieving and hurting. And at those times when people put us down for our adherence to living the gospel, we can feel assured that – despite ridicule – we are on the right path.”