Blessed are those who mourn

Of all the Beatitudes, this one is my favorite!  You see we live in a culture that doesn’t know how to mourn.  We don’t know how to process our grief.  We shove our pain down and put on a happy face, but when we are alone our sorrow overwhelms us.

Maybe that is not your experience…but it is mine!  When my dad died my world was shattered.  I was constantly on the verge of tears and little things opened the flood gates.  I was grieving.  I was heartbroken.  I felt lost.  A few months went by and I was better, or at least I told myself that, until one day tears rolled for no apparent reason.  Someone asked, “When are you going to get over this?  It has been months already.”  That day I tucked my grief away (or so I tried.)

I had never lost someone who I deeply loved before.  I was trying to navigate my grief without a map.  But here is the thing about grief…THERE IS NO MAP!  Everyone grieves differently.  Everyone processes (or doesn’t) their sorrow in their own way, on their own time.  There is no right or wrong way…well, accept to not mourn our losses and ignore our grief completely (that never ends well!)

You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

This is why I love this second Beatitude.  Jesus gives us permission to grieve, to have all the feelings so that we can be comforted and continue living in our altered world.  The thing about grief is that we never really move beyond it, it becomes a part of our lives.  I love this saying, “We grieve because we love. How lucky we are to have experienced that love.”  I don’t know who said it first, but I say it all the time.  I live it every day.

Friends, we were created to feel…joy, anger, sorrow.  Our emotions are powerful and necessary for they are what makes us human.  Mourning is a deep emotion we need to experience.  Jesus mourned the death of John the Baptist, and his friend Lazarus.  He grieved over the city of Jerusalem.  Here’s to learning how to grieve better!

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Poor in Spirit 

When I was in college I worked at a Christian family camp for the summers as a day camp counselor.  One summer our theme was “the Beatitudes” and we were “Knights of the Beatitudes” as we taught the kids about the different attitudes.

This first Beatitude – Blessed are the poor in spirit - was the hardest to grasp for my 1st & 2nd graders…why would anyone want to be poor?   Wouldn’t we want to be “capable in spirit” or “competent in spirit…” if anything, at least “middle class in spirit!”

But as we worked through our lesson those kiddos began to understand being poor in spirit is more about our attitude than anything else.

·   Being poor in spirit means we have no merit by which we can claim God’s blessing.  When we come to God, there’s literally nothing about us that we can bring to God as a way of compelling God to bless us. 

·    Being poor in spirit means we are to empty ourselves and trust God completely.  We must realize that we have no means of obtaining God’s blessing.  God only fills empty hands.

So how is your attitude?  Are you humble of spirit, fully dependent upon God?  Or are you trying to hard and holding on to tightly to the controls?  Maybe it is time for a little attitude adjustment…

You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope.
With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
Matthew 5:3 (The Message)

I am looking forward to sharing this journey with you as we walk through the Beatitudes this summer.  See you on Sunday!

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

#BLESSED

One of my favorite places when I went to Israel was on the Mount of Beatitudes.  A beautiful vista that overlooks the Sea of Galilee.  While standing on the hill it was easy to picture Jesus with a crowd gathered at his feet as he began what we know as the Sermon on the Mount…Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

There is something about the Beatitudes that I absolutely love.  Those eight statements of blessing hold within them an upside-down view of God’s kingdom, elevating those things that we so often looked down upon.  Humility, grief, meekness, mercy, justice, righteousness, peacemaking…all characteristics that are often contrary to culture. 

But it is really the very first word in each of these Beatitudes that often has me puzzled.  Blessed.  This is not the normal definition - bringing pleasure, contentment, or good fortune - that we think of in regard to God  - #blessed – “God has blessed my life and all is good.”  The Greek word Jesus used, Makarios, can also be translated as Happy.  Again, not as we might define happiness, which most often is connected to circumstances.  Makarios goes deeper than the surface of happiness and describes a joy that has a secret within itself, a joy that is serene and untouchable, and self-contained. 

In the Beatitudes Jesus is describing a happy life.  A different kind of happiness that has very little to do with chance or circumstances and is not dependent on health or wealth or even our achievements.  Doesn’t that sound like something you want in your life?  I do!

I am excited to walk through the Beatitudes this summer, considering each blessing and what that means for us.  I am looking forward to this journey hope that you will join in as we look to redefine #Blessed.

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

(Matt 5:1-11)

This Sunday we wrap up our sermon series on the Holy Spirit.  We have heard the Promise of Jesus, experienced the Presence of the Spirit on Pentecost and this week we look at the Power of the Trinity!  (The Trinity is the three persons that make up the Godhead - one God, three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.) 

Lately, I have been watching reruns of Home Improvement, the TV show from the 90’s staring Tim Allen.  I love the antics of Tim “the Toolman” Taylor and how he is always tinkering and tweaking things to get more power (har-har-har).  But in his need to make things have more power - faster, louder, better - he inevitably makes things more dangerous!

As I thought about the Trinity - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - I thought about the perfect power of God.  Sometimes life can seem dangerous or unpredictable, fast paced or out of control, right?  Sometimes these things happen by our own doing and our need for “more Power,” while at other times whatever happens is beyond our control.  But to know that God Almighty is in control, with all the power, brings me comfort.

I love how Paul writes in his letter to the church in Rome, about the power of the Trinity and how all three persons work beautifully together. 

By entering through faith into what God has always wanted to do for us—set us right with him, make us fit for him—we have it all together with God because of our Master Jesus. And that’s not all: We throw open our doors to God and discover at the same moment that he has already thrown open his door to us. We find ourselves standing where we always hoped we might stand—out in the wide-open spaces of God’s grace and glory, standing tall and shouting our praise.

There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!    Romans 5:1-5 (The Message)

The reality is we don’t need more power or to make things faster, louder, or better.  All the Power we need is wrapped up in the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit! 

Friends, let us stop relying on our own power and truly lean into the Power of God.  Let us stop trying to fix things on our own and let God do the work.  We only need to trust in the infinite power of God!

Blessings,
Pastor Jenni

In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged.
Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything
God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
 

Romans 5:5 (MSG)