What does it mean to be blessed?  What do you think of when you hear that word?  For some people, being blessed comes in the form of money-lots of it.  For others, it may mean having time off from work to really enjoy life.  For many if not most, being blessed is having a supportive community of family and close friends.  It may also be just a quiet walk on a beach or a stroll on a forest path during autumn.  The point is, however, whenever we think of "being blessed," we overwhelmingly perceive the concept in two ways.  First, being blessed always involves "good" or positive things like those listed above.  Second, it is something that happens to us; that is, being blessed means we are the recipient of the blessing.

However, in the famous passage referred to as The Beatitudes, Jesus paints quite a different picture of what it means to be blessed.  First off, those who are considered blessed are the hurting, the suffering, the lonely, the oppressed, the grief-filled-not the comfortable, successful, popular go-getters.  Second, Jesus implies that being blessed is not so much a matter of something one receives but rather something one gives away for someone else: "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the peacemakers. . . ."  In other words, in Jesus' radical vision, being personally blessed includes being the purveyor of blessing.  Hence, "it is better to give than to receive," for to do so is the greater blessing.

Think about what Jesus is saying here: being blessed means being the blessing.  This is so antithetical to how we Americans tend to think of the concept.  But if my four-year-old child died of a rare medical condition, no one would be in a better position to get me through it than parents who had experienced the same thing.  "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted."  They will be comforted by being comfort to a fellow traveler on their road.

Thanks for all the blessings. I am one tremendously blessed.

Cheers

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²Then 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 righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.