Matthew 5- The Beatitudes

First of all, lets begin with a definition of "Blessed"

Blessedness is defined as being higher than happiness, it is an inward fountain of joy in the soul itself, which no outward circumstances can seriously affect.

1. Blessed are the poor in spirit (gentle, forgiving, or benevolent)

2. Blessed are they that mourn

3. Blessed are the meek

4. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness

5. Blessed are the pure in heart

6. Blessed are the merciful

7. Blessed are the peacemakers

8. Blessed are the persecuted

Poor in Spirit- to be poor in spirit is to realize that we are ever dependent on the Lord for every material need we have.

Living this beatitude can help you to find more happiness because you realize that everything you have comes from the Lord and you would have nothing without him. Sometimes we get so caught up in the things we don't have or the things we want that we forget to remember all the things we DO have. What a blessed life we lead. If I ever am feeling down I like to make a list either on paper or in my mind of all the things I am thankful for. I keep listing things for as long as it takes for my spirits to improve....and they always improve when I start being thankful.

Merciful

I see this beatitude as the way we choose to treat or judge others. If we judge others we will be judged with that same judgement. Even if someone is cruel to us by gossiping or any other means, being merciful means to not retaliate back at them. My husband is such a good example of this. There have been times when we were first married that I'm sure I said some really not nice things. Most of the time, he was very patient and always careful about the words he spoke to me. He never once said anything to get retribution.

Peacemaker

This beatitude can help to increase the happiness of the person exercising it because a peacemaker is someone who doesn't create problems or contention. They have no evil or malicious intentions. A peacemaker is one who wishes the best for others. A peacemaker abides by the laws and commandments of God and of the land.

Water to Wine-The Miracle of it: John 2

I think the thing that impresses me the most about Christ changing the water to wine is that he actually reorganized the composition of water particles to be wine. Obviously we know that Christ is capable of anything, but miracles are still just amazing and awesome. He produced like 100-150 gallons of wine. It's interesting that the wedding celebration was that large.

When you think of a man saying "Woman" to his wife or mother in our day it sounds crude and harsh. However, in Christ's day, it's really interesting because using the term "woman" was more respectful, tender, and loving, than "mother". She is the one woman in the world who brought him into existence and therefore to him she is the woman of all women.

When Christ goes to the temple and finds people wheeling and dealing in the house of the Lord he is furious. (St John 2:13-16) He throws the tables over and pours out the money changers bags of money. What a sight this would have been to see. This is one of the times that you see Christ in righteous anger. I think that his reaction to their actions tells us how we need to treat the house of the Lord. It is not a place where we can joke around or take lightly. It is a place of worship and must always remain that way. It is a cleansing of the temple, but I think it is also symbolic of the cleansing we need to always be doing in our own bodies.