We are so used to the Beatitudes that we cannot comprehend how amazing they must have seemed to their first listeners. It is not that they would have been completely unaware of the teaching behind what Jesus was saying. If we were to examine them carefully, we would find that each one of the eight statements reflects the teaching found in the prophets. But it is the way that Jesus brings them together as a group and offers them as His charter for life that would have stopped His audience in their tracks. The blessings begin with those who would not normally be considered blessed: those who are totally powerless. Our starting point is to enter into the spirit of those who have no influence or power. In the last two Beatitudes Jesus describes His own destiny and the destiny of all His true followers.
Like Jesus’ early listeners, we are surrounded by the call to be rich and powerful. “Be celebrity,†we are told, “and you will be happy and admired.†What does it mean to be “poor in spirit†in such a world? And who stands alongside us in our commitment to show mercy and pursue peace? We need God’s gift of grace to pursue such a journey. We are blessed if we have that gift, for without it we are condemned to a pursuit of self-satisfaction that is bound to fail. In the way of the Beatitudes, however, we find the links that bind us to one another, and we discover how their way of living is a grace in itself.