A hymn from Mass this morning has stuck with me all day...
Welcome to Brothers and Sisters, the weekly meetup for prayer* and community at Daily Kos. We put an asterisk on pray* to acknowledge that not everyone uses conventional religious language, but may want to share joys and concerns, or simply take solace in a meditative atmosphere. Anyone who comes in the spirit of mutual respect, warmth and healing is welcome.
Couple the hymn in my head with a twitter feed full of "Christians" calling for the deportation of thousands of children, the firing of all LGBT persons, and wailing about the persecution they feel because marriage is being mortally threatened-- and you end up with a very riled up me. Some people...
Wow- these people have really lost Jesus' message!
The hymn comes from the Beatitudes:
Matthew 5:3-12
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great in heaven.
I guess I needed the hymn to counterbalance the twitter nonsense. It's a reminder that the beatitudes are not a "sit back and bask in specialness" kind of message. They are a call to action-- a lesson in how to behave towards one another.
I may not be able to change the actions of those who don't understand what mercy is or cannot see their own persecution of others. But I can recognize that behavior and choose not to participate. I can name it for what it is, and help others do the same. I can steer some people in the right direction of the message.
Peace...
Dee