|
|
Article: Caution: contents may be hot. (Living by the Word).(beatitudes for action not submission)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- January 16, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Sunday, February 3 Matthew 5:1-12
IN THESE LITIGIOUS DAYS, fast food restaurants warn us of the obvious. Before biting into that deep-fried McDonald's apple pie, we read, "Caution: Contents may be hot." What looks like soft, sweet, greasy comfort food could scald your trusting tongue. The familiar treat is not harmless. It may bite you back.
The Beatitudes sneak up on us like that. These words of Jesus are so often quoted that they have become bland and mushy on the outside. "Blessed are the meek, the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the pure in heart." We tend to remember the parts that reflect the lowest common denominator, the "Have a nice day" ...