Virtual Methodist

The amazing and gloriously provocative Nadia Boltz-Weber,  who has just started a new web presence on substack  , has kicked it off with a piece which she has used in different forms in different places, riffing on the Beatitudes, focusing on how God wants to bless those with whom she regularly works, who are those that the wider church often avoids like the plague. I've loved her treatment of this already provocative list, and as it appeared in the lectionary for today I went back to her somewhat longer version and looked at how it might apply to my context... and the answer is that it doesn't. But at least one of the times she has used it she has challenged others to come up with their own Beatitudes or Benedictions in like vein.  So that's what follows... I start with my own rendering of the original list before spiraling out from there (shamelessly pilfering some of Nadia's words, but then if I've stolen from Jesus, why shouldn't I steal from her too). ...

Over recent months in Belfast South Methodist we have been thinking about the implications of Jesus’ Beatitudes in Matthew chapter 5, and in this morning's broadcast Service on Radio Ulster we were reflecting on "Blessed are the Peacemakers..." and as part of it we contrasted the words of Jesus with common attitudes in the world at large: VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." VOICE 1:          The world says: VOICE 3:          "Blessed are the materially wealthy, because theirs is the kingdom of the here and now." VOICE 1:          Jesus says: VOICE 2:          "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." VOICE 1:     ...

No, this isn't another blog on the results of last week's local elections on the other island, but a reflection on a report I found via the satirical Christian website, Ship of Fools , which suggests that those of a more conservative bent, socially, politically and theologically are more content than those who have more liberal tendencies. Conservatives apparently reported greater life satisfaction and well-being than more left-leaning individuals and scored highest on measures of rationalization, which gauge a person's tendency to justify, or explain away, inequalities. Now this doesn't explain the right's tendency to moan, and stir up fear about everything from asylum seekers to the World Council of Churches, but certainly is borne out by the tendency of most social activists I know to slip into a collective slough of despond every time they come together. The issue for me is not one of theological orientation, but complacency, feeling that everything is black and...

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. But anyone who opens their eyes whilst wandering around any city in the United States will see that while our Creator theoretically made us all equal, something has gone wrong in practice. Certainly my first morning in Pittsburgh showed that some people were finding the unalienable right to pursue happiness a little difficult in sub-zero temperatures... turned away from one city-centre church by an armed guard because they were likely to frighten members of the congregation. Other churches ran cold weather shelters, but they only kicked into action at 20 F, and kicked their inhabitants out at 7am. So what if the founder of the church also had no place to lay his head... Unless it was seriously sub-zero he'd have little chance of finding somewhere to sleep in the centre of Pit...