The Beati.. what?
The word "beatitude" is derived from the Latin word "beatus," which means blessed or happy.
Unlike the Ten Commandments that were given with a series of “Thou shall nots”, here Jesus gives us some rules for living, except that He doesn’t use commands or threats. Instead, He proposes a different hierarchy by elevating the qualities of those who are not quite on the ‘who’s who’ list or ‘hall of fame’.
In His ‘upside down Kingdom’ setup, it appears that the poor, the hungry, the insulted etc, are the ones that will be exalted….not quite what we’ve been programmed to believe in this “dog eat dog”, “work smart not hard”, “just shut up and keep the peace” world, right?
Each of the beatitudes gives us an idea of who is blessed and then describes what’s in store for each category of who is blessed.
“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”
As we can see , they are simple but profound, and they show us the values that Jesus is really concerned about. Jesus’ teachings can sometimes appear confusing—if God really loves us and cares for us, how then can He call blessed what we normally would call misfortunes? It can only make sense, if we read it in light of the last few words of the last beatitude: “on account of the Son of Man”.
What’s the difference between those called “Blessed” and those to whom He says “woe”?
The blessed are those who put their trust in God instead of the world, and those to whom He says “woe” are those who would rather find their joy in the material instead of the spiritual. Those who accept these misfortunes” as the price they have to pay for following Him, are the blessed ones.
The Beatitudes are not just about attitudes. While recognizing our human imperfection, and
acknowledging our “insignificance” in the eyes of the world, it shows us how we can have divine value when we allow Jesus to be the Lord and Saviour of our lives.