My thoughts for
MY OPINIONSInstead of just pasting another parable, I’ll actually comment on something meaningful to me personally. First, the Beatitudes:
THE EIGHT BEATITUDES OF JESUS
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Why is he telling us these strange things? The meek shall inherit the earth? Uh,….WHAT?
What he is actually doing is describing the "kingdom of heaven".
That’s right, it’s a description of the people who inhabit "his kingdom".
That’s what his kingdom is....people.
The people who actually live as described above.
The Temptation of Jesus
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil.
He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man does not live on bread alone."
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.
So if you worship me, it will all be yours."
Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Worship the Lord your God and serve him only."
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written:
" 'He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;
they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone."
Jesus answered, "It says: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test."
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.
Once again, why is he telling us these strange things?
It’s a narrative account being given to his disciples. Why?
Because they imagine the Messiah as a military power coming to rescue them from the Roman occupation.
What he is actually doing is describing the Messiah.
That’s right, it’s a description of the "Son of Man".
The true savior brings us out of our desires for wealth, power and eternal life.
Ginger and I had only walked two or three blocks when she did the poop squat and left a deposit. I normally take the bag from the morning newspaper but this morning didn't. Instead of going back home immediately to get the tools to do the pickup I continued on our usual route. About forty minutes later I stopped by the house to grab the poop picking up stuff and went to get Ginger's mess. Weeelllll, the homeowner was out with a shovel and the trash container and none too happy. Today is trash day in our neighborhood and seems while taking the trash thingy to the curb the mess had been discovered in a not pleasant way.
I'll come up with some way to make amends to the stranger who is a neighbor. But I think I'll let him cool off and maybe even do something anonymously. This neighbor and I might not ever be the friends.
Send him a card with a short but sincere apology.
Don't do it anonymously, even if you sign it with "the dog lady" or sumpin.
After that's done,
fuggidaboudit!~
These explanations came to me as a sort of epiphany yesterday while doing my 20 minute meditation.
Inbetween my own thoughts, this stuff would not let me relax. I do not know if these are original ideas.
For once, it's not a copy of somebody else's ideas.
For what it's worth.
Loading....