Have you ever had a week that was so busy, and just when you didn't think it could get any busier, it did? Perhaps you have even had a week like that, then been thrown a curve ball, like being told your dad had cancer or Alzheimer's or your mom's surgery on her knee didn't go smoothly and they lost her for a few minutes. It seems like life if filled with curve balls. Just when we think we're in the clear and everything is going to go our way, they show up. Why do we think that everything should go our way though? Why do we think that if we've done what we ought, we should get what we should get rewarded?
Jesus gives us the Beatitudes...those blessing on the poor, meek, and lowly. They are his challenge to us in a world that prizes star athletes and celebrities more than those who put food on our tables. He is challenging us today to look again at our priorities and what we hold most dear. "Blessed are they who are poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God."
This last week I had the blessed fortune of visiting a nursing home. The patient was trying to be courteous to her nurses, but was suffering a collapsing vertebrate, associated pain in the legs, and a urinary tract infection, but she needed help trying to get into positions that could help her, and it was occurring frequently. The nurses were trying to courteous and kind, but their patience was beginning to wane. It was a tough situation. The thing about it was that they were all trying their best to follow the teachings of the Beatitudes. It is not easy for them, or for us, in our daily lives. Today let us reexamine ourselves to see where exactly our priorities lie, and if we are truly living as Jesus taught.
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