A20
FRIDAY, March 6, 2015
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FAITH
Introducing The Beautiful Sayings, part 2
T
he Beatitudes are part of the most famous sermon ever delivered by Jesus—the Sermon on the Mount. A previous column looked at the first four of the Beatitudes and this one will explore the last four. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Mercy is one of the virtues that distinguishes the noble and beautiful side of the human spirit from its ugly and cruel side. When we have others in our power, including the power of life and death, mercy means we grant them forgiveness and treat them with dignity. The Book of Proverbs says, “If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his
CHRIS KEMPLING
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head and the Lord will reward you.” This verse forms a basis for the Geneva Convention provisions for treatment of prisoners of war. Treating your enemy well when he is completely within your power is a Christian virtue, which has mercy at its base. It is one reason we are so horrified by the beheadings, rape, torture and senseless killings of ISIL and other murderous regimes. But, for us as individ-
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uals, mercy means that we don’t take revenge against those who have wronged us. Not only does it ennoble us, but it teaches our enemy a humbling lesson about the power of mercy and forgiveness (the figurative meaning behind “heap burning coals on his head”). Of course, who is it but God himself who showed us amazing grace in his merciful forgiveness of our sins and in the gift of his only Son as payment for those sins. When we show mercy, we are closest to the heart of God. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Purity is something that is sorely lacking in today’s society. People are greedy, lustful, dishonest, meanspirited, ungenerous to the needy, consumers of pornography, intentionally hurtful, and selfish
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wicked thing before my eyes . . .” If you want to see God, you need to stop viewing impure things on the electronic screens in your own house. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God. What is the highest possible honour that can be bestowed upon a human being on planet Earth? I think most would agree it is the Nobel Peace Prize. It is this one prize that captures the imagination and admiration of virtually everyone in the world. Why? Perhaps it is because of its opposite: war. The tragedy, horror and inhumanity of war has caused untold suffering and agony for millions. Those instrumental in bringing an end to war are seen as possessing the highest virtue. And, it’s not just
“peace” per se, but selfless acts of charity that lead to the betterment of all humanity. Look at some of the Nobel Peace Prize recipients: Mother Theresa and Albert Schweitzer, who cared for those no one else would care for, Jimmy Carter, Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin, who forged a peace between Israel and Egypt that endures to this day, Nelson Mandela, the International Red Cross (three times) and our own Lester Pearson, who helped to negotiate an end to the Suez crisis. Jesus is not called the Prince of Peace for nothing — peace, and the people who work their hearts out to achieve it, are close to the heart of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Being persecuted simply because of what
you believe is a terrible scourge today. Christians are the biggest target of persecution (including, historically, from other “Christians”). The Holy See in Rome reports 100,000 Christians are killed annually and 200 million are denied human rights due to their belief in Jesus Christ. God is promising an ultimate reward for those who suffer because of their faith. The Beatitudes, the beautiful sayings, are some of Jesus’ most precious gifts to all humanity.
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—and that is just the “decent” people. All of us show one or more of these behaviours at some point. We should all hang our heads in shame because none of us are “pure in heart”. The Apostle Paul writes, “No immoral, impure or greedy person . . . has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ.” So, how can we become pure? As a former registered clinical counsellor, I often advised people to start with one area needing work in their life, achieve success in overcoming that fault, then move on to the next. For many, a good place to start is developing self-discipline over what they watch on television or their computer. The Psalms say, “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. I will set no
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THE MOON HAS INSOMNIA
ALLEN DOUGLAS/KTW
The moon makes an appearance over Kamloops at 2 p.m. on a recent sunny day.