Pilgrim - The Beatitudes: A Course for the Christian Journey
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Pilgrim - The Beatitudes: A Course for the Christian Journey
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Overview
Pilgrim is a teaching and discipleship resource that helps inquirers and new Christians explore what it means to travel through life with Christ. A Christian course for the twenty-first century, Pilgrim offers an approach of participation, not persuasion. Following the practice of the ancient disciplines of biblical reflection and prayer with quotes from the Christian tradition throughout the ages, Pilgrim assumes little or no knowledge of the Christian faith. Individuals or small groups on the journey of discipleship in the Episcopal tradition can use Pilgrim at any point.
There are many different aspects to helping people learn about the Christian faith. We have taken as our starting point Jesus’ summary of the commandments. We are called to offer our lives to God through loving God with all our mind, soul, strength, and heart, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Learning about Christian faith and growing in Christian faith is about more than what we believe. It’s also about the ways in which we pray and develop our relationship with God, about the way we live our lives and about living in God’s vision for the Church and for the world.
Course 4. The Beatitudes: A short but profoundly beautiful and influential collection of sayings by Jesus. They sum up his teaching about what it means to live as a child of God’s kingdom. The authors of this course believe that following Jesus requires us to engage with this important text, so that it is restored to a central place in the life of the Church. We believe that the Beatitudes, and trying to live them out, is one of the best ways of loving God with all your heart and understanding the Christian vision for the world.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780898699456 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Church Publishing |
| Publication date: | 03/01/2016 |
| Series: | Pilgrim |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| Pages: | 72 |
| File size: | 153 KB |
About the Author
Stephen Cottrell is the Bishop of Reading in the Church of England. He has written or contributed to Reflections for Daily Prayer, the Emmaus discipleship course, Traveling Well, and Praying Through Life.
Steven Croft is the Bishop of Sheffield. From 2004 to 2009 he was Archbishops Missioner and Team Leader of Fresh Expressions. Former warden of Cranmer Hall, he spent 13 years in parish ministry.
Paula Gooderis a freelance writer and lecturer in biblical studies, a Reader in the Church of England, and a lay member of the General Synod. She is also a Trustee of SPCK and the Saltley Trust and an honorary Canon Theologian at Birmingham and Guildford Cathedrals. She is the author of A Way Through the Wilderness and the bestselling Lent course Lentwise, and co-author of the Pilgrim course and Love Life, Live Advent.
Robert Atwell was Vicar of Primrose Hill, London, from 1998 though 2008, when he joined the episcopate. Formerly a lecturer in patristics at Trinity College Cambridge, where he was Chaplain, for ten years. He maintains his link with the Order of St. Benedict.
Sharon Ely Pearson a retired Christian educator, editor, and author with 35-plus years of experience in Christian formation on the local, judicatory, and church-wide level. Known for her knowledge of published curricula across the church, she has written or edited numerous books. She is a graduate of Virginia Theological Seminary and a lifelong Episcopalian. She lives in Norwalk, Connecticut.
Read an Excerpt
The Beatitudes
A Course for the Christian Journey
By STEPHEN COTTRELL, Steven Croft, Paula Gooder, Robert Atwell, Sharon Ely Pearson
Church Publishing Incorporated
Copyright © 2016 Stephen Cottrell, Steven Croft, Robert Atwell and Paula GooderAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-89869-945-6
CHAPTER 1
SESSION ONE:
LIVING WITH OPENNESS TO GOD
In this session we look at what it means to live with openness to God and with openness to the world. We start with a provocative little story where a woman who is an outsider comes to Jesus, asking for her daughter to be healed. She is open to God.
Opening Prayers
Generous God, help me to live as a child of your kingdom
Give me the mind of Christ.
Let us hear our Lord's blessing on those who follow him.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
MATTHEW 5:3-10
God of our days and years
We set this time apart for you.
Form us in the likeness of Christ
So that we may learn of your love
And that our lives may give you glory.
Amen.
Conversation
Be honest. When you think of the Beatitudes, or read them for the first time, what do you think? What makes sense about them, and what doesn't?
Reflecting on Scripture
Reading
From there he set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, 25 but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 He said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." 28 But she answered him, "Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." 29 Then he said to her, "For saying that, you may go — the demon has left your daughter." 30 So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. MARK 7:24-30
• Read the passage through once.
• Keep a few moments' silence.
• Read the passage a second time with different voices.
• Invite everyone to say aloud a word or phrase that strikes them.
• Read the passage a third time.
• Share together what this word or phrase might mean and what questions it raises.
Reflection
STEPHEN COTTRELL
Knowing your need of God
What does it mean to be poor in spirit?
Like most of the beatitudes, the meaning is not obvious. Does it mean that it is good to be poor? Or does it mean that there are different sorts of poverty?
The invitation of the Christian life is to live our lives in communion with God. This is the way to find fulfillment, peace, and happiness. This is also the way to find riches, though they are unlikely to be the sort of wealth the world holds dear.
Jesus has come to make communion with God possible. Therefore to be blessed — and some translations of the Bible say "Happy are the poor in spirit" — is to receive the blessings of God through relationship with Jesus and by living our lives in the way that God directs.
Therefore when Jesus says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit," he is very definitely not talking about material poverty. Jesus does have a great love for and affinity with the poor. He himself comes to us as a servant. But he also sees the evils and injustice of poverty, and asks us to join with him in building a better world. Rather, Jesus is speaking about the attitude we have to God and to ourselves in relationship with God and with God's world.
So you could put it like this: "Blessed are those who recognize their need for resources outside themselves ..." (which of course the materially poor often find easier than the materially rich!). Or "Blessed are those who do not take themselves too seriously ..." or "Blessed are those who receive and live life as a gift ..." or "Blessed are those who know their need of God."
Poverty of spirit is about acknowledging right relationship with God. We are created by God. We owe God everything. God is not another object within the creation, but the one upon whom the whole creation, and all of life, depends. God is the source of life, and God is the one whose endless outpouring of creativity sustains life. In comparison to God we are nothing, and yet through God's great love for us in Christ, we are everything. We are the object of God's love. God wants to make us rich by enabling us to live our lives well. And to live life well means living in relationship with God and with one another. God wants to bless us, but there will only be room for God's rich blessing in our lives (for God will never force himself upon us) if we recognize our own poverty and invite God in. Thus, when we are poor in spirit, when we do recognize our need of God, when we do live in this right relationship with God, the blessing we receive is nothing less than the kingdom of God itself.
Rich in blessing
What will being poor in spirit look like? It will mean recognizing that although we must strive to embody and live by the Christian virtues of, for instance, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, and self-control (these are some of the fruits of the Spirit that are listed by Paul in Galatians 5:22-23), these are, as the text for Galatians indicates, fruits that come to us by the Holy Spirit. They grow naturally when we root ourselves in Christ. So it is, again, the attitude of poverty, the recognition of our need for God's gifting and blessing, that matters most. We come to God as ones who are poor and in need. We ask God to give us what we need to live our lives well, and also enable us to persevere so that the fruits of God's richness and goodness are manifest in our lives. Jesus makes this connection when he observes that a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor a bad tree good fruit.
"Each tree is known by its own fruit," says Jesus, "for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks" (Luke 6:44 and 6:45).
Because we are poor in spirit we will catch hold of God's vision for the world. This will inevitably lead to lamentation. The world is not as God would have it. The second beatitude is "Blessed are those who mourn," which means "Blessed are those who cry out to God for the injustices and sorrows of the world." The blessing we receive will be strength to persevere and to go on seeking God's will and God's solutions.
But we must choose to be poor in spirit. And we never move on from it. It defines all our relationships. It means coming to Jesus with the same combination of determination and poverty that we saw in the story of the Syrophoenician woman. It means being in touch with the pain of the world. It affects and shapes all our relationships and the way we approach each person, each day, and each encounter. It leads to great joy as well as great challenge, as we enter into the mind and purposes of God for our life and for the world. Poverty of spirit means being rich in God. Yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Concluding Prayer
Jesus, lord of time,
Hold us in your eternity.
Jesus, image of God,
Travel with us the life of faith.
Jesus, friend of sinners,
Heal the brokenness of our world.
Jesus, lord of tomorrow,
Draw us into your future. Amen.
Sending Out
During this next week reflect on what you have learned and explored in this session. Think about what it means to know your need of God and be open to God's blessings. How will you let being poor in spirit change you this week?
These readings may help you in your reflections:
When I began to search for the meaning of life, I was at first attracted by the pursuit of wealth and pleasure. But as most people discover there is little satisfaction in such things. A life oriented to gormandizing or killing time is unworthy of our humanity. We have been given life in order to achieve something worthwhile, to make good use of our talents, for life itself points us to eternity. HILARY OF POITIERS (315–67)
If you are wise, you should endeavor to be more a reservoir than a canal. A canal spreads abroad water as soon as it receives it, but a reservoir waits until it is filled before overflowing and, as a result, without loss to itself communicates its superabundant water. In the church of the present day we have many canals, but few reservoirs. BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX (1090–1153)
Underneath all the texts, all the sacred psalms and canticles, are liquid varieties of sounds and silences: terrifying, mysterious, whirling, sometimes gestating, yet always gentle. I feel them in the pulse, ebb, and flow of the music that sings in me. As I sing I float like a feather on the breath of God. HILDEGARD OF BINGEN (1098–1179)
The world ridicules devotion in life, caricaturing devout people as peevish, gloomy and sullen, and insinuating that religion makes a person melancholy and unsociable. But the Holy Spirit, speaking through the mouths of the saints, and indeed through our Savior himself, assures us that a devout life is wholesome, pleasant, and happy. True devotion brings a person to wholeness. FRANCIS DE SALES (1567–1622)
Unlike the animals and the trees, it is not enough to be what our nature intends. It is not enough for us to be individuals. For us, holiness is more than humanity. If we are never anything but people, we will not be saints and we will not be able to offer to God the worship of our imitation, which is sanctity. For me to be a saint means to be myself. Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation is in fact the problem of finding out who I am and of discovering my true self. Trees and animals have no problem. God makes them what they are without consulting them, and they are perfectly satisfied. With us it is different. God leaves us free to be whatever we like. We can be ourselves or not, as we please. We may be true or false, the choice is ours. THOMAS MERTON (1915–68)
CHAPTER 2SESSION TWO:
THIRSTING FOR WHAT IS RIGHT
In this session we look at what it means to live with obedience to God and with a desire to put things right in the world as God intends. We start with a passage from the prophet Amos about God's desire for justice.
Opening Prayers
Generous God, help me to live as a child of your kingdom
Give me the mind of Christ.
Let us hear our Lord's blessing on those who follow him.
"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
MATTHEW 5:3-10
God of our days and years
We set this time apart for you.
Form us in the likeness of Christ
So that we may learn of your love
And that our lives may give you glory.
Amen.
Conversation
Be honest. What do you hunger and thirst for more than anything else?
Reflecting on Scripture
Reading
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no delight in your solemn
assemblies.
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an everflowing stream.
AMOS 5:21-24
Explanatory note
Worshipping God in the Old Testament involved going to the temple at the major festivals to offer sacrifices, like burnt offerings, grain offerings, and offerings of specially fattened animals. This is what is being referred to here.
They also sang songs to God which eventually were collected together in the Book of Psalms.
• Read the passage through once.
• Keep a few moments' silence.
• Read the passage a second time with different voices.
• Invite everyone to say aloud a word or phrase that strikes them.
• Read the passage a third time.
• Share together what this word or phrase might mean and what questions it raises.
Reflection
PAULA GOODER
Desiring the needs of others
The problem with some of the beatitudes is that they can appear to be a manifesto for doormats: blessed are the meek for they will never cease to be stepped on. Indeed, Christians sometimes have the reputation of being a bit weak — so soft that it is amazing they can stand up at all. This is not, I think, what Jesus meant here. Part of the problem is with the word "meek" which is now, in the English language, a much less complimentary word than it was when it was used in the King James Version. The word "meek" evokes in my mind the image of a little mouse terrified at the big world around, that stands just outside its hole looking at the world with big eyes and quivering with fear.
Actually the Greek word could be better translated as "gentle," "kind," or "humble," which might give us a better initial understanding of what Jesus meant — blessed are those who don't fight for their own rights; blessed are those who treat others with gentleness and humility. But we can only really understand what Jesus meant when we read the two beatitudes for this session together ("Blessed are the meek" and "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right").
This phrase concerning hungering and thirsting for what is right is counterintuitive. Hungering and thirsting is a natural part of being human and what our bodies do. When we need to eat we hunger; when we need a drink we thirst. We have little control over these sensations but they are what cause us to look after ourselves, to care for our bodies. When Jesus says, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right," he is saying that we should seek for what is right with as much zeal and concentration as when we are driven to look for food when we are hungry or drink when we are thirsty. We should allow ourselves to be driven with a desire that is primal and almost beyond our control — not for our own welfare, but for the welfare of others.
This is a good example of seeing the Beatitudes as a whole and not choosing between them. When we read these two together it becomes clear that they belong together. Jesus is saying that blessedness lies not in fighting for yourself and your own needs, but for others and what they most need. Paul had the same idea when he said, "Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others."
Standing against what is wrong
The more you think about it, the clearer it is that it is hard for a "doormat" to hunger and thirst for what is right. People who hunger and thirst for what is right cannot help but run into conflict with those whose interests are tied up in what is not right. Jesus himself is a good example of this since his yearning for what is right led him into direct conflict with the authorities of his day.
Often, when people cite Christian meekness they also use a phrase from slightly later in the Sermon on the Mount: "If anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also" (Matthew 5:39). Various commentators on this passage have questioned whether we have through the years misunderstood what Jesus was saying here. If you hit someone on their right cheek, you have to use either the back of your right hand or your left hand. Either of these was the sign of the most profound disrespect. Turning the other cheek would insist on them striking you with their right hand as an equal. If this is true, then what Jesus might have meant here was that his followers should stand up to those who oppress them (and others) with a quiet dignity. Turning the other cheek is not a giving-in to bullies but, with a spirit like that of Jesus who faced death with gentle dignity, it is a quiet standing-up to all those who seek to oppress, and insisting that we — and those for whom we seek justice — be treated with dignity and respect.
(Continues...)
Excerpted from The Beatitudes by STEPHEN COTTRELL, Steven Croft, Paula Gooder, Robert Atwell, Sharon Ely Pearson. Copyright © 2016 Stephen Cottrell, Steven Croft, Robert Atwell and Paula Gooder. Excerpted by permission of Church Publishing Incorporated.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Welcome to Pilgrim,Introduction to The Beatitudes,
The Beatitudes,
Session One: Living with Openness to God,
Session Two: Thirsting for What Is Right,
Session Three: Living Transparently,
Session Four: Peacemaking,
Session Five: Living as Citizens of God's Kingdom,
Session Six: Foundations,
Notes,