When I think of the Beatitudes, I think of collectible coffee mugs emblazoned with the words Blessed are the peacemakers, with little pastel flowers stenciled in the white spaces of the lettering. I think of greeting cards and decorative wall hangings.
 
Why? These are the Beatitudes, for heaven’s sake — revolutionary and radical. An uncompromising impeachment of worldly values. They are the opposite of banal.
 
But I cringed from my head to my toes when I read my first draft of this reflection, a retelling of a time in my life when I decided to embrace humility and meekness. I realized that the Beatitudes aren’t something I can tell you about. Poverty of spirit, the hunger for righteousness, the gladness God gives to the downtrodden — these are concepts that must be animated within us. They must be lived. So instead of telling you my story, I want you to tell yours.
 
I invite you to think of a time when you were vulnerable. When you were discouraged or humbled or felt like a failure. A time when you were cut low. The loss of a job, perhaps, or the rejection of a loved one. The abrupt end of some road that you felt sure would be long and prosperous.
 
Resentment, envy, and vengefulness flourish in moments like this. Did you experience those feelings? Did you embrace them? Did you want to?
 
What did the world tell you this moment should mean?
 
What does Christ tell you it should mean? Have you figured it out, or are you still working on it?
 
God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong. — 1 Corinthians 1:27