The Beatitudes

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Blessed are the poor in spirit…
Blessed are those who mourn…
Blessed are the meek…
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…
Blessed are the merciful…
Blessed are the pure in heart…
Blessed are the peacemakers…
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.

Whether they called him the Christ or a prophet,
enslaved Christians and Muslims, ripped 
from Africa, knew the truth of Yeshua.

They saw through the lies and distortions
of proselytizing colonizers and enslavers
claiming to be concerned for their souls.

Now, a vast chasm exists in Christianity 
between the descendants of the oppressed 
and the descendants of the oppressors.

It is a chasm of experience, knowing,
understanding, and perception based 
at the root of the Gospel.

The beatitudes and all of Yeshua’s teachings 
are invitations to wrestle with the Gospels 
as did Jacob with God’s messenger.

Ancestors cannot be changed
but there is no shame in wrestling
with their ways of being human.

Lean into the discomfort and risk it all 
in as many matches as it takes
knowing God is your wrestling mat.