Pilgrim Uniting Church, Adelaide SA SUN 01-NOV-2020 - 11 AM Sermon Rev Dr Greg Elsdon Pentecost 22 – Beatitudes are to be found in many parts of the Hebrew scriptures as well as in the New Testament teachings attributed to Jesus. Beatitudes were a common way of declaring the value of practices and attitudes considered to be of importance, and they offered hearty congratulations to anyone who followed them and lived by them. For example "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" can be interpreted as, "Congratulations for not desiring to control and manipulate others for your own benefit." The Beatitudes are not to be taken as soothing messages for sentimental greeting cards; they are meant to startle us into taking up a challenge to alter the way we live. They are declarations of God's intention for humanity, with images of life as it could be. But unfortunately, many Christians ignore the Beatitudes and follow a religion of legalism and stern judgementalism – which is not in accord with the words recorded by the prophet Micah, some 800 years before the Common Era: "And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly before your God." (Micah 6:8) Matthew 5: 1-12 Playing Time   –   13:43