We often hear people say, “Have a blessed day”, or perhaps someone will assert, “I am blessed.” But what does it mean, in the deepest sense, to be blessed? Typically, we count our blessings by the measure of our financial wealth, professional success, material comfort, and so forth Yet Jesus shares an alternative concept of blessing–one that makes clear what it means to be a child of God in a time of increasing complexity and confusion.
In the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-11), we are offered a life that is blessed in the truest, most satisfying sense. To be sure, the Beatitudes of Jesus do not provide an easy path, and in fact they turn many of our Western values and desires upside down. They call us into a narrow spiritual path of both inner and outer transformation. Most importantly, they set free the life of Christ within us.
I invite you to join me in the enchanted landscape of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, for a weekend retreat focused on the Beatitudes. We will consider varied interpretations by scholars and teachers, both ancient and contemporary. However, our aim is not merely to learn more about the Beatitudes. Rather, we will seek to experience how we can more fully live out the Beatitudes in tumultuous times.