12 Comments

Thank you for this, Rebekah. It's one of those posts I suspect I will find myself returning to repeatedly. What you end up doing with the text reminds me of my friend Charlie Davies's version of the Tao Te Ching, which I've found very helpful over the years:

https://www.amazon.com/thought-was-way-work-home-ebook/dp/B0167FXA1M

There are people who write about God in ways that close a door and leave me on the outside, and then there are people who write about God in ways that open a door. You're among the latter and I'm grateful for it.

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In his ‘The Mystical Christ’ Manly P Hall says the key to the last beatitude is not to see the kingdom of heaven as a future state but as signifying the inner life in God. Heaven is the quietude of the spirit the abode of inner peace. Thus persecution and reviling have no effect on one who has accepted the way.

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I love your paraphrase Rebekah. A suggestion that I have found very helpful in counselling people who are being persecuted, and experience all kinds of calumny etc etc - whistleblowers suffering retaliation for speaking truth to power. Its called the Sermon on the Mount. So what happens when we walk DOWN the mount and contemplate the Beatitudes in REVERSE order. So one starts with he problematic verse of their existential reality of persecution and retaliation, which actually contextualizes them all. Pose the question. "How can I be sustained and resilient in this ordeal?" Take a step into to the Eighth. "If you are dejected and discouraged, walk on! All the resources of heaven’s kingdom are at your disposal." But the Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. How do I keep fleshing this out? You are blessed for walking the path of peace". How do I keep walking? The Sixth beatitude explains "You are blessed with a pure heart of love... ". And so on and so forth until we get to the bottom of the hill, and realise that it is really the only place to be. "If you are dejected and discouraged, walk on! All the resources of heaven’s kingdom are at your disposal." Which kind of loops you back to where you have started. It is a spiral dynamic into deeper consciousness, rather than a linear path upward. Mountain top experiences are great. But it is in the Valleys that the Divine Mystery becomes deeply personal to us. Hope that helps. Thanks

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Apr 14, 2023Liked by Rebekah Berndt

I’m so here for this Rebekah! I can see myself wanting to share your beatitudes, with credit, is that okay? Just gorgeous, and lines up with my experience too.

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Apr 14, 2023Liked by Rebekah Berndt

I’ve also heard that Jesus was influenced by Buddhist thinking and so that last one could have been more about karma. I can believe in that and it does keep me going through some really difficult stuff.

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Thank you for these thoughts I really like your take on the Beatitudes.

Are you familiar with the Gnostic gospels? These are scriptures that were written shortly after the death of Yeshua and buried for safe keeping in Nag Hammadi to keep them from being burnt and destroyed. I mention this because the idea that many original teachings were heavily twisted and spun to fit in with the growing power structure of the Christian church - around the 2rd century and onwards. The Nag Hammadi texts also shows how Yeshua was influenced by Greek philosophy, Egyptian magic and Buddhism. Plus how the idea that women were lesser beings and not allowed to be priests or bishops was not part of the original teachings - Mary Magdalene was Yeshus's most loved desciple - much to Peter's chagrin.

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