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Blessed are the arrogant, for theirs is the kingdom of their own company;

Blessed are the superstars, for the magnificence in their light, we understand better, our own insignificance;

Blessed are the filthy rich, for you can only truly own that which you give away, like your pain;

Blessed are the bullies for one day they will have to stand up to themselves;

Blessed are the liars, for the truth can be awkward.

The words above are written by Kendrick Lamar, the American rapper and are sandwiched between two tracks on the new U2 album Songs of Experience.

When I first heard them, I loved the way that a small part of Jesus Christ’s famous Sermon on the Mount – known as the Beatitudes – had been adapted for our times and in such a way that you cannot possibly listen to the words and not be challenged; just as the original message was a challenge, as well as an encouragement, to the people 2,000 years ago…

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
    for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
    for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
    for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
    for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
    for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
    for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
    for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

Reading these verses again now makes me think of how relevant this message is today – irrespective of what you believe or think about Jesus. And irrespective of what you believe or think about Kendrick Lamar, the man has delivered an extremely insightful, dare I say, prophetic perspective on so much of how the world we live in today is controlled.

Me, myself and I are usually the only ‘three-in-one’ people we often consider in our daily push for prominence. Like so many things in life, we all too easily miss the good stuff because we are too consumed with possessing what we think will make us happy.

Which leads me nicely to the original Greek meaning of the word blessed. The Greek word makarios means to be blessed, to be happy to the degree that you are so completely content, that you do not need anything else at all. The island of Cyprus was once referred to as ‘Makarios’ because it was believed that if you were fortunate enough to live there, you would never want or need to leave its shores.

So, my question is this: Where do you currently stand in relation to the MeAttitudes… or the Beatitudes? And are you happy?  Is there anything from either list that you aspire to?  Why not take a few minutes to contemplate these powerful verses?

P.S. If you want to listen to Kendrick’s words, they come at the end of the track Get Out of Your Own Way and then go into the intro to American Soul from the album Songs of Experience by U2.

When I was eighteen years old, I lived on a kibbutz in Israel for seven months. One of my favourite aspects of this alternative life was the freedom to walk around in bare feet for a lot of the time I was there.

It was fantastic! There is something so wonderful about simply not wearing anything at all on your feet.

Compare that with not having socks in the middle of Winter, when you truly need them.

I am thankful that this has never been my experience.

But the other day I witnessed something truly extraordinary…

A man was walking along the pavement in a quiet street in London, when he decided to stop to examine his feet. As he leaned on the wall of the bridge that overlooked a railway line, he pulled off his socks, as both were thoroughly spent. Worn out, and without much material left to speak of.

It was a quiet, leafy, suburban road – not the sort of place you would expect to see someone in such a poor state of affairs. The man did not look obviously homeless, with no bags, rucksack or even the seemingly ubiquitous canine companion to help him along the difficult journey he had found himself on.

In fact, it would have been perfectly excusable to have driven past him without even noticing there was a problem, were it not for the fact that he was standing on one leg whilst examining the afore-mentioned feet.

One or two cars did simply drive past, oblivious to the poor man’s podiatry plight in the same way that most of us travel through much of our lives with no idea whatsoever of the suffering of others.

But one car drove past him and for some reason, a few hundred yards up the road, it turned around and came back towards him. The car pulled up alongside the man, who by now, was hobbling along the pavement, having fired the now useless socks and appeared to be deciding whether it was more comfortable to walk with his shoes on or off.

I heard some words spoken and then a hand came out from the open window of the front passenger door.

The hand was holding a pair of socks and the man was clearly extremely grateful for this spontaneous demonstration of charity, or love, or simply spotting a need and responding without any thought; other than to relieve the suffering of this complete stranger.

What does this say about our society today?

Are there more people than ever before since the days of Dickens, without the basic necessities of daily living – so much so that they are now wandering the quiet streets of outer London?

Or are there a few more people who are ready, willing and available to literally give their socks away to a complete stranger, whenever they see a need?

Probably a bit of both.

I hope however, it is more the latter and I also hope I can become more like the person I saw offer a hand the other day.

Merry Christmas!

 

 

I, like many others I am sure, saw the ‘Google Doodle’ this morning and wondered who on earth Mary Seacole was?

Well you can read all about Mary Seacole here and discover that not everyone think she is a hero at all. In fact, as I read the article, it seems the only reason some people think she is not a hero is because she did not go the official route.

But isn’t that what heroes do I wonder?

We can all be heroes I believe but almost invariably it requires going off piste so to speak. Or another way to put it…

Go out of our way.

Do whatever action we are feeling compelled to do – whatever the cost to ourselves.

So in this celebrity-crazed, fashion-focussed, tech-driven day to day existence we live in, it is the ones and twos – often far from regulation, unqualified, maybe even maverick characters who tend to step up and make a difference.

I know of one such person – a single mother in my local church – who watched with horror as the events in Syria first unfolded about three years ago. I’m sure she had a lot on her plate already but chose to do something, anything to help those who literally have nothing on their plate. She decided to organise a collection of clothes for the bitter winter in Syria. She filled a lorry load two and a half weeks earlier than she planned. Since then, she has sent off more than twenty three other lorries. And she keeps on sending them.

Her name is Samara and you can read about this modern day hero, and perhaps even make a donation. Check out the website Samara’s Aid Appeal.

Even better, find out today how you can be a hero to others.

 

Whenever you reach the end of something it can often be met with a feeling you did not expect.

Maybe you’ve reached the end of a contract that contained a mixture of both satisfaction and stress. Now that it has ended, you feel both relieved and a little sad that you no longer have the opportunity to take out those seemingly daily obstacles that cropped up from anywhere and everywhere.

Maybe you’ve reached the end of a medium or even long term process or goal that you have worked very hard to achieve, and yet, the feeling of euphoria didn’t quite last as long as you might have hoped. Or maybe it was simply a complete anti-climax.

Maybe you’ve reached the end of parenting a child now that they’ve reached a certain age, and suddenly you wonder where all those years went, because it still feels like yesterday when you last dressed them, fed them or changed them. That can be tough. Every fibre in your being doesn’t want to let them go because they will always be your babies regardless of how long they live.

But you know you have to because to do otherwise would be wrong and ironically, very immature.

Or maybe you’ve reached the end of a long-lasting, largely happy marriage and for whatever reason, you now find yourself officially divorced. Something you would never have imagined possible. For you at least.

That will always be one of, if not the toughest thing of all.

You may now have finally reached a far better place in every way, with or without someone new in your life. You may or may not have been at fault for the failure in the marriage. And hopefully, the wounds you suffered are finally beginning to truly fade away and be replaced by a smile that grows wider, and lasts longer with every passing day.

You may well be at a junction in your life where none of it matters anymore. What matters is that you are moving forward, one step at a time, and all you want to do now is be grateful for both the past and the present and hopeful for the future.

Wherever you are at and however much it may have meant to you, when you reach the end…it doesn’t have to be a bad or sad thing. It can be the making of a new you. A better you. A wiser you. Maybe even the true you – now that so much has been stripped away and there is nowhere left to hide.

So, may you know a strange sense of joy in the midst of personal pain; satisfaction where there was once only sadness; healing instead of hurt and finally, a new level of love that is only possible because of how you have lived and ultimately, learned.