| Selection - Essays on the Bible, Vol. 1 |
| from The Sermon on the Mount I: The Beatitudes |
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.
In this passage, “they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness” refers to people who wish always to act in accordance with God’s will, and eagerly work to manifest the divine realm on earth. Such people earnestly seek a path that conforms with the divine mind, and when they find this path, they wish only to devote their lives to it, just as a hungry person desires food.
There are people who, in the name of justice, carry out the inhumane destruction of another group in order to protect and benefit their own. This is not true justice, because true justice and righteousness always reside in the divine will. Likewise, acts of justice are acts aimed at giving expression to the divine will.
The saints and sages of ancient times, and those who gave up their lives in pursuit of a divinely inspired path, are all people who “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” Jesus taught that, after leaving this physical world, these people will live freely in the divine realm, in perfect accord with the mind of God.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
This passage teaches that people who are filled with compassion for the misfortune and sorrow of others, and who care for others’ needs as if they were their own, will themselves receive the merciful love of God. In saying “mercy,” I do not think that Jesus is talking about a feeling of pity or sympathy that merely satisfies one’s sentimental emotions. True mercy refers to a loving mind that feels the sorrow and joy of others as if they were one’s own. It must be clearly understood that seeing oneself as superior and assisting others out of pity cannot be called true mercy.
|
|
 |
| Preview Our Books! |
Selections from many of our books are available.
Please click here—
> Index of Selections |
|
