February 1, 2026: Being Blessed

Old Testament: Micah 6: 1-8
The Gospel: Matthew 5: 1-12

Today’s scriptures are a complementary contrast between the imperative - God’s command for us and the indicative - the reality of God’s love and blessings.

​The Micah scripture is God reminding the Israelites who have strayed that God has been there for them time and time again: leading them out of enslavement in Egypt, protecting them from their enemies, helping them cross boundaries into the land promised to them. Once they have been reminded of God’s faithfulness to them, they are told what it means to be faithful to God and it comes as an imperative - a command to not make burnt offerings or other sacrifices to God but instead to make one’s life an offering to God by following God’s command to “ do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” That is what God is requiring of us and it is not just the prophet Micah who said this. Through the prophet Amos God said, “Even though you offer me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them…but let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5: 21-24) and Isaiah reminds us that God says, “I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts…(instead he says)..wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; remove the evil of your doings from before my eyes; cease to do evil, learn to do good; seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow” (1: 11-17).

Here we see that what God wants of us is not sacrificial offerings but our very lives lived following the will of God to do good rather than evil and to seek justice, especially for those who do not have the voice or status in society on their own. 

But we have a contrast in the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus is teaching his disciples what we refer to as the Beatitudes, although it is a complimentary contrast. Here Jesus is speaking in the indicative - he is telling the disciples the way things are in his statements noting who is already blessed. And, as usual for Jesus, who likes to turn society’s logic on its head, it isn’t the rich and the powerful who are blessed, but instead those who either don’t seek power or would never even have a chance of getting any: often those whom society seems to have forgotten, stepped on or over. Those people for whom the rest of us, when we are not in a time of need ourselves,  are supposed to be seeking justice and helping. 

Who might these Blessed people be in our society today? Join me in this reimagining:

Blessed are the downtrodden, the unhoused who shiver in the cold and pray for a warm coat, a roof over their head for tonight at least, and a meal to nourish them. While they may not have found a home on earth - theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. 

Blessed are those who are heartbroken due to all the suffering and injustice in the world; they will find comfort. 

Blessed are the quiet, those who have the thoughts but cannot find their voice; those who live gently and respectfully on this earth, walked by and unnoticed; they will inherit the earth and take good care of it. 

Blessed are those who are insatiable in their yearning to learn more about God’s will. Those who read the Bible, pray, struggle and listen for God’s direction more than society’s. They will hear God.

Blessed are those who forgive the people and the societies that hurt them and others, who pray for the leaders and people who persecute and exclude: hoping to pray people into open minds and hearts. They will be forgiven for all of their transgressions.

Blessed are the innocent, those who society labels as clueless or unambitious, for uncluttered by visions of power and the need for stuff, they will easily recognize God.

Blessed are the peacemakers who seek nothing for themselves but who calmly bring warring factions together, teaching them how to see their shared values and common humanity and how to care for one another, building bridges that support both of them. These peacemakers are truly the children of God, following in Jesus’ footprints. 

Blessed are the immigrants who travel long distances to try to find a safe home where they can work to sustain their families but are called illegal and persecuted, for theirs is the realm of Heaven where they are safe, valued, and loved. 

And blessed are each of you, when people look down upon you for believing in a God whom they do not think exists; blessed are each of you when people spit at you or yell at you for standing up for the rights of others. Rejoice and be glad for you are in the company of many a prophet before you who was maligned but who still stood up to power in God’s name working for all of God’s people. Your reward will be great in Heaven. 

By teaching about who is already blessed, Jesus also issues an invitation rather than a command to all saying essentially, “You are blessed in this life when you demonstrate humility, practice peace, open your heart to all God’s people just as they are, and forgive others.” In many ways, Jesus is echoing Micah’s command from God, to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God” but the difference is that Jesus gives examples of those already doing this, and they are often those whom society does not hold in high regard. It is almost as if it is easier to walk humbly with your God when life has humbled you already. 

The Beatitudes give hope to the hopeless.

However, the message of the beatitudes, like the message of the Micah, Amos and Isaiah scriptures, is for everyone, not just the oppressed. They remind us that the guiding principles of our faith as Jesus taught the disciples are: simplicity, hopefulness, and compassion. As people of faith, we are called to live into these principles despite the complex, chaotic, and sometimes hate and despair filled world that we live in. To be blessed, we need to live simply as people of hope who show care and compassion for all of God’s people amid our complex, often unkind and divided world. 

We need to counter hate with love, not more hate. It takes humility to do that, to not think we are right and they are wrong. It takes humility to walk with God considering what Jesus would do in this or that circumstance and striving to follow his model of peace and welcome for all. 

It takes faith to focus on love and act only in kindness when others are anything but kind and loving. 

It takes courage to seek justice for the unhoused, the marginalized, the hungry, the immigrants, the innocent, the victims of violence and others who cannot raise their voices.

It takes love to comfort the brokenhearted and to forgive those who hurt others.


It takes courage to have faith by connecting to and learning from our loving God. 

So my faithful friends, take courage from those who suffer and still have hope. 

Take courage from those who are overlooked, underserved, or even persecuted for just trying to live but who keep their faith. Know that God is blessing them. 

 Take inspiration from Jesus Christ who lifted up the marginalized, healed the sick, and forgave sinners, leading them all to new and better lives. 

Follow Jesus’s example as you do justice and demonstrate kindness and you will feel our loving God walking beside you, blessing you too. Amen

Pastor Michelle Fountain