Love this so much! I selfishly want to add another blessing I believe Jesus would say. "Bless you who are always searching for me, trying to follow your questions and uncertainty. Bless you when you catch the momentary glimpse that I am already in you, by you, and with you. No building required."
Thanks for posting this; it really hit home and brings into our minds and hearts the struggles and concerns we face now. Not that the same things weren't present the communities of the day, but the way these blessings are expressed bring us into today's realities and teaches us where we can reach out to others. I have been a nurse for a very long time and now work on behalf of those who have Alzheimer's disease. What hit me the hardest was: "blessed are you who feel racism will kill your children." May they have safe travels and may those of us who are out here be open to them on their way.
Welp.... I'd be lying if I said I didn't mentally (and maybe physically) grumble "....Motherfucker...." to myself while reading this. I am currently in a period of what other people keep referring to as "discernment" - but I have decided to call disturbment ('discernment" sounds too nice and tidy and tied up with a bow on top for what this feels like) - about the possibility of pursuing seminary. This sermon just ripped, like MORE than half my well-thought-out reasons of why I'm all wrong for it to shreds, and now I'm really annoyed at the Holy Spirit interrupting my day and reminding me I'm not as clever as I think I am.
"So please, don’t wait until you feel as though you have met the conditions of being holy. Trust that Jesus knows what he is doing. You are already holy. Don't try and be it. Know that you already are it. And then, for the love of God, take that seriously. The world needs it. You need it."
So fucking convicted by this. But, like, I guess this is what God wanted me to read today for SOME reason.... Ugh.... So, like, thanks I guess, but I'm still a little salty.... *exasperated eye-roll with arms crossed*
Just wanted to add something i was taught long time ago…that when something was declared holy in old testament it meant that the item was set aside for God’s use. Like the sabbath day was set aside for worship….not that the sabbath had mystical powers because it was a more pure day than the others.
My sweet, sweet child — you are the salt(y) part of the earth. Abrasive salt helps make things just a little bit cleaner. That is what the good Lord called you for, Nadia.
I read this out loud to my husband as we were driving yesterday. My voice kept faltering and cracking. Thank you for always validating my humanity in it's brokenness and reminding me to read the Bible with a different lens.
I love the translation of Matthew's first Beatitude in the New English Bible: "Blessed are those who know their need of God." I often think about Richard Rohr's statement that no one ever wants to see stone or bronze tablets containing the Beatitudes put up in courthouses, schools, or public squares. Thank you, Nadia. Thank you.
I love the New English Bible, too, and am not sure why it doesn't get the attention that (I think) it deserves. I gave it to my mother in the early 1970's and when she died in 2007 it was lovingly worn and underlined and the back is broken, but it's my favorite Bible.
Because I could not find the online sermon from our church this morning (and did not feel well enough to go in person after a sleepless night), I decided to read The Corners — and what a blessing it was on this very Sunday morning. Nadia, you are so REAL and so on-target for how many of us feel right now, on Labor Day Weekend 2022. Your interpretation of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount is just as likely true as the one we’ve been reading in the Bible for years. Probably a lot more accurate. Thank you for this “new view” of the Blessed Are They list. Thank you that I became a subscriber and have given a gift subscription to our daughter, who is a teacher of 4th graders, many of them “the least of these” and who has no intention of leaving the classroom, as so many of her colleagues have. Thank you for being Salt, imperfect, and a treasure in my life.
I love this. Especially being reminded that the Bible wasn’t issued with chapter and verse. I’m going to practice that today.
And then a memory came to mind…
I was shopping in a large grocery store in a large city and overheard a woman berating her friend that the Bible only has meaning when read in the original language that Jesus spoke… the King James English. Lol
Oh myyyyy...how amazing was this to read while I catch a few moments of alone time in my kitchen! Because you are continuously authentic and REAL, your words always seem to resonate with my core. And I need that shaking up. I need the reminder that I am worthy. Not when, not if, but in this moment. Thank you.
don’t get why you would start this sermon by denigrating the baker. he didn’t deny anyone food or shelter, what he did do is to say i don’t agree with you….and for that his business should be destroyed. his income should be taken away. his family threatened repeatedly. because he did something we don’t agree with he isn’t respected or valued or loved like any of the sinners and errant souls you encourage our respect and love for.
the baker didn’t harm anyone with his denial of service. at the very most, it meant they had to ask another baker. they didn’t need his approval or services to get married.
you have shared many things that you did that i would not have approved of (nor would Jesus approved), but i don’t think folks should have set out to destroy you and your work because of it.
Randal, in 2 ½ years, this is the first comment on The Corners that has felt shitty to me. There are entire websites out there which are dedicated to comments about how distasteful I am and where people with whom Jesus is in full agreement can discuss things I have done that they do not agree with. If you feel the need again, I ask that you seek those out.
i have been taught that to bring color to someone’s face (provoking anger or embarrassment) is tantamount to spilling their blood. far from intending to attack you, i thought i was defending a christian that you appeared to be calling out and encouraging others to disparage…just before developing a beautiful sermon.
far from joining other who detract from you, i have shared your sermons with my jewish and christian friends opening wonderful discussions about how we got things so messed up.. again…and how we can return to a place where we are following G-d.
i apologize to you and the congregation if it came across as aggressive or judgmental. i did not understand why the story you first related seemed to contradict the action that you were encouraging later in the sermon.
you can unsubscribe me, so my presence doesn’t detract or distract from the great work you do.
do not refund the subscription fee, i just paid, as i respect the congregation of the corners and the work you all put in trying to do the right thing.
may the Lord bless you and keep you.
may G-d make firm your step, in following His way.
with only love and respect for you and your congregation…
I love that you're sermon made me feel blessed and loved despite all the things I have done in life that "have missed the mark". I miss the mark on a daily basis in little ways, and have missed them in big major ways. Ways I would never fathom. And I have always loved the concept of "there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." But truly, this sermon was the first time that's saying actually clicked for me. Thank you Nadia- remember the outpouring of love and thanks for your real life embodiment and message that we are all cracked, shimmering children of god. Much love
Did we read the same sermon? A sermon about God’s blessing for all and you want to focus on the business owner?
Your comments remind me of what people said about Jesus- that Jesus must be from the devil cause he broke cultural rules in bringing truth, healing and love to those society said weren’t deserving.
And then anger wells up in me, because my tax dollars paid for roads to that bakery and the bakery wants to choose who can walk thru its doors. Much like southern states that refused to let black people in whites only spaces. Much like the businesses that refused to hire me as an engineer because i came in a female body. Much like the taliban preventing females from going to school.
I think Jesus would have turned water into wine at the wedding with no cake.
Seriously who gets to decide the pecking order of sin? Do we exclude gay people while hiding pedophiles in children’s ministry? Do we keep the divorced out while the accountant embezzles church funds? Both happened in churches i attended.
The grace of God is overwhelmingly unfair. It causes us to be uncomfortable because it is free for all. Thank God for mercy. Thank God for the corners.
Blessings on those who judge, who do not include, who practice unkindness, so that they might know the grace that can change their lives to salt and light. The miracle for me is offered to all.
This was really a revelation to me. And it made me cry a little bit and feel almost okay with being old and chronically not as healthy as I hoped to be at this age. Thank you.
Love this so much! I selfishly want to add another blessing I believe Jesus would say. "Bless you who are always searching for me, trying to follow your questions and uncertainty. Bless you when you catch the momentary glimpse that I am already in you, by you, and with you. No building required."
I preached on this same idea earlier this year and this was the list I used when reflecting on who was gathering at my church:
-Blessed are you who are anxious about money,
- blessed are you who are dismissed by our culture as too old, too overweight, too thin, too ethnic, or too outside our gender norms
- blessed are you who are neurologically atypical,
- blessed are you who have cancer,
- blessed are you who have been sick for months without a clear diagnosis,
- blessed are you who are mourning someone who died,
- blessed are you who are depressed and those who feel powerless to pull a loved one out of depression,
- blessed are you whose child steals to pay for drugs,
- blessed are you who feel needy, blessed are you who are so lonely,
- blessed are you who fear racism will kill your children,
- blessed are you who feel angry and exhausted all the time,
- blessed are you who are codependent and blessed are you who struggle with addiction,
- blessed are you who are suddenly aware of a physical or emotional response as I offered
this list
I think you are right on about erasing that chapter division!
Thanks for posting this; it really hit home and brings into our minds and hearts the struggles and concerns we face now. Not that the same things weren't present the communities of the day, but the way these blessings are expressed bring us into today's realities and teaches us where we can reach out to others. I have been a nurse for a very long time and now work on behalf of those who have Alzheimer's disease. What hit me the hardest was: "blessed are you who feel racism will kill your children." May they have safe travels and may those of us who are out here be open to them on their way.
Welp.... I'd be lying if I said I didn't mentally (and maybe physically) grumble "....Motherfucker...." to myself while reading this. I am currently in a period of what other people keep referring to as "discernment" - but I have decided to call disturbment ('discernment" sounds too nice and tidy and tied up with a bow on top for what this feels like) - about the possibility of pursuing seminary. This sermon just ripped, like MORE than half my well-thought-out reasons of why I'm all wrong for it to shreds, and now I'm really annoyed at the Holy Spirit interrupting my day and reminding me I'm not as clever as I think I am.
"So please, don’t wait until you feel as though you have met the conditions of being holy. Trust that Jesus knows what he is doing. You are already holy. Don't try and be it. Know that you already are it. And then, for the love of God, take that seriously. The world needs it. You need it."
So fucking convicted by this. But, like, I guess this is what God wanted me to read today for SOME reason.... Ugh.... So, like, thanks I guess, but I'm still a little salty.... *exasperated eye-roll with arms crossed*
Just wanted to add something i was taught long time ago…that when something was declared holy in old testament it meant that the item was set aside for God’s use. Like the sabbath day was set aside for worship….not that the sabbath had mystical powers because it was a more pure day than the others.
My sweet, sweet child — you are the salt(y) part of the earth. Abrasive salt helps make things just a little bit cleaner. That is what the good Lord called you for, Nadia.
I love it...some monk it NOT the boss of me. I needed that this morning.
Is )rather than it).
I read this out loud to my husband as we were driving yesterday. My voice kept faltering and cracking. Thank you for always validating my humanity in it's brokenness and reminding me to read the Bible with a different lens.
I love the translation of Matthew's first Beatitude in the New English Bible: "Blessed are those who know their need of God." I often think about Richard Rohr's statement that no one ever wants to see stone or bronze tablets containing the Beatitudes put up in courthouses, schools, or public squares. Thank you, Nadia. Thank you.
I love the New English Bible, too, and am not sure why it doesn't get the attention that (I think) it deserves. I gave it to my mother in the early 1970's and when she died in 2007 it was lovingly worn and underlined and the back is broken, but it's my favorite Bible.
Yes, it had a nice lilt and very British style. It and the Jerusalem Bible are my favorite "dynamic equivalent" versions.
Because I could not find the online sermon from our church this morning (and did not feel well enough to go in person after a sleepless night), I decided to read The Corners — and what a blessing it was on this very Sunday morning. Nadia, you are so REAL and so on-target for how many of us feel right now, on Labor Day Weekend 2022. Your interpretation of Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount is just as likely true as the one we’ve been reading in the Bible for years. Probably a lot more accurate. Thank you for this “new view” of the Blessed Are They list. Thank you that I became a subscriber and have given a gift subscription to our daughter, who is a teacher of 4th graders, many of them “the least of these” and who has no intention of leaving the classroom, as so many of her colleagues have. Thank you for being Salt, imperfect, and a treasure in my life.
I love this. Especially being reminded that the Bible wasn’t issued with chapter and verse. I’m going to practice that today.
And then a memory came to mind…
I was shopping in a large grocery store in a large city and overheard a woman berating her friend that the Bible only has meaning when read in the original language that Jesus spoke… the King James English. Lol
Oh God save us. Thank you that you already have.
Oh myyyyy...how amazing was this to read while I catch a few moments of alone time in my kitchen! Because you are continuously authentic and REAL, your words always seem to resonate with my core. And I need that shaking up. I need the reminder that I am worthy. Not when, not if, but in this moment. Thank you.
don’t get why you would start this sermon by denigrating the baker. he didn’t deny anyone food or shelter, what he did do is to say i don’t agree with you….and for that his business should be destroyed. his income should be taken away. his family threatened repeatedly. because he did something we don’t agree with he isn’t respected or valued or loved like any of the sinners and errant souls you encourage our respect and love for.
the baker didn’t harm anyone with his denial of service. at the very most, it meant they had to ask another baker. they didn’t need his approval or services to get married.
you have shared many things that you did that i would not have approved of (nor would Jesus approved), but i don’t think folks should have set out to destroy you and your work because of it.
Randal, in 2 ½ years, this is the first comment on The Corners that has felt shitty to me. There are entire websites out there which are dedicated to comments about how distasteful I am and where people with whom Jesus is in full agreement can discuss things I have done that they do not agree with. If you feel the need again, I ask that you seek those out.
i have been taught that to bring color to someone’s face (provoking anger or embarrassment) is tantamount to spilling their blood. far from intending to attack you, i thought i was defending a christian that you appeared to be calling out and encouraging others to disparage…just before developing a beautiful sermon.
far from joining other who detract from you, i have shared your sermons with my jewish and christian friends opening wonderful discussions about how we got things so messed up.. again…and how we can return to a place where we are following G-d.
i apologize to you and the congregation if it came across as aggressive or judgmental. i did not understand why the story you first related seemed to contradict the action that you were encouraging later in the sermon.
you can unsubscribe me, so my presence doesn’t detract or distract from the great work you do.
do not refund the subscription fee, i just paid, as i respect the congregation of the corners and the work you all put in trying to do the right thing.
may the Lord bless you and keep you.
may G-d make firm your step, in following His way.
with only love and respect for you and your congregation…
randal
I love that you're sermon made me feel blessed and loved despite all the things I have done in life that "have missed the mark". I miss the mark on a daily basis in little ways, and have missed them in big major ways. Ways I would never fathom. And I have always loved the concept of "there is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in." But truly, this sermon was the first time that's saying actually clicked for me. Thank you Nadia- remember the outpouring of love and thanks for your real life embodiment and message that we are all cracked, shimmering children of god. Much love
Did we read the same sermon? A sermon about God’s blessing for all and you want to focus on the business owner?
Your comments remind me of what people said about Jesus- that Jesus must be from the devil cause he broke cultural rules in bringing truth, healing and love to those society said weren’t deserving.
And then anger wells up in me, because my tax dollars paid for roads to that bakery and the bakery wants to choose who can walk thru its doors. Much like southern states that refused to let black people in whites only spaces. Much like the businesses that refused to hire me as an engineer because i came in a female body. Much like the taliban preventing females from going to school.
I think Jesus would have turned water into wine at the wedding with no cake.
Seriously who gets to decide the pecking order of sin? Do we exclude gay people while hiding pedophiles in children’s ministry? Do we keep the divorced out while the accountant embezzles church funds? Both happened in churches i attended.
The grace of God is overwhelmingly unfair. It causes us to be uncomfortable because it is free for all. Thank God for mercy. Thank God for the corners.
The Blessed aren't just blessed, they're also the Blessors: Matthew 25:40.
Blessings on those who judge, who do not include, who practice unkindness, so that they might know the grace that can change their lives to salt and light. The miracle for me is offered to all.
This made me weep. Thank you.
Me too. ❤️
This was really a revelation to me. And it made me cry a little bit and feel almost okay with being old and chronically not as healthy as I hoped to be at this age. Thank you.
❤️‼️