Blessed are They

It has been a shocking past few weeks for the marginalized in Australia. To hearing, again, how terribly Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins have been treated and unheard, how the health minister was spending time at a cricket game instead of taking control of the escalating deaths in aged care, the insulting $200 gesture to aged care workers who are severely underpaid and over-worked to the atrocity of what the religious discrimination bill has said about our queer and, particularly, transgendered loved ones. And so, the lectionary reading for this week could not have come at a better time. The Sermon on the Mount is so profound because of how controversial Jesus’ love is. It is a love that doesn’t glorify oppression but underscores how societal structures keep the marginalized at bay. This is the reason why Jesus’ teachings are still so profound thousands of years later. And this is the reason why he was ultimately killed: the love Jesus speaks about is controversial and provocative because it is a love for all. 

To those marginalized folk who have stood up and spoke up and those allies who have listened and stood with them:

Blessed are the women who use their voice and fight against the violence of a man-made world, for their voices will tear down the powers of patriarchy. Blessed are the queer, the transgendered, gay and the questioning, for their identity is beautiful and beloved in the eyes of the One who made them exactly as they are. Blessed are the elderly, for their wisdom and experience will continue to inspire generations to come. Blessed are those with disabilities, for their strength, resilience and perspective is a blessing to our world. Blessed are the allies who sit at the feet of the marginalized, who listen, and fight towards justice for all. Rejoice in this day and leap for joy, for this is what our ancestors did. And, just like our ancestors, our work will reap reward for generations to come. For in that day we will have contributed to making manifest a heaven for all here on earth.