A wide spot in my imagination.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The "Blesseds Are" words

It's cold here in Zen, Texas, windy and wet, biting. As I drove to work, I saw a man standing on the corner begging for food or money.
  • Blessed are the poor...

Last night, the president of these United States stood in front of the cadets at one of our nation's military academies and promised to send 30,000 more soldiers to the war in Afghanistan.
  • Blessed are the peacemakers...

Last night on hulu, I watched a clip of John Stewart interviewing Maziar Bahari. Bahari was in prison for four months in Iran, in part for a fake interview he did with "The Daily Show."
  • Blessed are the persecuted...

I just read some posts on the blog of a friend of mine, an ftm transman, whose father and others toss out (maybe hurl is a better term) the Bible as wedge and bat and battering ram of condemnation.
  • Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...

In Mary Gordon's new book, "A Writer's Encounter with the Gospels," she reflects on the Beatitudes (these "blesseds are..." words from Jesus):

  • "To say yes: for this I will try to change my life. And more: without this I would not know who I am." (as quoted in the NYT Book Review, November 22, 2009)
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2 comments:

  1. KimBLOGicekDecember 2, 2009 at 10:34 AM

    I'm confused about the "Blessed are the Peacemakers" comment... are you suggesting that by sending 30,000 MORE troops into Afghanistan, President Obama is a peacemaker? He has not met with any of the Afghan tribal shura (elders) who have much more grassroots influence to promote peace than 30,000 troops could ensure.

    I find it ironic that you mention this the day after Greg Mortenson's 2nd book, Stones into Schools was published. How Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize and Greg Mortenson didn'tm I'll never know! I HIGHLY recommend reading Three Cups of Tea and will probably recommend Stones into Schools (once I read it myself - it was released Tuesday) - both by Greg Mortenson. He has done more to promote peace in that region of the world than Barack Obama or any military leader.

    I don't mean to be argumentative, I just wonder if you have seen all sides of this issue?

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  2. Tim TuttDecember 2, 2009 at 7:27 PM

    Thanks for your comment. No, I am not suggesting that sending 30,000 more troops is peacemaking. I posted that decision by the beatitude as a painful contrast. (Though I see how it could be misconstrued.) I've read "Three Cups of Tea." Mortenson's work is admirable, remarkable and true peace-making. -Tim

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