The Ruah

Today we celebrated our Sabbath.  I’ll never forget today’s service.  We went to the Mount of the Beatitudes, a traditional site where we worshipped together for an hour.

Matthew 5

The Beatitudes

¹And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. ²Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

³"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


⁴Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.


⁵Blessed are the meek, 
for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.


⁷Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 


⁸Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.


⁹Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.


¹⁰Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.


¹¹"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. ¹²Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

The homily for today’s service focused on the language for the word “blessed”.  I always thought these were words of comfort, but they are more demanding that I first understood.  When Jesus spoke these words he was speaking in Aramaic.  In this language the word actually means more than receiving.  It means taking action – “to stir up” an emotion.  So, Jesus was calling them to be active in their faiths- letting that emotion work for God’s will.

We did a lot of driving after our morning worship and this was the first day that I chose to put my ear buds in and jam to Bebo Norman as we drove through a beautiful green (and wet) Israel.

We did stop at another tel, Bet She’an.  This was a miserable stop.  We all regretted it later.  All the rain that did not fall during our service found us at this site.  Cold, wet, and bad tempers were soothed as we pulled over for out BEST MEAL yet – a Schwarma (kind of like a gyro).

The long ride back provided an hour to think about how I’m going to manage to get all the junk I brought plus all the junk I bought back in my suitcase.

Wish me luck.

One day left.

Love to you all!