Salvogesis

The Beatitudes, which we are looking at today, is Jesus’ introduction to his most famous sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. In this sermon He tells us that we are now citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven and, as such, we will interact with the world in a whole new way, even while we are still living and working in Canada or wherever we happen to be.   The word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin word for blessing which makes sense since each line of the beatitudes begins with, ‘blessed is so and so…” Now, of course, the word ‘blessed’ can mean ‘happy’, ‘at peace’, ‘experiencing well-being’ or even ‘saved’. This is what is available to us even here and now as Citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven.   This is important: By ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, we don’t mean what it will be like ‘when you die and go to heaven’; this passage speaks very clearly that these blessing occur here on earth. It says the meek will inherit the earth (v. 5) and further on in this sermon Jesus speaks about marria...

I can remember when I was in my late teens: I was a janitor. I worked in a lot of high security buildings and so I needed a high security rating. One of the reasons I needed the extra special RCMP clearance was because one of the buildings I was asked to cover when regular janitor was away was the CSIS building   When I first had my RCMP clearance done, it was quite something. I was just a teenager and in my interview they asked me what I did twenty years ago, I responded ‘nothing’ – ‘I’m only 18. I thought it was funny – the police officer interviewing me didn’t. They asked me how come I haven’t held a job for 5 years or more – I reminded them that I am only 18 and smiled – they didn’t. This interview went on for an hour or so and then they fingerprinted me and also interviewed two of my friends for character  references , one by telephone and one in person. In speaking with them afterwards, it was really quite an in-depth interview and because of this I really began to have ...

Romans 8:24 “…Hope that is seen is no hope at all; who hopes for what they already have?” We have just had Christmas. Many children (and adults) hope for gifts. Many of us hope that family will be able to visit us over the holidays or that we will be able to visit them. Officers often hope for a day or two off on boxing day or shortly thereafter. We also hope that we will raise enough funds on the kettles; we hope that we will be able to provide for the communities for which we are responsible. In the myriad things we do at Christmas time and all year long we hope that we are able to provide comfort and support for those in need. Hope is what drives us. Hope is what helps us continue. Hope is what gives us strength. I know there were a few days during the Christmas campaign where I myself was very down. I was not all that hopeful. First I was sick, then life and circumstances arose and I was so down that people could tell just from my body language and my voice as I spoke in normal c...