Jesus, the Beatitudes, and the Privilege of Becoming Human

Photo by James Coleman on Unsplash

I love the Beatitudes of Jesus. They serve as the opening salvo of his Sermon on the Mount, and that Sermon is rightly understood to be the foundational statement of Jesus’ teachings.

The Galilean pronounces blessings on people who nurture and exhibit certain character traits. Along with each virtue, Jesus explains the reason for the blessing. “Blessed are the…