Episode 424 The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-20)

This week BibleWorm reads Matthew chapter 5:1-20, the Beatitudes. We dive into some nuances of translation that make a big difference to our understanding of this beautiful and well-known text: what world of meaning is being conjured up with the word “blessed,” or “mercy,” or “meek”? We try to sketch, more and more fully, what this text imagines the proverbial kingdom looks like, and what it would mean to live into it right now. In this text that seems both to sit in its present moment and to extend into the future, the question of what we can do right now – and what we can expect when we do it – is at the front of our minds.