Incarnational Beatitudes

Nicole Anderson

Blessed are the homeless and those who beg for spare change, for they will inherit the house of the Lord.
Blessed are the black mothers who lament the deaths of their sons at the hands of the state, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and pansexual individuals who reflect the very image of God, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are the undocumented workers whose labors are hard and whose fear of deportation is real every day, for they will produce many fruits to sustain the kin-dom of Heaven.
Blessed are the marchers who put their lives on the line, putting their faith in action, and demanding mercy for all, for they, too, will receive mercy.
Blessed are the disenfranchised children of Flint, Michigan; of the South Side of Chicago; of the boroughs of New York; of Aleppo and Syria; of Haiti; of Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and all of Africa; and of [insert current city here], for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers as named by Martin Luther King, Jr. who continue to strive in making his dream a reality, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are our Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu, and First Nation siblings, and all other siblings of differing faiths, who do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their god, for theirs is the kin-dom of heaven.
Blessed are those who are detained, deported, and unjustly held on account of showing radical love and grace to a world filled with violence and hate, for their reward is great in heaven.

In the foreground, a trio of candles in small jars. In the background, a group of people form a friendly huddle.