Was it William Barclay who said many years ago that we should understand the 'beatitudes' as congratulations on a present state of blessedness, rather than hopefulness of some future blessing. That's always appealed to me. I want my blessing, or blessedness now. If God is going to bless me, I want it now rather than later! If power is going to 'come forth from him & heal them all' (v.19) I want it to happen to me now, my share of it now, not later. Is that unreasonable?

On the other hand, what blessedness is there in being poor (as against MT's 'spiritually poor - I can see reason in that), or hungry (as against MT's hungry for righteousness - I can see reason in that, too) or weeping (presumably MT's mourners - again, I can make sense of that)? More, it takes a faith more mature than mine usually is to appreciate any blessedness in being excluded, reviled, or defamed! These are not the comforting words they've often been taught as, preached as, but hard, hard words from a Jesus who will shortly be able to say, 'been there, done that'! LK is facing us with the topsy-turvey Rule of God. The 'woes' LK reports as following are at least as hard also. The kind of things I'd sometimes like to direct against those who are not helping me or the world, but it doesn't seem right somehow! If, as many believe, LK's account is more accurate than MT's softened up version, maybe it's OK after all! Maybe I don't have to be 'nice' to everyone as a concomitant of being a Friend of Jesus?!

Of course people need comforting now, but they need more than comforting. The poor need a life, the hungry need bread (at least), the sad need hope for a future without a loved one or a value now lost to them. If God is the Alpha & the Omega, it's logical that God is also the God of the in-between time, the God of Now, when you & I live & minister. What's going on in the congregation in which I minister, in my distict, in my nation that I need to relate Jesus' hard sayings to? How else can any of it become true, any of us be blessed - and congratulated right now, rather than in some later life, except as the rest of us as Christ's Body here on earth make it happen - in his Name & by his Spirit? And no excuses will be found acceptable!