“ ‘De’ – ‘From’ or ‘Of’ ” [Spanish series] (Spanish Jerusalem Bible – Matthew 5:3; Psalm 1; Psalm 23)

“From” such people come the Kingdom,
Which to us seems rather odd;
We think power and money ruleth,
This, however, is of God.

“Kingdom people”, Jesus comments,
“Blessed are” – they’re one of eight
He held up that blessed morning
On that hill beyond the lake.

“Is there anybody happy?”
Someone must’ve asked – like us;
“Sure”, said Jesus on that hillside,
“Not the ones who cause the fuss –

“But the ones, who, poor in spirit
Aren’t about to trash some scene”
“How ’bout Temple cleansing, Jesus?”
“That’s exactly what I mean!

“I don’t mean, ‘in face of evil,
Gross injustice, turn your head’;
I mean, ‘when the proud and pushy
Set up shop’ (as we have read) –

“ ‘That behavior kills the Kingdom
So the folks who’ve come to pray
Just get more of daily thumping
They put up with every day.’

“When folks come to church each Sabbath
It’s a time to heal their souls;
When they’re finished they can take that
Peace to home – such is my goal.

“When the kingdom is your object,
First and foremost in your life,
That’s the way the Kingdom’s spreading
Pushing back the dark with light”.

Lord, again I hear Your Spirit
In between the words you spoke –
“De” (that’s “from” or “of” in Spanish,
Rose from words my mind awoke.

There’s so much for us, just learning
Of the depths of what was said
On that hillside in the sunshine;
Help us practice what we’ve read.

Thanks Lord for this.

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