Matthew 5 The Message
3 “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you, there is more of God and his rule.
4 “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.
6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.
7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.
8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
9 “You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are and your place in God’s family.
10 “You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.
The Beatitudes
The Beatitudes are sayings of Jesus and, in particular, eight blessings recounted by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, and four in the Sermon on the Plain in the Gospel of Luke, followed by four woes which mirror the blessings. Each is a proverb-like proclamation without narrative.
In the Latin Vulgate, each of these blessings begins with the word beātī, which translates to “happy”, “rich”, or “blessed” (plural adjective). The corresponding word in the original Greek is μακάριοι (makarioi), with the same meanings. Thus, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” appears in Latin as beātī pauperēs spīritū. The Latin noun beātitūdō was coined by Cicero to describe a state of blessedness and was later incorporated within the chapter headings written for Matthew 5 in various printed versions of the Vulgate. Subsequently, the word was anglicized to beatytudes in the Great Bible of 1540,[6] and has, over time, taken on a preferred spelling of beatitudes.
While opinions may vary on exactly how many distinct statements into which the Beatitudes should be divided (ranging from eight to ten), most scholars consider them to be only eight.[7][8] These eight of Matthew follow a simple pattern: Jesus names a group of people normally considered unfortunate and pronounced them blessed.[1]
The Names of G_d
One of the series I am working on is illustrated the names of G_D. A west coast “hippie -look” is how I stylize the portraits. The hairstyle can be natural or elegant. The use of purple and dark blue in the clothing denotes royalty. Gold and silver jewelry adorn the portraits. The palette layer takes the lighting from my sculptures- an iridescent type of light spectrum.
