God blesses those who hunger and thirst for just. They will be satisfied. - Jesus. Really? Is this true? What about people who die for the cause of justice? What about Jesus - did he experience satisfaction as he addressed the social justice issues of his day? In this teaching, we look at one story in particular from Jesus' life that exemplifies his ability to be deeply grounded spiritually while addressing the plight of a woman caught in intersectional prejudice. Turns out that the experience left him genuinely satiated.

Enjoy Rev. Dr. Angie Barker Jackson's teaching on Jesus' provocative Beatitude, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." See below for the resources she referenced. (YouTube audience – find hyperlinks from this teaching at CrossWalkNapa.org/Teachings).

Check out the covenant Angie referenced from The Poor People’s Campaign (PoorPeoplesCampaign.org/covenant-of-nonviolence) – and why not say yes to its invitation?

Check out the following books Angie noted as well: Holy Ground: On Activism, Environmental Justice, and Finding Hope Racial Ecologies Becoming Rooted: 100 Days of Reconnecting with Sacred Earth Rooted in the Earth: Reclaiming the African American Environmental Heritage

Check out these organizations: SoulFlowerFarm.org CanticleFarm.org TempleofEarthApothecary.com Check out these Voices: Rev. Dr. Ambrose Carroll Genesis Butler (2017 TEDxCSULB)

Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted. Maybe this simple a statement of fact - when we mourn, we find comfort. How well have you learned to mourn?

Jesus said that the poor in spirit are blessed. That sounds ridiculous. What was he talking about? What can we learn from what he was saying? What would the Spirit of God call us to do to help the plight of the poor?

Jesus didn't know what he was talking about. He got the word "blessed" all wrong. Maybe it was a brain fog moment - he meant to say "lousy" or "miserable" are the poor, mourning, humble, and persecuted. Or... Maybe he was speaking a truth we in the modern Western world know little about. Maybe we have much to learn about what he taught and modeled that will lead to a much deeper - and better - experience of "blessed."

Starting with the "Blessed are the" statements at the beginning Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, and running all the way through, there are statements that simply don't jibe with conventional thinking. Was Jesus a little off? What do we do when it appears Jesus was so out of touch?

Jesus had a large vision he was pursuing that all of his teaching, healing, and living exemplified. As was the case for him, if we are paying attention and actually trying to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, there will always be a tension between the vision of the Kingdom of God's good news and the prevailing, alternative good news proclaimed by myriad cultural and systemic forces around us. Which "Kingdom" will we honor most? Which good news will be build our lives on and proclaim?

You can read a summary of this teaching (and referenced resources) at CrossWalkNapa.org/Teachings. This post is informed by, and references noted are sourced from (unless otherwise noted) Following the Call: Living the Sermon on the Mount Together, which will provide guidance to CrossWalkNapa teachings throughout 2025.

The context of Jesus' most celebrated teaching is a perfect prologue. Jesus climbed up the hill to teach his most devoted followers how to be like him. Those who desires, ascended. Will you?