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Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) writes in his book Jesus of Nazareth about the Sermon on the Mount and focuses on each Beatitude. Benedict writes that the third Beatitude, Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land, is mostly about peace that is connected to freedom and land. Just as the Israelites longed for their own land, the new Israel (Christians) also long for a place to live in obedience to God. This idea that God promises land as a place that allows an openness to God, a place that is free from the temptations of the world, is a concept that must be explored more fully. Benedict goes on to say that "Israel was scattered across the world so that it might everywhere create space for God and thus fulfill the purpose of creation suggested by the first creation account [in Genesis1:1-2:4]." I may be out of my depth here but it appears that Benedict is making a connection between the old and new that signals a call to all Christians. It reignites the urgency that Christ first asks of us, namely that we spread the gospel to all people. That concept is somewhat foreign to many Catholics who prefer to go to Mass each Sunday and then leave the work of the Church to the priests and bishops. But we cannot sustain this model and the weakness of this model has surely been revealed over and over again. We are called as disciples of the Lord to spread the word. We are the Israelites who have been dispersed throughout the earth to bring the Good News to all people. Benedict writes in another section of this discussion of the third Beatitude that "Every Eucharistic assembly is for us Christians a place where the king of peace reigns...The universal communion of Christ's Church is thus a preliminary sketch of the world of tomorrow, which is destined to become the land of Jesus Christ's peace."  Is this the land that Jesus promised in the Beatitude? If so, is your church a land of peace? Is it a place where Christians are drawn to be free to worship and celebrate God? If so, how are you contributing to this "world of tomorrow"? If not, what can you do to make it so? Is there a meekness in your church that promotes this peace? We have talked before on this blog about the danger of allowing strife to build in your church. This meekness that Jesus is talking about is beneficial to your future and allows the peacemakers to work in the world. We are all called to be these peacemakers. Are you going to be meek for the Lord? Are you going to be part of the new Israel?

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