"The Beatitudes: Both Personal and Urgent"

The Beatitudes from the Gospel of Luke are both personal and urgent.  We are blessed in the present moment as we hunger, grieve, and find the need for others in our lives,  The beatitudes point out our vulnerability and need for openness to the presence of Jesus in our lives. We can hunger for justice as well as bread.  We grieve a death, but also broken dreams.  Our poverty can be found in the certain knowledge that we need others to be fulfilled in love.  The Woes in this Gospel section are directed to those who feel full of themselves and indifferent to others.