Several unexpected and interesting things emerged for me in this familiar story.

“Happy Easter!” we greet one another. “Happy Easter!” as we celebrate the day.

The Beatitude for this week (Matthew 5:10) makes me a little nervous. Is the Kingdom of Heaven only for those who are persecuted for righteousness sake? If so, I am in trouble. I have a hard time thinking of a time when I was persecuted because of my Christian witness.

As I sat at my computer, ready to start typing this week’s commentary, my cell phone screeched with a loud warning. Emergency! Emergency! Take shelter! Tornado warning in your area!

The Beatitude that mirrors the account of Jesus admonishing the scribes and Pharisees (Mark 7:5-15 and last week’s text, Matthew 15:1-20) is “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.”

If, after reading the first part of this week’s focal text, you are not sure what Jesus was trying to teach, don’t worry. You are in good company. The disciples did not understand either.

Sometimes, when we begin a study of a biblical text, we wonder if there is some hidden meaning.

We ponder, “What is the context in which this text appears?” We ask, “What is the implication for how I live my life?” We dig to find a deeper level of meaning.

Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus brought this young man back to life (Luke 7:15), the crowd’s reaction was fear (v. 16)? (Some translations say “awestruck.”) The truth is that often when God does an unexpected miracle, we don’t know how to respond.

This week begins a walk with the Beatitudes. My ability with the Aramaic language is, shall we say, rather limited. In fact, let’s be honest. My knowledge of the Aramaic language is borderline non-existent. This means that I am limited when it comes to reading what Jesus said as He spoke Aramaic. I am dependent on what knowledgeable translators have done.

The truth is that most of us do pick and choose the portions of the Bible that we value and seek to obey. My guess is that few of us would choose this week’s focal texts as biblical principles around which to organize life.