the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

i don't really write about my job much.
in fact, i don't think i ever have here.
it can be kind of a downer.
when someone asks where i work, and i tell them, conversation stops.
and no one knows what to say.
obviously not many are FOR violence against women.
but not many know how to respond.

i live my life in this place too a lot.
i don't know how to respond.
i don't know what it means to live in fear.
i don't know what it means to be pysically hurt.
i don't know what it means to be intimidated by someone you love.
i don't know how it feels to be controled, or manipulated, or used.

sometimes it feels too hard, and too hopeless.
no income, no housing, no clothing.
an ebt card won't get you too far.
no citizenship, no job skills, no opportunities.
no self esteem, no self respect, no education.

we are going through the sermon on the mount at church.
and thomas read a portion of dallas willard's, divine conspiracy.
i think i need to read it.

it gives me fresh hope that there is room for even these in the kingdom.
especially these.
if only they knew.
if only they could see.
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
and you have a spot.
a place of honor.
maybe for the first time.

dallas williard's words give me fresh hope.
and fresh perspective.
see his words below.
these are the people i serve.
as thomas read these words, faces came to mind.
i think dallas needs a place in my office.

fresh hope.
praise the lord.
the kingdom is near.

Dallas Willard in the Divine Conspiracy playfully paraphrases the beatitudes.

"Blessed are the physically repulsive,

Blessed are those who smell bad,

The twisted, misshapen, deformed,

The too big, too little, too loud,

The bald, the fat, the old—

For they are all riotously celebrated in the party of Jesus.

Then he adds:

Then there are the "seriously" crushed ones: the flunk-outs and drop-outs and burned-outs. The broke and the broken. The drug heads and the divorced. The HIV-positive and herpes-ridden. The brain-damaged, the incurably ill. The barren and the pregnant too many times or at the wrong time. The over-employed, the under-employed, the unemployed. The unemployable. The swindled, the shoved aside, the replaced. The parents with children living on the street, the children with parents not dying in the "rest" home. The lonely, the incompetent, the stupid. The emotionally starved or emotionally dead. And on and on and on. (123-4)


What a crowd is gathering around Jesus! Why? Because he is announcing good news and blessings from God, and he is proving it, confirming it, in the physical realm. He is healing bodies as a sign that souls are being healed. He is bringing relief as a foretaste of life where all will be made new.

This community has gathered. A motley crew. The hurting, the whole, the curious. The community sings as they follow, "Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go." So they go where he goes.


Jesus looks out at this motley crew of a crowd, an audience of misfits, and begins to teach. He has already been telling them that the Kingdom of Heaven is near. It’s here, nearby ready to be received. There is great blessing available to all; this is good news. He’s talking to you, too, you know!

Jesus addresses the poor in spirit (and the poor). Jesus looks at man who looks like he has traveled through hell–he is weary and worn from sin. His face is like leather; his eyes are not sharp or clear; his fingers are stained. He has bottomed-out over and over again; foolish pleasures and mistakes have cost him dearly. He is poor and poor in spirit and at the end of his rope and even considers making a noose with it. But today he has come to hear this unusual teacher teaching unusual things.

The teacher looks at him and says, "Congratulations, my son, the Kingdom has come and you can be a part of it. How blessed you are to be in state of humility; you are now ready to receive the Kingdom of Heaven; it’s yours."