Beatitudes Blog
“Take Comfort. See My Face.”
The surprising comfort of finding Jesus’ face.
Knowing Wind (poem)
Knowing Wind for Wanda by J. Marshall Jenkins The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit (John 3:8). You teach me much about trees,...
Dare to Expect Abundance
Expecting abundance rather than scarcity could begin the change you want to make in the world. Read more to see why.
Soft Morning Light (Poem)
Soft Morning Light for Wanda J. Marshall Jenkins No matter how strident the march of darkness as my good angels scatter and deny knowing my name, your soft morning light prevails after predawn darkness, sometimes playfully, sometimes ever so quietly. It is...
Here We Are: Remembering Betty Marshall Jenkins
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will.be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). This post is the eulogy I delivered for my mother, Betty Marshall Jenkins, at Shandon Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC on January, 21,2023. She lived from April 2, 1925 until December...
Our Mother, the Peacemaker: Betty Marshall Jenkins, 1925-2022
7My mother, Betty Marshall Jenkins, died on December 31, 2022. The following post paid tribute to her on her 90th birthday on April 2, 2015. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). On a farm in the Shenandoah Valley of...
Bare Winter Trees (Poem)
Bare Winter Trees J. Marshall Jenkins In my hurry to the mailbox this cold December morning, bare winter trees draw my gaze from rain soaked roots up to manifold etched fingers pointing - look! – to gray cloud cover sagging under light poised to burst through....
On the Road with Paul: Buechner on the Apostle with Angel Eyes
Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:11-12). If...
“The Presence of Peace” After the Wars of the Day
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Matthew 5:9). My previous post presented Frederick Buechner’s book, The Alphabet of Grace, as a companion for everyday spirituality. One of his last books, The Remarkable Ordinary: How to Stop,...
The Alphabet of Grace: On Experiencing God in Everyday Life
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God (Matthew 5:8). The blessing, to “see God,” and the virtue, purity of heart, need each other. For the desire to see God is the fire that purifies the heart. In this sense, the Beatitude says, blessed are those who...
“The Miracles at Hand”: Buechner on the Good Samaritan
Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7). In his sermon, "The Miracles at Hand" (The Magnificent Defeat, pp.136-144), Frederick Buechner offers a compassionate reading of Jesus' greatest parable on compassion, "The Good Samaritan" (Luke...
Vocation: Your Deep Gladness Meets the World’s Deep Hunger
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (Matthew 5:6). Below see Frederick Buechner’s definition of “vocation,” in Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC. The final sentence must be his most widely quoted by far, and it may...
As a psychotherapist and spiritual director, I bring well-honed insight and skill to these posts; yet, my vulnerability plays a more important part, for more than advice from experts, serious people of faith need resonance with fellow travelers.
In my writing and in your reading and comments, may we face our challenges in God’s compassionate presence rather than in a private dressing room where we try in vain to make ourselves presentable to God at an appointed meeting. God meets us where we are.
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