Christianity for Dummies

Brief Audio reflection on Matthew 5:1-12. "Christianity for Dummies". The Fourth Sunday after The Epiphany: Year A. 

For about twenty years now Wiley Publishing has been producing the tremendously successful “… for Dummies” series of titles. My first experience was “Windows for Dummies.” My latest is “iPhone 5 for Dummies.” The secret of their success is to make intimidating subjects approachable… cutting through the technical jargon and “dumbing down” the core concepts to their absolute essentials in a non-threatening, “how to” format. That’s exactly what Jesus does for us in this week’s gospel.

In this week’s Epistle, Paul tells us: Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world? The Beatitudes turn worldly wisdom on its head and make it a pretty smart to be a dummy for Christ.