Last month on December 17, 2018, in a post about the book Unbelievable by John Shelby Spong, a previous Presbyterian Bishop of Newark, NJ, I mentioned the Beatitudes from Jesus, Sermon on the Mount. In that sermon, Jesus’s goal was to give people access to a better life, that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. He presented to his congregation a staircase to Heaven that is presently known as the Beatitudes. The idea that each person on that staircase could help others below them to step up was presented and here are some ideas on how that can be done.

Matthew 5:3-11 King James Version (KJV)
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (The implication is that even people who are poor in spirit, that is emotionally dead, are living in a world where theirs can be the kingdom of heaven. Even they can ascend the staircase! The people with whom they can relate to emotionally are those that are themselves mourning. Thus it is that the people who can most help the desperately poor in spirit are the mourners.)

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. (And who shall be most capable of helping those who mourn? The meek may not be quite so desperate as the mourners but they are close enough that can communicate with them and form helpful emotional bonds and personal alliances.)

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (This step up is based on the physical acquisition of property and a more stable relationship with psychological and personal physical survival, and those at this level are capable of helping those still locked in a state of mourning.)

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. (Those who have acquired an abundance of the things of the physical world, and stable family relationships, grasp for even more, for things beyond personal property such as status and public recognition, and they can do this by gaining responsibility for those below them, and thus the possibility for helping them.)

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (These people who are successful at gaining public status and power in the form of lordship over people, such as judges and royalty are in a position where they can grant mercy if they choose to do so. They are in a condition where they can obtain the benefits of the standard Golden Rule – Do unto others as you would have others do unto you. To give mercy is to set oneself up to obtain mercy.)

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. (This is a steep staircase because few of us are ever in positions where we can grant mercy in a meaningful way but if we are ever there we can benefit from those who are pure in heart because they can now see God. That may be a distant entity, barely perceptible, but real.)

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (To be a peacemaker between people is a challenge and to be a peacemaker between contending groups goes back to the major premise of this whole line of reasoning. That these people might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. Ending conflicts and wars gives tremendous benefits to all humanity and those who do it deserve to be called Children of God.)

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (We now move into concepts that only those willing to risk death need concern themselves, but some do and are persecuted by the authorities for their attempts to project their view of righteousness into public affairs. Time Names Person of the Year for 2018: Jamal Khashoggi and Other Journalists, some of whom including Khashoggi were just honored with such a fate. Murdered.)

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. (In this category we may expect to find the Christian martyrs of bygone eras. These were people who got embroiled in public conflicts over which they had great interest but little control. )

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” (Perhaps being persecuted is part of the job of founding a new religion and Jesus willingly stepped forward and paid the price.)

The Stoics of that Roman era, like Seneca, didn’t fare much better, being required by the Emperor to commit suicide.