Matthew 5:7(ESV)Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Upon his release from nineteen years in prison, Victor Hugo’s Jean Valjean, the protagonist of his fictional book Les Misérables, is rejected by those he encounters, becoming embittered. When he asks for mercy, none is given. Once, after working all day and in an inversion…

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6 ESV) In his message to the multitudes, Jesus uses the most basic and most critical of all needs, hunger and thirst.  While we tend to think of these in terms of food and water, Jesus is using hunger and…