Alix Pridgen

Blessed Are You—Even NowEpiphany 4A | Matthew 5:1–12 | Numbers 6:24–26We often think of blessing as evidence that life is going well—health, stability, success, peace. But in the Beatitudes, Jesus speaks blessing in places we would least expect: poverty of spirit, grief, mercy-weariness, persecution, longing, and quiet endurance.In this sermon for Epiphany, Rev. Dr. Alix Pridgen invites us to hear Jesus’ words not as imperatives to strive toward, but as pronouncements that reshape reality itself. These are not “be-attitudes” or conditions for future favor. They are declarations spoken in the present tense:Blessed are you… for yours is the kingdom of God.Through rich biblical reflection and a deeply human story of an overlooked grocery store worker who is seen, helped, and named as worthy, this sermon explores how blessing works—not as denial of suffering, but as God’s promise spoken within it.Listeners are reminded that:The kingdom of God meets us where our strength runs outMercy is costly, and Jesus knows th