They are among the most strange and unexpected of all Jesus’ sayings and teachings – eight statements that upend all our notions of the good life. Blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who mourn, the persecuted, those who are hated, the meek, the merciful, the peacemakers (breaking up a fight you’re liable to receive blows from both sides) – in other words, those who count for little in our world. It’s these, Jesus says, have something, know something, that others do not. They are the perfect answer to anxiety and low self-esteem. A week’s worth of short reflections on each of the beatitudes are offered to help readers better understand and inhabit the upside down world of the kingdom God expressed in them and to discover their true worth – the final beatitude says ‘Blessed are you….’

Simple, direct, practical and in the author’s characteristic friendly and assuring voice, this is a book that brings ancient biblical wisdom into lively conversation with many of today’s prevailing concerns.