A WORD FOR TODAY, January 28, 2026
Peggy Hoppes
We pray you have been blessed by this daily devotion. If you received it from a friend, you can see other devotions and studies by visiting our website at www.awordfortoday.org.
Blessings. Peg
A WORD FOR TODAY, January 28, 2026
Lectionary Scriptures for February 1, 2026, Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany: Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12
“Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.” Matthew 5:12a, WEB
Are you a right-brain or left-brain thinker? There is a theory in psychology that each side of the brain controls certain types of thinking. The right-brained thinker is said to be more intuitive, thoughtful, and subjective. The left-brained thinker is said to be more logical, analytical, and objective. Right-brained people tend to be more creative and emotional while left-brained people tend to be more methodical. Scientists have proven this theory to be a myth, that people do not have a dominant side of their brain with controls their personality. Sadly, many people use this theory as an excuse for not using more of their brain capacity. “I can’t do anything creative because I’m left-brained.” Or “I am not good with following directions because I am right-brained.”
The reality is that neither side of the brain is dominant in anyone; as a matter of fact, the two sides of the brain are connected in a way that enhances communication between the two hemispheres, and that connection is vital for proper brain function. If the parts of the brain that are specifically designed to enhance that communication is broken, the person will suffer brain and neurological issues. I am not a brain surgeon, and I don’t totally understand the theories or research. Thankfully there are people who do know about the brain to help us stay healthy, but we are reminded to beware of how we use theories as excuses to avoid the life has saved and called us to live. Even if the theory is true, it doesn’t really matter whether we are right-brained or left-brained.
I started thinking about this theory when I was reading today’s scripture. The verse from 1 Corinthians struck me, “Jews ask for signs and Greeks seek after wisdom.” Perhaps the Jews are right-brained, and the Greeks are left-brained! Really, it is interesting that Paul has divided the two nations in this way. The Jews, whose lives and history are built upon their faith, were more spiritual. The Greeks, however, who were more academic in their focus, wanted intellectual answers to their questions. In this text about the foolishness of the cross, Paul has shown us the mistake we so often make. It didn’t matter whether they looked for signs or wisdom, they all thought the idea of Jesus dying on the cross was foolish. It didn’t make sense in matters of faith or intelligence.
We have a tendency of dividing people by types, which the theory does. It has been debunked not only by scientists but by life. Creative people have the brain capacity to be logical and methodical people have the capacity to be creative. This same mistake manifests in the idea that we should approach the questions of life from either a spiritual or an intellectual perspective. One person will say, “I’ve studied and researched and I’ve found this to be true,” while another will say, “I have faith and I believe it to be true.” The one with faith thinks that their answer is greater because it comes from trusting in God, while the intellectual one sees his answer as greater because it is founded on facts.
On the face of it, Christianity is foolishness. I saw a post the other day that claimed that 99% of Christians have never read the Bible, that if they had they would never be Christian. The atheist insists that the Bible is so filled with error, contradiction, and foolishness that it is irrelevant.
Paul is right when he says that Christianity is foolishness. After all, what good is it to believe in a God who can die on a cross? Why have faith in a system that allows an innocent man to take the consequences of the whole world’s sin upon His shoulders? Is God so weak that He can’t protect His people from suffering? Is He so incompetent that He can’t save us in some other, more civilized way? The Jews want to answer these questions from the tradition of their faith, and the Greeks want answers that can be studied philosophically.
Perhaps we are still divided in the ways we take on these difficult theological questions of life. However, there is no good answer to the question, especially if we are trying to do it with human wisdom. After all, as Paul wrote, “the foolishness of God is wiser than men.”
We are called to submit to God, and yet the world claims there is no God. We are called to love our neighbor, and yet the world says that we should love ourselves. The Gospel tells us that God in flesh died so that we might have life. What foolishness! Yet God is wiser and more powerful than anything we can imagine, and we know that He loved His children so much that He did everything necessary to reconcile us to Him.
The world reads today’s Gospel lesson and laughs at the foolishness. The beatitudes are eight beautiful attitudes that are lived by those who follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Matthew’s Gospel is organized to establish Jesus as the foundation, as the First, who accomplished the will and purpose of God. His life lies parallel to the people of Israel, but where Israel failed to keep the faith, Jesus did so and in doing so, Jesus made it possible for the rest of us to do it, too.
In the opening lines of the Old Testament passage from Micah, God asks Israel to plead her case before Him. She turned away from her God, walked away from the covenant, and was unfaithful. God gave her a chance to defend herself. He called the mountains and the foundations of the earth to be witnesses to His judgment because they were there when the covenant was made. Then God turned it on Himself and asked His beloved what He had done wrong, defending His own actions by recounting his redemption of Israel out of bondage in Egypt.
Israel responded by trying to find some way to make up for the sin against God but thought they could earn God’s mercy. They thought that bowing before God or presenting offerings would be enough to cover their sins. They even offered to sacrifice their first-born sons, an offering God would never accept.
God answered that He has already shown His people what is right and good. A right relationship with God means right relationships with other people. He says, “Do justice, be merciful and walk humbly with God.” Humility does not mean bowing or giving with a hard heart. It means recognizing our own sinfulness and submitting ourselves to God and what He has already done. Instead of demanding that the people of Israel give their sons on the altar of sacrifice, God sent His own son to take the wrath they deserved. The One who lived out what is right and good also laid down His own life so that we to might be just, merciful, and humble before God.
What does it mean to be blessed? According to the world, blessedness is visible to others; it is seen in our happiness, our wealth, and our health. Even Christians talk about their good lives by saying, “I have been so blessed.” But we do not see the blessings when we are suffering from a terminal disease, or we are unemployed and can’t pay our bills? Blessedness is often thought synonymous with happiness, but the sort of happiness that comes with faith is not necessarily giddy pleasure, but rather a deeper inner joy from God.
To bless someone is to offer a holy seal of approval. What is it that God seeks from those He loves? What about your life might He speak well of? It would be easy for us to use the psalm for today to establish the criteria for blessedness. The psalmist wrote, “Yahweh, who shall dwell in your sanctuary? Who shall live on your holy hill?” Those who are blameless, righteous, and honest, those who do good works, and who fear the Lord are the ones who will be blessed. Yet this expectation is too hard for any human to uphold. Who is blameless? Who is righteous? There is no one who would ever be so blessed.
Jesus was the First who could dwell in His sanctuary and live on His holy Hill. God gave Jesus His holy seal of approval because in the midst of His very human life, He remained faithful. Thanks to His faithfulness, we can be faithful, too.
The blessed are not those who deserve to be rewarded, but rather are those who trust what God has done and is doing in the world. The poor in spirit seem to have no hope, but they are blessed because God has given them the kingdom of heaven. Those who mourn have no joy, but they are blessed because God comforts them. Those who are humiliated are raised and those who are hungry and thirsty are fed.
John Stott wrote of the Beatitudes, “These characteristics do not describe eight separate and distinct groups of disciples. There are not some who are meek, while others are merciful, yet others called upon to endure persecution. These are eight qualities of the same group who at one and the same time are meek and merciful, poor in spirit and pure in heart, mourning and hungry, peacemakers and persecuted. They are the characteristics of the common, everyday Christians.”
The Beatitudes emphasize who we are rather than what we do. The Kingdom is not of this world. The beautiful attitudes and the blessings of the Kingdom are not economic but spiritual. Some may be called to lives of poverty, but the beatitudes refer to spiritual states. The eight blessings are given to every Christian. God favors the humble, those who trust in Him rather than their own strength. These humble people are those who yearn for God above all else. They become wholly dependent on God. Martin Luther wrote, “These eight beatitudes are nothing else than a teaching about the fruits and good works of a Christian, which must be preceded by faith, as the tree and main body or sum of his righteousness and blessedness, without any work or merit, out of which these beatitudes must all grow and follow.”
None of the eight Beatitudes are highly regarded by the world as being particularly blessed. Poverty, pain, humility, hunger and thirst are not signs of a blessed life; they are more likely to be considered woes or curses. The merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers and the persecuted are more likely to be viewed as foolish rather than as blessed.
When we are poor in spirit, in mourning, humiliated, and hungry, it is difficult to be participants in the overcoming work in God’s world. Sadly, in today’s world it is often used as an excuse to be angry and to fight. We think we are justified in demanding that others do things our way. We seek worldly solutions to our pain and suffering and expect our neighbors to save us. Yet the real salvation will only come when we fall into the arms of God’s grace. Blessed are those who look to God in their poverty, mourning, humiliation, and hunger because they will be satisfied.
This is not about overcoming our troubles on our own or wallowing in them; Jesus encourages us to live in an attitude of trust and confidence that God is faithful. The beatitudes are the attitudes of God’s people living in faith. The students for today’s lesson were not the great crowds of people; Jesus was speaking to the disciples. This lesson is not given for those who are trying to earn their way to heaven but is given to those who believe in the work of God. The lesson is given for us, the Christians who have been saved by the cross of Christ.
This doesn’t seem like a wise lesson, does it? It is understandable that the Jews asked for signs and the Greeks sought wisdom. After all, it makes more sense to be strong in spirit, to celebrate life, to be assertive, and to satisfy our own needs, all of which is made easier with proof, whether spiritual or intellectual. We would much rather be comfortable and happy. We would much prefer a life of wealth, health, and popularity. However, Jesus never promised us a rose garden; He promised Himself. We can find blessedness in poverty and in mourning, not because there is anything good about these things but because we turn to grace in our suffering. Physical blessedness is found in pain because the pain makes us look to the One who can heal us. Spiritual blessedness is found in suffering because it makes us look to God for our help. That’s what Paul is talking about: God shines through our lives.
It is easy for God to get lost in the midst of a bright shining star, but He shines brightly in the valley of the shadow of death. In other words, it is hard to see God’s work when we are successful and happy. Even if we answer their questions “I am so blessed,” they see it not as a gift from God but as a reward for our hard work and perseverance.
However, if we can say we are blessed in the midst of pain and loss, then the world will truly see that it is God’s grace that makes us happy. God uses our weakness to show His strength and raises us out of our pits into His Kingdom. Blessedness is seeing ourselves as we truly are and turning to the One who can give us all we need. Blessed are those who humble themselves at the altar of the Lord and give their lives into His hand so that through their weakness He is glorified.
The psalm tells us that those who are welcome in the Temple of God are an exclusive group. Who can live there? It is a place where only those who walk rightly and do good works, where those who speak truth and do no evil are welcomed. Those who hate evil and love those who love the Lord are those who are invited into the presence of God. We have to honor our oaths even when they are painful, lending our resources to others without expectation and never accepting anything that might hurt another.
I would like to think that I would be welcome in the house of the Lord, but quite frankly the words of my mouth are not always right, and my actions are not always just. I take advantage of my neighbor, and I do not always do what I should do for their sake. There is only one who can help us to be part of that exclusive group: Jesus Christ our Lord, who is the only one that was truly righteous. He is the only one who will never be shaken, the only one who can dwell in the house of the Lord. We simply can’t get an invitation to that party on our own. Those who are blessed are the ones that stand firmly on Him.
I’ve always thought of myself as right brained, but I can understand why the scientists have rejected the theory. I am creative, but I am also logical. I am emotional, but I am also rational. Our brains do not work like separate organs, but work as a whole to accomplish its work. I suppose that’s why we should not try to be like either the Jews or the Greeks, focusing on simply the spiritual or the intellectual. It is good to study the scriptures, to learn and understand what God is saying in and through His creation and His Church, but we also have to live in faith. It is good to be faithful, to trust in God without proof, but we also have to be ready with an answer when the world asks us the hard questions of life.
I was tempted to argue with the post from the atheist about the “fact” that Christians don’t read the Bible. I wanted to be flippant and congratulate the person on making up false statistics. 99% is a rather high figure, considering most Christians I know do read the Bible. I’ve known many who have read it cover to cover more than once. I have read every word at least a few times, and I spend time in the scriptures daily. Some commenters made similar points, telling the readings that reading the Bible strengthened their faith. I agree with that assessment, and though tempted, I decided not to engage.
We all know that the internet is a place where it is easy to get into a battle over the simplest things. I once saw a post about how to cut a sandwich. Some people like to make triangles; others prefer to make rectangles. The comments were funny. Some people talked about how triangles make the sandwich bigger. There were all sorts of posts showing the math, with equations proving the point. Others suggested that the triangles are bigger because there are more bites. It was a silly conversation, and I’m sure most of the people were arguing because it was funny. There were, however, some who took their point of view seriously.
I confess I’ve had my moments when I’ve argued online. I’ve learned to be more careful, even when the subject lends itself to humor. People have a hard time distinguishing between humor and earnestness. I have had to explain jokes too many times. Most people accept their error and laugh, but even then, some continue to argue. It is like there are people who argue for the sake of arguing, and it has become much more obvious online. We could probably use a few more peacemakers on social media.
St. Chromatius of Aquileia preached, “If you can see how great the merit of the peacemakers is, when they are no longer called servants but children of God. This reward is fully justified, since the love of peace loves Christ, the author of peace, to whom Paul the Apostle even gives ‘peace’ as a name: ‘He is our peace,’ he says. Someone who does not love peace goes in pursuit of discord, for he loves its author the devil. In the beginning the devil caused discord between God and the human race by leading the first man to violate God’s precept. The reason why the Son of God came down from heaven was to condemn the devil, the author of discord, and to make peace between God and the human race by reconciling its members to God and making God propitious to them. We must therefore become peacemakers so that we may deserve to be called children of God. Without peace, we lose the name not only of children, but even of servants, since the apostle says to us: ‘Love peace, for without it none of us can be pleasing to God.’”
“We must become peacemakers.” I know this seems like an impossible demand. There are a million reasons why we should fight, many of them worthwhile. The world is unfair; we should fight for fairness. We must fight for justice. We have the right to fight for what is ours. We should fight for the truth and for what is right. We believe in an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. We believe that if we don’t fight back then the world will take advantage of us.
“Blessed are those who have been persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.”
We fight because we do not want to suffer. We don’t deserve to suffer. We are afraid of suffering. It is not right for us to suffer. Yet Jesus tells us that we are blessed when we suffer for doing what He asks us to do. We must become peacemakers. There’s something very absurd about a person arguing about how to cut a sandwich. The same can be said about most of the arguments we engage in. I knew it was fruitless to join with those arguing with the atheist, so I prayed for all those who were involved and moved on, trusting that God would do what needed to be done to make all things right.
We live in a divided world, not just by the type of brain we have, but about everything in our world. I don’t know about you, but I grumble and disagree with at least half of what I see online. We disagree because we see the world differently. We expect the others to see it as we do. We demand our way without even listening to others. We expect the world to bend to our opinion or our point of view, and we become angry when it doesn’t. Yet, we haven’t even taken the time to listen to the other point of view. I’m guilty of this, but we all have to admit that it is often difficult to listen when everything is confrontational. We’d rather fight than be a peacemaker.
Peacemakers don’t win. As a matter of fact, Jesus promised that the peacemakers will be persecuted. On this fourth Sunday after the Epiphany of our Lord, we hear the opening of Jesus’ greatest sermon, the Sermon on the Mount. As we consider the texts for this day, I’m taken by the number of ways we can understand them. There are perhaps dozens of different ways through which the Beatitudes might be preached. Some may see them with a purely social gospel understanding, others might consider the spiritual implications. There are those who consider these words a call to a certain type of behavior and others might think they are an unattainable ideal.
Perhaps it is. The Christian faith is foolishness, because it makes no sense in a world that honors the powerful, promotes the strong, encourages the self and puts the great onto pedestals. However, God has chosen to bless those who humble themselves before Him, beginning first with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As we follow His path, and live as He lived, we might seem to have a life that is far from blessed. But God will shine through our weakness; through our poverty, mourning, meekness, hunger, thirst, mercy, suffering, humility and rejection He will be glorified.
Life in God’s kingdom means trusting God, even when it does not seem like you are blessed. We are blessed because God has raised us out of a world that requires sacrifice and obedience to rules that are different from God’s Word, trusting in human wisdom and expectations. True blessedness triggers a response of thankfulness and praise. In the beautiful attitudes of meekness and mercy, spiritual poverty and purity of heart, mourning and hunger, peacemaking and acceptance of persecution, we trust in God’s faithfulness and live as He has called us to live, blessing the world with His grace. That’s where we will find joy and peace, truly blessed in His Kingdom.
A WORD FOR TODAY is posted five days a week – Monday through Friday. The devotional on Wednesday takes a look at the scripture from the Revised Common Lectionary for the upcoming Sunday. A WORD FOR TODAY is posted on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Word-for-Today-Devotional/339428839418276. Like the page to receive the devotion through Facebook. For information and to access our archives, visit http://www.awordfortoday.org.