And it’s ridiculous.

Because there’s nothing all that sacrosanct about your cool vacation or brand new gadgety thingamabob or the fact that you can do or have what others can’t or don’t.

And so we wonder: what does it mean to be blessed? To live a blessed life? And who is blessed?

Jesus told us.

He blessed the ones who seemed cursed. The poor. The down-and-out. The least. The ones who cry all the time. And he wasn’t being ironic.

But what did he mean?

And then there’s all of us, studying at an elite university. Many of us being paid to think. And when we go home, it’s to cozy apartments and comfortable people and it’s always enough. Maybe more than enough. Right?

And so when Jesus blesses the down and out, what does that mean for us? Are we blessed too? Are we meant to be part of the blessing for others?

Another academic year is upon us. We can burrow into our academic cocoons. Or we can remember that there’s a great big hurting world out there. And maybe God put us where we are, blessed us, you might say, to do something about it. Maybe our graduate degrees aren’t for ourselves, but for others and to serve and to love and to bless.

And maybe it’s not as cliche as it sounds but instead real and meaningful.

And so join us as we learn about what it looks like to be blessed and to bless. Every Thursday at Chapel on the Ave. Dinner’s at 6. Small groups start at 7.