Reverend Marco Ste-Marie

Blessed are those who mourn Matthew 5:4 “blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” At first, these words may sound strange. We do not usually associate mourning with blessing. We tend to call people blessed when life is going well—when they are healthy, secure, successful, admired, and in control. Yet jesus looks… Read more

Blessed Are Those Who Still Ache for What Is RightMatthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” There is something wonderfully physical about the way Jesus speaks here. He does not say, “Blessed are those who have an interest in righteousness.” He does not say, “Blessed are… Read more

Mercy with Wisdom Matthew 5:7 Matthew 5:7 — “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” A close translation might be: “Flourishing are the merciful ones, because they themselves will be shown mercy.” At first, this can sound like a spiritual transaction: be… Read more

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Matthew 5:8 When we hear these words, our first instinct may be to wonder what Jesus expects from us. But perhaps before we make this Beatitude about ourselves, we should ask another question: What does it tell us about God? Because Jesus is not… Read more

I am still struggling to process much of what has happened. I did not come to the decision to leave this pastoral charge lightly. There has been grief in it, because I genuinely hoped that my ministry here would unfold differently. Throughout my relatively short tenure, I received many complaints. Some were worth hearing and… Read more

Two friends loved to go hunting together. One seemed to have a naturally positive outlook on life, while the other could find something wrong with almost anything. One day, the first man arrived with an extraordinary new bird dog—a dog that could walk on water. A duck fell onto the lake. Without hesitation, the dog… Read more