Blessed are the blahblahblah

There are so many great moments when you give oral finals. Like the student who responded to a question about how Mary embodies the theological virtues with "Well, that would be so awkward--to get pregnant when you're a virgin. You would have to have some major faith to get you through that!"

But I think my favorite was the student who responded to the question about how Matthew's gospel asks the Christian community to balance the call to moral righteousness and the call to forgiveness. She looked me right in the eye and said, "Well, what you have to understand is that, in Matthew's gospel, moral righteousness is so important. But then, also, nothing is more important than forgiveness. So, the most important thing is to balance both." Seriously, she looked at me like she just reported that she cured cancer. I decided to mercifully give her a prompt: "Are there any specific texts that might help us figure out that balance?" She paused, then said, "Well, I think the whole part about blessed are the blahblahblah, because that shows that God blesses and forgives the people who ... well, pretty much everyone."

Indeed, blessed are the blahblahblah, for theirs is the kingdom of a vague, unspecified god, who suggests (but certainly would never demand) that they develop whatever virtues seem appropriate to them. Rejoice and be glad!