You are not rubbish, you are just dirty.
The dignity of the human person is immense, but we all struggle to really fathom the value of one life let alone ourselves. Christians need to have a better understanding of this than others because as Saint Paul says “we are already the children of God”. In life though we come up against many blockages to the sense of our true value and dignity and the value and dignity of others. The hurt and unresolved emotions we hold on to can bury us in judgement and condemning of ourselves and others. In such times Jesus wants to come to us, he is the best person I know for seeing the value of a single life. For it is those who see our value that can help us the most. They are the ones that look past our hurt and self condemnation to see our true value. It is through these people who see our value, we can then let go of the hurt and pain we hold on to because we think we have to find the answer to it. The answer is that we are of immense value and the dirt we collect does not need to cling to us.
Set boundaries to those who dirty you
Once you have a clean clear image of your true value, protect it from those who dirty it. Imagine a speaker on a stage about to invite another person on the stage, but they are totally appalled by this person they are inviting up. They say how draining they are and annoying. Now imagine that person coming on to the stage, what do they look like to you, what would they be wearing? Now imagine the speaker talking about someone who is really gifted and beautiful and just amazing to be with. Imagine that person coming on the stage, what do they look like to you. Notice how easy it is to project our judgement onto the other person. We are hurt by people we meet that see us like that first person, like rubbish. We can then react to the clothes and dirt that person has given us, but if we know our true value, we need not react, we can stand for our dignity. Because the real sadness is that the speaker was unable to comment on one good thing about that first person, that is the real sadness, he couldn’t see another’s value. Now the first person coming on stage could be in a rage and want to kill that speaker, but that would be his fault because he would be accepting the lie, the projection of the speaker. Stop accepting the lie. Accept your value and say thanks for the introduction but it’s sad you don’t see my value and hope for improvement. Wash yourselves clean of such people for they have dirty perceptions, dirty eyes. Rather surround yourself with people who love the dignity of others and see with eyes of gratitude.
 
Be pure like Jesus
So Saint Paul invites us who see our true value as children of God and who entertain the hope of heaven to be pure like Jesus is. One of the greatest teaching of Jesus, of his mission and purpose can be found in the beatitudes. “Blessed are the poor in spirit” those hunger for the spirit of unity, of connection, of love of life. “Blessed are the gentle” those that do not react to every injustice with murder. “Blessed are those that mourn” that see the dignit of others and are saddened that many do not see it. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for what is right” they work for good. “Blessed are the merciful” they see the value of each person and what is possible for them in their life. “Blessed are the pure in heart” they only live for the good to flourish and never use others as objects to their pleasure. “Blessed are the peace makers” they see there is no wars just opportunities to understand each other and grow together. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for what is right” they are working hard for good to flourish. Jesus really lived these values even to his bloody death. He shows us that no matter what, hold true to your value and dignity, your are loved and you are valuable, you need not find a solution to the dirt that people put on you. Free yourself from it.
Second reading
1 John 3:1-3
Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s children;
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him,
therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God
but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.
Surely everyone who entertains this hope
must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.
First reading
Apocalypse 7:2-4,9-14
I, John, saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.
After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, ‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’
One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.’
Gospel
Matthew 5:1-12
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’
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