The blessings

  

Text: Matthew 5:1-12

Focus: beatitudes

Function: to see how Jesus changes things

5:¹When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. ²And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

³“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

⁵“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

⁶“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

⁷“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

⁸“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

⁹“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

¹⁰“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Good morning to God’s beloved! Through the Holy Spirit, we share the divine nature of God and are given the power to love others as much as we love our own.

Today we are looking at what is called the Beatitudes. This is the core of what it means for us to be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.

I notice that it isn’t so much about what we believe as it is in what we do and the attitude that we have toward others as a reflection of the Spirit of Christ inside of us.

It starts out with Jesus leaving the city and going to a remote place on the mountainside. It is the beginning of what we call the Sermon on the Mount.

The significance of leaving the city has to do with the way that God’s kingdom sets itself apart from the kingdoms, and attitudes of mankind and its political structures of government.

I don’t believe Jesus was an anarchist, but there is anarchy in this revolutionary teaching.

Because we live in a capitalistic society, we are taught to value and honor the rich as if they are somehow morally superior because of their ability to exploit an opportunity.

For some reason, we believe amassing great wealth is a moral good.

Jesus has a lot to say about greed and hoarding wealth and it doesn’t agree with that philosophy.

I believe that people were as much in love with money back then as they are now since we need it to survive, especially in our interdependent economic social structure.

And Jesus comes on the scene and boldly takes a stand against what we have come to call worldliness.

These beatitudes are a beautiful way for him to introduce the values of the Kingdom of God.

They are what we call the values of an upside down kingdom. A kingdom that honors not the wealthy but the poor and the downtrodden for their ability to survive when the odd are stacked against them.

And Luke, in his gospel, picks up this theme. When he gets to the first way to be blessed, he says in his account that being poor is a path to blessing.

It is because the poor depend on God, just like the birds of the air to provide for them daily. And we go on to pray: “Give us this day our daily needs.”

But when Matthew uses the words Poor in Spirit, we get the meaning that blessed are the humble. Or those who refuse to be proud.

Blessed are those who mourn. I believe that when they follow Jesus, they will be comforted by his presence in the Holy Spirit.

Prayer and contemplation go a long way. Also, the beloved community here and the community of faith across the world.

Then: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

Isn’t that just backwards? We believe and we watch it in movies all the time where it is the bold risk takers who inherit the blessings.

But Jesus says stop thinking that way and by faith, be meek. By faith, trust God. By faith, take right place in life.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. I got to share this one down at the prison during our six month retreat. The men in prison are both crying out for justice and are victims of the system of justice.

They are victims of a system of revenge. Jesus is the lord of restoration. His justice is never about revenge, but always about healing for both the victim and the oppressor.

Understand, by the way, the the word for righteousness in this passage is best translated as those who hunger for justice.

Carol got it right in the liturgy.

Most of the men in the prison accept that justice needed to be done for their crimes. If they aren’t sorry for the action, they are sorry for the consequences. But most are sorry for their actions, and they want justice to be restored for both them and their victim or their families.

Jesus promises justice for the oppressed in this passage. Right at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, he proclaimed the prophecy from Isaiah 61 that God sent him to proclaim justice for the oppressed.

And it happened. The early church did not concern themselves with buildings and their collections went to feed the poor in their areas. They distributed charity by living on only what they needed instead of hoarding wealth for retirement. When the retired, they took care of the elderly. It became a huge practice of mercy and it caused the church to grow quickly across the world.

The oppressed who need justice cry out to God and God gives it to them.

The world we live in tells us that the reason they are poor is because they are either lazy or stupid. It judges the poor for being poor and honors the rich for exploiting them. Jesus says the opposite.

This verse gives me hope to not give up on God’s justice. I see the evil going on with refugees and the way it contradicts the teachings of Christ and I cry out for justice. And God promises it to us.

Blessed are the merciful This is where forgiveness comes in for me. In order to give mercy toward someone, I need to forgive them.

Even if it isn’t me they have harmed. We judge people easily and most often it comes simply because they are different from us in some small or large way. But we forgive. We forgive the transgressors and that releases the power of the Holy Spirit to transform both them and us.

I have learned not to judge in my Uber driving. For example, Lyft has a contract with an agency that helps Methamphetamine victims recover. And they are a wild bunch. Some of them are faithfully working the program and others are taking a free ride. I find that not judging them and giving them mercy opens the door for blessings to both me and them. It is a spiritual transaction taking place.

Blessed are the pure in heart. I believe he is telling us to ground ourselves in the love that God is pouring into our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Keep your hearts pure by abiding in love instead of hatred, bitterness or jealousy. That means we examine our hearts to see if there is bitterness or unforgiveness in us. We forgive and our hearts are made pure again. Remember, we are forgiven to the extent we forgive.

Blessed are those who can make peace. Instead of war or revenge, find a merciful, loving solution. And it happens by simply refusing to fight back.

I was raised by Christian standards and I knew that if I started a fight, I was in trouble at home. I also knew that if I didn’t turn the other cheek, when someone struck me, I would get in trouble.

And I was never big or athletic, just average. But because I was a pacifist, I became a target for the short kid who had something to prove.

One kid made up something to attack me and told me to prepare to fight. I told him I would not fight him. He approached me for the first blow and I reached out an grabbed his neck so that his fists couldn’t reach me. And then I smiled at him and kept repeating that I had no reason to fight him.

And finally he quit.

It worked out. However, I did take a few beatings.

We were raised to do as much as possible to make peace with others.

And finally, he tells them that keeping up this attitude even when people mock and criticize us is also a path to blessing in our lives. Endure and I believe that if we keep our hearts pure in love we will live the peaceful life.