Text: Matthew 5:1-12
This body of teaching by Jesus recorded in the Gospel of Matthew is called the Sermon on the Mount. Today’s reading is the heart of it – what we call the Beatitudes…nine “blessing statements”. My Bible commentary calls it “Matthew’s masterpiece” (The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, p. 640). It contains the main point of the Gospel, not just of Matthew’s Gospel, but the whole gospel of Jesus Christ. This is very important teaching; we could say these are the most important things that Jesus has to say to his followers in all times and places.
Some modern translators replace the word “blessed” with “happy”. I think blessed is a better word, because it suggests not everyday happiness (if anybody is fortunate enough to be happy on a daily basis) but the happiness that comes as a gift of God. There is happiness that is mere human pleasure, like eating a good meal or getting a new bicycle, and there is happiness that is deeper, like the birth of a new baby or the occasion of a wedding or the enjoyment of a loyal friendship. But in teaching his disciples the way of the Christian life, Jesus goes beyond even the deepest human experience to the heart of God. When we look at the occasions for blessedness in these beatitudes, we see that they are surprising, even unbelievable. Jesus uses a common device in Jewish rhetoric: putting together ideas that are incompatible. We call this “paradox”, and we also see it in Luther’s teaching: for instance in the concept that we are both saints and sinners at the same time. How can things which are opposite both be true? Well, they can, and that is the challenge of this central teaching of Jesus.
We should note a couple of important details in the introduction: Jesus sits down, it says; that’s the usual position of Jewish rabbis while they teach. And secondly, “his disciples came to him”. He is not teaching the crowds here; he’s teaching his committed followers. This teaching is for those who belong to the kingdom. And once they are seated and ready to listen, Jesus gives them the whole load.
The first “blessedness” is the condition of being “poor in spirit”. The second is the experience of mourning. The third is the quality of meekness. So what is “blessed” about poverty, sadness and timidity? The Hebrew word for the poor is “anawim” – the little ones. This reminds us of Jesus’ teaching that his followers should come before God like children – those in need of protection, whose virtue is their readiness to trust. The “blessing” that these needy and trusting ones receive is the kingdom of heaven – Jesus’ crucial gift to his followers – comfort for their sadness, and paradoxically, ownership of the earth. In other words, these little ones will be heirs to all of God’s future. One commentator says “God’s priority is the care of the poor….” (Ibid., p. 640) I think of this every time I conduct a service at Bethany. To go there and minister in some way to the residents seems a marginal activity; that is, there are only 20 or so who come to the services, some of them hardly know they are there, and there are only a few who can appreciate the opportunity for worship and respond. But all of these are God’s “little ones”, a very important group…in Jesus’ words, those who will inherit the earth, so perhaps we can say they are the people whom it is most important to serve. Fortunately, the few who are able to respond appropriately are very sweet and very gracious. So strangely enough, it’s extremely worthwhile for those of us who have that experience; it seems unimportant, but paradoxically it’s very important.
The fourth “blessedness” is the pursuit of righteousness; the fifth is mercy; the sixth is purity of heart. In our world, we are pretty cynical. Do those whose purpose is goodness, forbearance and purity get ahead? Not likely! Maybe they get elevated to sainthood after they’re dead, but not in this life! But Jesus says this is to be the purpose of those who follow him, and there will be rewards: the righteous will be satisfied, the merciful will receive mercy, the pure in heart will see God. I venture to guess we often find ourselves saying or thinking, “No point in trying to do good – I’ll only be taken advantage of by some scam artist.” Or, “I’m not about to forgive that kind of behaviour – it simply encourages more of the same.” Or, “Those who are pure are kidding themselves – it’s just a matter of time before they’re hit on by some bad actor.” We excuse ourselves from the hard work of virtuous thought and action by saying it can’t happen.
I think one of the things that becomes more important late in life, after we’ve pursued all sorts of other goals like good looks, money and possessions, social success and all those other things that preoccupy us, is the desire to please God. Sadly, we don’t seem to come to this point until we begin to feel more vulnerable ourselves: when our health is threatened, our income is reduced, and our children are busy with their own lives. But I do think there is a time in life when righteousness, mercy and purity of heart become more important; hence, the lovely attitudes of the old folks at Bethany. They are marginalized and largely forgotten, but the faith of a lifetime bears fruit in some of them – perhaps more so in those who can’t even express it. Is true godliness more likely to be found at Bethany Care Centre than most other places around here? I think so.
The seventh blessedness is the goal of making peace. And the eighth is the willingness to suffer for the sake of doing right. These are closely related, and they both involve taking risks in order to achieve the common good. We don’t make peace only for ourselves, and we don’t suffer persecution in order to bring about good only for ourselves. The ninth blessedness expands on the eighth: it describes the persecution that we might suffer as a result of following Jesus Christ. That’s not a familiar thought to us, is it? We tend to think that when we follow Jesus, everybody will admire us and love us. But not at all. They didn’t all admire and love Jesus, and we can’t expect to fare much better than he did. Except that in our more soft and sentimental age, we are more likely to be ignored than persecuted. But there are rewards: to be named as children of God, to be members of the kingdom of heaven, to receive a great reward in heaven.
In the early Middle Ages when religious orders were first established in the church, priests and monks and nuns were thought to have a higher calling than the average Christian. They were the ones who really made sacrifices in order to follow Jesus. I think to a great extent we still think this way. But in our time – in the last 50 to 100 years – it’s become clear that not many people are willing to live that life. In the Sermon on the Mount, is Jesus only talking to priests and monks and nuns when he speaks of the blessedness of these various forms of commitment? I don’t think so. He is talking to his disciples, who are ordinary citizens with families and jobs. They are committed to following him but they must live out that commitment in the midst of their everyday responsibilities. There are not two tiers of Christian commitment: there is only one. Jesus calls all of his followers to the same level of faithfulness. So these “blessed” statements apply to us, right where we are. As difficult as they seem to be, they are not impossible. We will not achieve them perfectly but that is not what we are called to do: we aim to live that way, and Jesus’ death and resurrection fills the gap between our efforts and God’s perfection. So rejoice and be glad – get on the right path and keep walking forward. Jesus is right in front of us…and when we stumble, he is right beside us…and when we fall down, he is right behind us.
The Celtic Christians have what they call an “encircling prayer”…the idea being to pray for protection and support to surround us as we follow Jesus in this world. It goes like this:
Circle me, Lord.
Keep protection near
And danger afar.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep hope within
Keep doubt without.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep light near
And darkness afar.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep peace within
Keep evil out.
(David Adam)
Some modern translators replace the word “blessed” with “happy”. I think blessed is a better word, because it suggests not everyday happiness (if anybody is fortunate enough to be happy on a daily basis) but the happiness that comes as a gift of God. There is happiness that is mere human pleasure, like eating a good meal or getting a new bicycle, and there is happiness that is deeper, like the birth of a new baby or the occasion of a wedding or the enjoyment of a loyal friendship. But in teaching his disciples the way of the Christian life, Jesus goes beyond even the deepest human experience to the heart of God. When we look at the occasions for blessedness in these beatitudes, we see that they are surprising, even unbelievable. Jesus uses a common device in Jewish rhetoric: putting together ideas that are incompatible. We call this “paradox”, and we also see it in Luther’s teaching: for instance in the concept that we are both saints and sinners at the same time. How can things which are opposite both be true? Well, they can, and that is the challenge of this central teaching of Jesus.
We should note a couple of important details in the introduction: Jesus sits down, it says; that’s the usual position of Jewish rabbis while they teach. And secondly, “his disciples came to him”. He is not teaching the crowds here; he’s teaching his committed followers. This teaching is for those who belong to the kingdom. And once they are seated and ready to listen, Jesus gives them the whole load.
The first “blessedness” is the condition of being “poor in spirit”. The second is the experience of mourning. The third is the quality of meekness. So what is “blessed” about poverty, sadness and timidity? The Hebrew word for the poor is “anawim” – the little ones. This reminds us of Jesus’ teaching that his followers should come before God like children – those in need of protection, whose virtue is their readiness to trust. The “blessing” that these needy and trusting ones receive is the kingdom of heaven – Jesus’ crucial gift to his followers – comfort for their sadness, and paradoxically, ownership of the earth. In other words, these little ones will be heirs to all of God’s future. One commentator says “God’s priority is the care of the poor….” (Ibid., p. 640) I think of this every time I conduct a service at Bethany. To go there and minister in some way to the residents seems a marginal activity; that is, there are only 20 or so who come to the services, some of them hardly know they are there, and there are only a few who can appreciate the opportunity for worship and respond. But all of these are God’s “little ones”, a very important group…in Jesus’ words, those who will inherit the earth, so perhaps we can say they are the people whom it is most important to serve. Fortunately, the few who are able to respond appropriately are very sweet and very gracious. So strangely enough, it’s extremely worthwhile for those of us who have that experience; it seems unimportant, but paradoxically it’s very important.
The fourth “blessedness” is the pursuit of righteousness; the fifth is mercy; the sixth is purity of heart. In our world, we are pretty cynical. Do those whose purpose is goodness, forbearance and purity get ahead? Not likely! Maybe they get elevated to sainthood after they’re dead, but not in this life! But Jesus says this is to be the purpose of those who follow him, and there will be rewards: the righteous will be satisfied, the merciful will receive mercy, the pure in heart will see God. I venture to guess we often find ourselves saying or thinking, “No point in trying to do good – I’ll only be taken advantage of by some scam artist.” Or, “I’m not about to forgive that kind of behaviour – it simply encourages more of the same.” Or, “Those who are pure are kidding themselves – it’s just a matter of time before they’re hit on by some bad actor.” We excuse ourselves from the hard work of virtuous thought and action by saying it can’t happen.
I think one of the things that becomes more important late in life, after we’ve pursued all sorts of other goals like good looks, money and possessions, social success and all those other things that preoccupy us, is the desire to please God. Sadly, we don’t seem to come to this point until we begin to feel more vulnerable ourselves: when our health is threatened, our income is reduced, and our children are busy with their own lives. But I do think there is a time in life when righteousness, mercy and purity of heart become more important; hence, the lovely attitudes of the old folks at Bethany. They are marginalized and largely forgotten, but the faith of a lifetime bears fruit in some of them – perhaps more so in those who can’t even express it. Is true godliness more likely to be found at Bethany Care Centre than most other places around here? I think so.
The seventh blessedness is the goal of making peace. And the eighth is the willingness to suffer for the sake of doing right. These are closely related, and they both involve taking risks in order to achieve the common good. We don’t make peace only for ourselves, and we don’t suffer persecution in order to bring about good only for ourselves. The ninth blessedness expands on the eighth: it describes the persecution that we might suffer as a result of following Jesus Christ. That’s not a familiar thought to us, is it? We tend to think that when we follow Jesus, everybody will admire us and love us. But not at all. They didn’t all admire and love Jesus, and we can’t expect to fare much better than he did. Except that in our more soft and sentimental age, we are more likely to be ignored than persecuted. But there are rewards: to be named as children of God, to be members of the kingdom of heaven, to receive a great reward in heaven.
In the early Middle Ages when religious orders were first established in the church, priests and monks and nuns were thought to have a higher calling than the average Christian. They were the ones who really made sacrifices in order to follow Jesus. I think to a great extent we still think this way. But in our time – in the last 50 to 100 years – it’s become clear that not many people are willing to live that life. In the Sermon on the Mount, is Jesus only talking to priests and monks and nuns when he speaks of the blessedness of these various forms of commitment? I don’t think so. He is talking to his disciples, who are ordinary citizens with families and jobs. They are committed to following him but they must live out that commitment in the midst of their everyday responsibilities. There are not two tiers of Christian commitment: there is only one. Jesus calls all of his followers to the same level of faithfulness. So these “blessed” statements apply to us, right where we are. As difficult as they seem to be, they are not impossible. We will not achieve them perfectly but that is not what we are called to do: we aim to live that way, and Jesus’ death and resurrection fills the gap between our efforts and God’s perfection. So rejoice and be glad – get on the right path and keep walking forward. Jesus is right in front of us…and when we stumble, he is right beside us…and when we fall down, he is right behind us.
The Celtic Christians have what they call an “encircling prayer”…the idea being to pray for protection and support to surround us as we follow Jesus in this world. It goes like this:
Circle me, Lord.
Keep protection near
And danger afar.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep hope within
Keep doubt without.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep light near
And darkness afar.
Circle me, Lord.
Keep peace within
Keep evil out.
(David Adam)
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