Blessed are...

Epiphany 4
January 30, 2011
Matthew 5:1-12

Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen

Today we continue our journey through the season of epiphany. This is a special year, in that Easter is one day off of being the very latest that it can be and so, the season of Epiphany is as long as it can possibly be, eight weeks. With this, we get a treat, as we get to spend the next five Sundays hearing the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is a collection of the teachings of Jesus, most likely from different times and places, but which the gospel writer of Matthew pieced together to form what have become some of the most well known sayings of Rabbi Jesus. And it all starts with the Beatitudes.
Before this, Jesus has been baptized in the Jordan by John, been tempted in the wilderness, called the disciples, who literally drop everything and follow him, and performed healings which have caused the accumulation of people crowding around to follow Jesus. It is the growing crowds that give Jesus the urge to head up the mountain...probably to retreat for a little bit. After his disciples join him, he begins to teach them. And so it would seem from our text this morning that, at least this first part of the Sermon on the Mount, was told only to his disciples, who at this time were probably only James, John, Peter and Andrew. So, in a way, the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount is a beginner’s guide to discipleship. And in it, Jesus reveals some shocking information…for his disciples and for us as well.
The word “beatitude” is the Latin word for “blessing” and this collection of phrases got that name from the Vulgar Latin translation of the bible, in which each phrase began ‘Beati sunt’ or ‘blessed are.’ There are other beatitudes in the bible, mostly found in the Psalms, but this is the largest gathering of them in one spot and thus they have received this famous title. The other thing that makes this text unique from the other “beatitudes” found in scripture who gets blessed. In the Psalms, we hear “blessed are they whose ways are blameless” (Psalm 119) or “blessed are they who hope in the Lord” (Psalm 1). These are the ones who act or think in certain ways. But Jesus turns the tables a bit…

blessed are they who have no hope left, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,
blessed are they who have no joy left, for they will be comforted
blessed are they who get trampled upon by others, for they will inherit the earth
blessed are they who are denied justice, for they will receive it abundantly

Now, so far, I’ve only touched on the first four beatitudes, and there is a reason for this.

For years, people have been teaching that the beatitudes are pre-requisites for getting into the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s a pretty tough list to live out in the real world…but I don’t think that this is how it was meant. If we pull Beatitudes apart into two groups, it is easier to see that Jesus is making a bold statement here. Jesus is not saying that you have to be without hope or joy or be a breathing doormat in order to be blessed…but he is acknowledging that it does happen in life and even those who are considered the lowest of the low…those who are trampled upon, denied justice, and are left without hope and joy…will be honored and blessed. Their dignity and full humanity will be returned to them. This is a promise of reversal for those who are outcast, put down, shunned and ignored, one day, they will be lifted up. But there is also a call…

Blessed are the merciful
Blessed are they who forgive with all they have and whose eyes are set on God’s will
Blessed are they who seek peace
Blessed are they who are made fun of for not turning away from the work of the gospel

While the first group of beatitudes includes promise for those to whom justice has been denied, this second group describes the virtuous…those who are working right here and right now to bring justice to those that have been denied it. For these folks, there will be a reward for the work that they do. But Jesus doesn’t pretend that striving for justice for others is easy work. People are persecuted for righteousness sake. People are reviled and hated and spoken falsely of because of the work the do for the sake of the Gospel. It’s happened since the beginning of Jesus’ ministry and it continues today…but Jesus is honest about that. The work of being a disciple is hard, and at times discouraging…and there are even times when doing the work of seeking justice for others may leave you in need of other people to seek justice for you.
But here’s the twist, the blessing come before the action…the action is not a pre-requisite. The blessing comes whether we are in need of justice or whether we are one working for that justice. The blessing comes unconditionally…and that is sometimes hard for us to hear. As products of a society that have promoted the protestant work ethic since the pilgrims landed on the shores of this country, most of use have been trained to believe that we don’t deserve anything that we haven’t worked hard for…but that’s not how it works here…the blessing comes first. It is in response that we do the work of seeking justice for others…it is in response to the blessing that we go to be a blessing to others…it is in response to the blessing that we have hope and joy and comfort when we are most downtrodden and discouraged.
We are blessed, and this blessing is a gift to us, requiring no action on our part. God knows that we have good intentions, but sometimes we let things, people, or even our own selves get in the way of the follow through, so if blessing were based off our action, we’d be in a bit of trouble. But Jesus lived this out for us. He came as a virtuous person, seeking justice for the lowly, the down trodden, the out cast, the poor and the sick, and then he was dealt with unjustly, lifting up a cry from the cross that many who are poor in spirit cry “my God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” And through this sacrifice, we are all blessed…not because of anything that we have done, but because of what God has done for us. Because, in the end, when it all comes down to it…it’s not about us…it’s about God. A God who blesses indiscriminately and abundantly…and then calls us to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

To be continued…