Rev. Nick Cheek
Matthew 5: 1-10
The crowd gathered that day had only heard about this man for a few weeks. Word spread rapidly throughout Galilee—news of his healings, his compassion, his grace. He preached about the Kingdom of Heaven, a kingdom that didn’t feel far off or abstract, but one that seemed to be drawing nearer with every word he spoke. As people pressed in around Jesus, they began to feel this kingdom—sensed in his presence, seen in his eyes, heard in his teaching. They came from every corner of the countryside, carrying their questions, their hopes, their hurts. And they came because they were thirsty: thirsty for restoration, for purpose, for forgiveness, for acceptance… thirsty for something more than the world had ever given them. They were thirsty for a blessing.
And with this crowd before him—hearts open, spirits searching—Jesus seizes the moment. He walks up the mountainside, takes a seat, and begins to teach. It is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. For all intents and purposes, the Beatitudes are some of the very first words out of Jesus’ mouth. His opening lesson. “Following After Jesus 101.” And as he teaches this lesson, he begins to paint a portrait of what it means to be blessed. [Pause]
When you ponder a blessed life, what comes to mind for you? Do your thoughts turn toward the circumstances Jesus rattles off in this passage? Probably not. What we notice right away is that Jesus’ view of a blessed life isn’t a conventional one. But when have we ever known Jesus to be conventional or predictable?
At first glance, the Beatitudes can seem startling to us—poverty of spirit, grief, meekness, hunger, persecution… these are not qualities we would normally lift up or put on display. In fact, most of us spend our lives working hard to avoid them. For most of us, blessing is defined by comfort and control. We count ourselves blessed when the bills are paid, when the body is healthy, when our children succeed, when our plans unfold the way we hoped. We equate blessing with security and stability. And when we imagine people living a blessed life, we tend to picture those who appear to have it all: those blessed with a high-paying career, blessed with natural beauty, blessed with self-confidence, blessed with a beach house, blessed with power and influence. That’s what we call blessed. Those are the lives we envy. And if we’re honest, those are the lives we often chase.
Joe Abbey-Colbourn, a Christian writer and speaker from Toronto, put this tension into words by writing a version of the Beatitudes from the perspective of our human condition—from the perspective of what the world might call blessed. He writes:
“Blessed are the well off and those with ready answers for every spiritual question; they have it all. / Blessed are the comfortable, for they shall avoid grief. / Blessed are the self-sufficient; they wait for nothing, they have everything they want, and they have it now. / Blessed are those who are not troubled by the injustice experienced by others; they are content with realistic expectations. / Blessed are the ones who gain the upper hand; they take full advantage of their advantages. / Blessed are those with a solid public image and a well-hidden agenda; they are never exposed and see people in a way that suits their purposes. / Blessed are those who can bully others into agreement; they shall be called empire builders. / Blessed are those who can point to someone else who is a worse person than they are; they will always look good by comparison. / Blessed are you when people praise you, give you preferential treatment, and flatter you because they think you’re so great. / Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, because it doesn’t get any better than this.” (http://empireremixed.com/2010/10/08/the-beatitudes-of-our-current-church-culture/)
Think for a moment about the people gathered that day to listen to Jesus. Do you think they were well off? Do you imagine they were blessed with comfort, with status, with wealth? More likely, the people drawn to him were those on the other end of the blessing—those oppressed by the powerful, judged by the religious elite, those who faced injustice, and those who longed for the pendulum to swing in their direction. These were not the ones our world would call blessed.
And perhaps that is exactly why they came. Because they already knew the heartache that worldly blessings can bring. They had seen how wealth divides, how power corrupts, how privilege isolates. And they weren’t impressed. Neither was Jesus. Jesus is redefining blessings… because he knows the blessings of the world are fleeting. They have no deep root, no bearing on the Kingdom of Heaven. They point us inward, toward self-interest, rather than outward, toward others. Through these Beatitudes, Jesus offers us a different “attitude.” He paints a contrary portrait of a blessed life by turning the world’s view upside down. The Beatitudes are a refocusing—not on who or what the world deems blessed, but on who and what God declares blessed. [Short pause]
When Jesus looked out into that hillside crowd, he saw more than a mass of people. He saw stories. He saw lives. He knew there were some with broken spirits—spirits so weighed down that they could barely lift their eyes, people longing to believe that God’s grace could really reach them. He knew there were some who embodied mercy… always pouring themselves out for others, even when it cost them dearly. He knew there were those with tender hearts… those who could not see suffering without tears rising in their eyes. He knew there were peacemakers—weary and tired peacemakers, willing to risk themselves to mend what was broken. And he knew there were those who were mourning, carrying grief too heavy to name, clinging to the hope of a better tomorrow.
We’ve been part of that crowd on the hillside too, church. I’ve heard some of your stories. I’ve had time to get to know you. And though we might all do our best to put up a good front, we’re weary… and tired too. And Jesus… he looks upon the crowd filled with compassion and he speaks… to them and to us: “Blessed are you.” Blessed are you in your weakness, blessed are you in your tears, blessed are you in your mercy, blessed are you in your longing. Blessed are you even in your exhaustion from trying to be hopeful… blessed are you. Because even if the world calls you small, even if others overlook you or question your worth—I do not. Jesus says… I see you. I hear you. And I call you loved, I call you valued, I call you… blessed.
The blessed life that Jesus paints through the Beatitudes has been studied for centuries. Some believe that it is strictly a prediction of the future—of things to come. The Bible is filled with thoughts like these. They usually come in the form of prophecies. And so, one way to view the Beatitudes is as prophecy—a teaching about a hope that is to come through the Kingdom of Heaven. There might be wars now, but peace is coming. There might be injustice now, but righteousness is making its way. There might be weeping today, but joy comes in the morning. The Beatitudes, therefore, in part, give the believer—give you and me—an encouragement of the future. They are prophetic.
But is that really all they are—a promise for tomorrow? What about today?
Ronald D. Witherup, a professor, priest, and graduate of Union Presbyterian Seminary, writes about the Beatitudes and whether or not they are a blessing for the future or for today. He says:
“[The Beatitudes] are indeed a powerful vision. It can be understood as future-oriented. As is well known, this reversal seldom happens in this world. The successful are those who ‘seize the day’ or who act aggressively. The meek, lowly, and humble often get left behind or, worse, trampled on. From this vantage point, the Beatitudes express what will come in God’s Kingdom, not what can be expected here below. Yet another viewpoint is possible. In conjunction with the basic ethical teaching of the Bible and the Church, the values of the Beatitudes are not merely pious wishes for the future. They constitute an ethical demand for the present.”
Can’t the Beatitudes be both a hope for the future and an action for today? I believe, as God’s children, we are called to embrace this blessed life now—even as we wait for the Kingdom of Heaven to come to completion. I believe we are invited to practice the Beatitudes… to live them out… to honor them… because in the end, these beautiful sayings from Christ will help heal the world. [Pause]
Lindsey Paris-Lopez is a theologian and author. She writes about the Beatitudes as subversive blessings, in that they are a guide for us to embrace unconditional love within a world of hate. She writes: “In a world of measuring our worth over and against each other, the Beatitudes affirm God’s solidarity with the last and least.” “Love’s Dominion,” she writes, “is founded upon those thought to be unloved…” Lopez reminds us that the Beatitudes are not abstract ideals, nor are they impractical dreams. They are God’s way of declaring solidarity with the last and the least. They are God’s call for us to see the divine image, not only in ourselves, but especially in the vulnerable, the broken, and those on the edges. Therefore, to hunger and thirst for righteousness is to long for justice in a world where too many go hungry. To be merciful is to risk vulnerability in a merciless age, trusting that mercy has the power to change hearts and heal wounds. To be pure in heart is to live with hopeful eyes, seeing God’s image in every person, even those we despise. These blessings—these subversive blessings—seek to give us the heart of Christ. They help us look at the world through the lens of Jesus.
Christian theologians have long seen the Beatitudes as a portrait of the character of Jesus himself. He is seen as the embodiment of these attitudes—they describe his character, his way of life, what he cared about. And so… to follow him is to let the Beatitudes shape us. That is the invitation today: to not only be blessed, but to invite the Holy Spirit to help us follow Christ into the world, so that each act of mercy, each step toward peace, every time we hunger for justice, we help these Beatitudes come to life—in us, through us, and for the world God so loves.
Friends… it’s a wild world out there. Keep your hearts soft. Keep your minds set on things above. And remember… you are blessed… to be a blessing to this world.