The Beatitudes | a sermon
A sermon by Pierre Plourde on John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation(s) of (our) heart(s) be acceptable to you, O Lord, (our) rock and (our) redeemer. (Psalm 19:14) Amen
Today’s Gospel reading is the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount, known to us as The Beatitudes.
There seems to be some debate whether the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 was preached by Jesus all in one sitting, or is a synopsis of several sermons. Regardless, it is filled with many deeply profound lessons, and takes about 17 minutes to read; so it can be delivered within a reasonable “sermon” length of time. But the fact that it abruptly jumps from one topic to the next, sometimes disconnected, makes me wonder if Matthew actually took highlights from a bunch of teachings and provided us with a summary of “Jesus’ greatest hits; his best quotes”. I may be wrong, but the Sermon on the Mount isn’t the kind of sermon I would prepare – too much new material packed into 17 minutes! But then again, I’m not Jesus, and I’m not formally trained in preaching, so who am I to critique any sermon, let alone the Sermon on the Mount.
Regardless, the Sermon on the Mount has given us several memorable teachings; among the many starting in Matthew 5, Jesus reveals that:
5:13 You are the salt of the earth … and that
5:14 You are the light of the world …
Then there are a whole series of statements with the same structure that begin with “You have heard that it was said ….”, followed by, “But (now) I say to you …” usually with a surprising, unexpected twist or “punch line”.
5:21 You have heard that it was said …, “You shall not murder”; and “whoever murders shall be liable to judgement.” 22 But (now) I say to you that if you are angry with someone, you will be liable to judgement (anger is apparently placed on the same level as murder)
5:27 You have heard that it was said, “You shall not commit adultery.” 28 But (now) I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart (addressing men specifically, once again, a simple thought or feeling is placed on the same level as the action)
5:38 You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” 39 But (now) I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also. (definitely not an easy thing to do; revenge may be more satisfying)
5:43 You have heard that it was said, “You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy.” 44 But (now) I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. (again on a similar theme, a difficult if not impossible teaching to live by)
(in Matthew 6) The Sermon on the Mount has given us the Lord’s Prayer. And other memorable teachings from the sixth chapter include:
6:19 Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, …; 20 but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, … 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
6:24 No one can serve two masters; .... You cannot serve God and wealth (or mammon).
6:34 Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
(and Matthew 7 gives us)
7:1 Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. … 3 Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?
7:7 Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you.
(and finally the Golden Rule) 7:12 In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets.
But see what I mean by too much material for a 15-20 minute sermon? And this is only a small sampling (I have skipped over at least 75 other verses). Nevertheless, at the end of the Sermon on the Mount, we read:
7:28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes.
So critiques aside, this sermon/these teachings seem to have struck a deep chord with the original audience, and hearing these words of Jesus made a profound impact, words that their own preachers had never come close to matching.
I want to focus now on the Beatitudes from today’s Gospel reading; as I believe they provide us a brief and profound glimpse of what Jesus wished us to understand about the kingdom of heaven; specifically, when the kingdom of heaven is to arrive, where the kingdom of heaven is to be found, and who is blessed in the kingdom of heaven (which seems to be exactly the opposite of what we might have expected on all counts – when, where and who). And I want to briefly explore what implications we might derive from Jesus’ teachings on the kingdom of heaven.
As for who is blessed, Jesus’ original audience was probably expecting to hear “Blessed are the children of Abraham” or “Blessed are the prosperous, the healthy, the strong, the educated …” or “Blessed are those who have followed the commandments and the Law”. But Jesus does not say this.
And what if Jesus had pronounced curses instead of blessings? What if He had said “Cursed are the rich”, how might that have struck us? Well, as it happens, I was quite surprised to find that Luke’s version of the Beatitudes does go that far (content that Matthew curiously didn’t include). Listen to part of Luke’s version of the Beatitudes (Luke 6:24-26):
6:24 But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
6:25 Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep.
6:26 (And) Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
These “woes” might make some of us feel uncomfortable. They make me uncomfortable, since I must admit that I count myself among the rich (the privileged); among those who are full now; among those who are laughing now (at least most of the time); and many speak well of me. All giving me pause to ponder how these woes speak to me.
So, keeping these woes in the back of our minds, I want to bring us back to Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes, and I want to pay attention specifically to how these blessings are tied to the kingdom of heaven (after all, the way the kingdom of heaven is mentioned over a dozen times in the Sermon on the Mount). What I find curious about the “kingdom of heaven” theme in the Sermon on the Mount, is the radical insinuation made by Jesus about the here and now aspect the kingdom of heaven, in the present, established by His coming among us.
For example, note in the first and next to last Beatitudes where Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” and “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” … Blessed are … for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” is stated in the present tense. And so, the kingdom of heaven it seems is not only to be anticipated in the future (as implied by the other future tense Beatitudes “they will be comforted/filled/shown mercy”). But we should take note that Jesus is saying that the kingdom of heaven has also already arrived, is already in our midst, in our present time and space; as Matthew also suggests, quoting Jesus, just a few verses before the Beatitudes in Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near (or is at hand)’ (thus addressing the question of when the kingdom of heaven is to arrive – it already has in our present time and space).
In his book, “Surprised by Hope – Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church”, Bishop NT Wright dives deeply into a theology of the resurrection that not only affirms what we regularly say in the Creed, that we will rise from the dead in bodily form, but boldly reminds us that this will take place right here on this earth (as it did with Jesus); where the kingdom of heaven has already been established, has already arrived. I highly recommend the bishop’s book to anyone who wants to explore this more deeply; it is a compelling read where the good Bishop challenges us to consider our planet (our own neighborhoods) as the place where the kingdom of heaven has already been established. And he challenges us to look at what we ought to be doing to build, protect and preserve God’s kingdom right here on earth “as it is in heaven” (the Lord’s Prayer after all was given to us in the present tense). The bishop urges us to ask questions like, “What are we doing (or not doing) towards building the kingdom of heaven right here in Winnipeg?” The Beatitudes and the Sermon on the Mount might be a good place for us to start exploring what the kingdom of heaven should look like right here in our midst.
So, if the kingdom of heaven is in fact in our midst, in the present here and now, it gives me some pause to examine what I am doing in my own life (subconsciously or not) that results in self-satisfaction and self-gratification, while I am (directly or indirectly) contributing to the oppression of the poor, the imprisoned, the enslaved, the houseless, the downtrodden, the colonized (bringing back to mind the “woes” from Luke’s version of the Beatitudes). Do the blessings or the woes apply more to us in the present kingdom of heaven in our midst?
Jesus is calling us to join Him in the kingdom of heaven right here and right now, the kingdom that has been established through His own death and resurrection, which (I quote from the bishop) “is the story of God’s kingdom being launched on earth as in heaven, generating a new state of affairs in which the power of evil has been decisively defeated, the new creation has been decisively launched, and Jesus’ followers have been commissioned and equipped to put that victory and that inaugurated new world into practice”.
So, are we still waiting for the kingdom of heaven to come? Then we risk missing the present reality that heaven has been in our midst, within our reach, all along.
And so, I offer you a blessing from the Beatitudes. Welcome to the kingdom of heaven. Let us continue to do what we can to bring this kingdom to st benedicts table, to Winnipeg, to Manitoba, to Indigenous communities, to immigrant and refugee communities, to our neighborhoods, and to our hurting and fractured world.
The Beatitudes are statements of grace, of blessing. For those who miss the blessings, they might seem like condemnations or woes. But for those who get the key message of Jesus, and who are working with Jesus to help establish the kingdom of heaven right here, in the present, in this time and space, the Beatitudes are blessings indeed!
5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5:5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
5:6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
5:10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
5:11 Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven…
Blessed indeed are you … all … children of God … for yours is the kingdom of heaven! Amen!
