Live Like A Blessing

Matthew 5:1-12

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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Introduction

It was the Greek philosopher Aristotle who said, "Pretty well most people are agreed what to call it: both ordinary people and people of quality say, 'happiness,' and suppose that living well and doing well are the same thing as being happy. But they are in dispute about what happiness actually is, and ordinary people do not give the same answer as intellectuals." (Nicomachean Ethics I.4 1095a14-22) Leave it to us (human beings) to debate what it means to be happy. However, there is truth to Aristotle's observation that we have the propensity to disagree about what constitutes happiness (or, in our case today, what it means to be blessed). 

On the one hand, we have our biased (privileged) understanding of what it means to be blessed. And on the other, we have God's knowledge of what a blessing truly is and its role in our lives. It is a conflict between our expectation to receive and God's expectation that we give. 

What Is A Blessing?

You heard at the beginning the quote from the Greek philosopher Aristotle. The Greek philosophers understood that blessings involved a morality component and were not simple or trivial gifts. Instead, blessings resulted from either receiving the favor of the gods or living a life that was moral (stemming from the fountain of knowledge). Many of these philosophers (who lived and died before the time of Jesus) understood that blessings resulted from well-gathered knowledge and living a moral life. Those who were "cursed" (opposite of blessed) fell outside the societal norms and expectations that would have set them on the right path. 

The brief detour into Greek philosophy helps us understand this portion of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." The blessings that Jesus discusses require a level of investment from our end. Yes, the gifts of God are given freely, but what good is this divine gift if there is no substantive response from the people of God? If we were to take our Bibles and thumb through the Word of God, we would discover that blessings are life-altering events. They are markers that remind us of who created us and to whom we belong. Blessings are a sign that runs contrary to the popular belief that we are entitled to a faith that only makes us feel good and doesn't challenge us to see the places that are hurting and broken. 

That is what it means to be blessed. We are blessed so that we can be a blessing and that others might bless us. 

Who Are We? / Why Are We Blessed?

If we know that a blessing in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount runs opposite of the values of our world, then what do with that information? If we are people who have received these gifts, what do we do? Why does God give us these blessings? It is a part of our spiritual identities; the question is whether we will embrace it as a part of our spiritual selves and make it central to our external lives as well. I say that because culturally, it appears as though we identify more by what we aren't than what we are (i.e., I'm not a liberal, conservative, ecologically minded, etc.) What if we were willing to change that mentality and truly lean in and trust that God's blessings would transform us? 

Blessing As A Way Of Life

If we can understand the true meaning of blessing and if we can incorporate it into the very fiber of our being, we can begin to head off on the right track. But that's when we'll start to run into trouble, and by trouble, I mean good trouble. No one will persecute us simply because we proclaim the name of Jesus, the name of God incarnate. But, they will persecute us when we've gotten to the point where the social aspect of Jesus' ministry begins to disrupt their reality. No one likes it when you begin to undo the fabric of greed, the systems of fear that pit us against one another, and the walls that divide us. Yet that is exactly what the blessings of Jesus do. 

• "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." - Jesus is on the side of the poor, the materially deprived who break their backs to earn pennies on the dollar. Jesus stands with them and calls us to make this blessing, not just a future promise but a reality here and now. Among this era's money changers and vendors, Jesus calls us to set  new priorities that disrupt "business as usual." 

• "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." - For people who were in mourning the loss of their promised land, Jesus understands the importance of grief. Today as we experience loss and trauma, there is an urgency now more than ever for us to be present for one another. 

• "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." - The "meek" are not simply those who are humble but those who the rich and powerful abused and neglected. Jesus promises a turning of the world order, and in this blessing, we are called to take this changing of the social order to heart. 

• "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." - The prophets of God preached a message of equitable distribution of resources to ensure that all had enough. However, the Roman Empire sought to keep those not a part of the empire living on the bare minimum. Let me tell you, even today, Rome does not like when we feed those who hunger and thirst. (i.e., Those arrested or fined for feeding the homeless.)

• "Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy." - We talk about receiving the grace and love of God as a free gift. So often, we tally favors owed as if there's some economy for grace. Yet, even in the church, this blessing is one we can learn to live continually into with hope. 

• "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account." - Again, underlying all these blessings is a call for us to bless others and to receive the blessings others can give to us. It all goes against the mode of thinking of Rome (the economic grace) and extends into blessings that alter our perspective of ourselves and our neighbors. 

Conclusion

The Beatitudes is a promise of liberation to all those on the margins of society. It is the clarion call that beckons women and men to pool their time, energy, and resources together to make the kin-dom of God a reality in the here and now. And they serve as a reminder that we belong to God and that our value lies not in the material but in the fact that we are beloved and sealed in the heart of God. Let us bless, and let us receive the blessings from those in the kin-dom of God.