Monday, 2 March Seeking the Messiah. Matthew 5:1–10
Chapters 5 to 7 contain the material known as the Sermon on the Mount. (There is similar material in Luke 6, where it is said to be delivered on a plain. Those who love to poke holes in the Bible gleefully point to this as an error or an inconsistency. It is much more likely a proof of its accuracy. Every itinerant preacher repeats the same material as they go from place to place. No doubt Jesus taught this same material on several hills, plains and in cities. Luke reported one occasion, Matthew another. End of silly argument.)
Our selection today is just the first ten verses. I don’t think it is clear just who his audience is for this section. You could read the introduction as meaning that he was just speaking to the disciples. But if you jump ahead and read the end of the sermon at the end of chapter 7, it is quite clear that ‘crowds’ had heard it. Perhaps it doesn’t matter.
The word blessed is translated as happy in some translations. That’s accurate enough in terms of the Greek word used, but happy doesn’t mean for us what blessed means. Happy is derived in its root meaning from random chance, luck. We see this in words such as ‘perhaps’ or ‘happenstance’, and in phrases such as ‘I happened upon a stream’.
The Greek word makarios, which is used here, was used by Homer and in Greek mythology to refer to the Happy Isles (makaron nesoi) – a legendary place where old heroes would go after an honourable death. You may remember Tennyson’s poem, Ulysses, where the aged warrior sets off with his old friends on their last voyage in defiance of death:
It may be that we shall touch the Happy Isles,
and see the great Achilles, whom we knew.
This is helpful to us, in understanding what Jesus means. The kind of state being promised in Blessed is not merely emotional ‘happiness’. But nor is it just pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die-in-the-sweet-bye-and-bye.
It is the state of living in the very presence and heart of God, as you would in heaven itself, but actually here on earth, now. You don’t have to wait till you're dead to live blissfully in the calm, assured, certain, safe and loving presence of the Father, Jesus is saying; my kingdom offers that in the here and now.
So as we read these beatitudes as they are called (that’s just a fancy Latin word for blessings), let’s be careful to read them with this definition in mind: Jesus is not saying this is what it will be like in heaven or after death. He is saying that this is how you could live here and now if you were to become a citizen of heaven while still living on earth. Which, of course, is what we would call being a Christian. For Christians, then, these are not merely future pie-in-the-sky; they are how we ought to live, and think, and experience reality right now. They will truly be life-changing when we read them like this.
Let’s take just one practical example from the list, one that everyone can identify with:
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Most people, when faced with the death of a loved one, are inconsolable. They may weep and become depressed for years.
They may turn to self-defence mechanisms such as rejecting some of their past beliefs or lifestyle and reinventing themselves, with a new stoic attitude. They may invent stories about death that make no sense at all if they actually thought about for a minute – such as saying that God has taken their little dead child and turned them into an angel or a star.
Please understand: I don’t mean to disparage the grief of parents who lose a child; far from it – as a school Principal, I have seen the death of too many students whom I taught and cared for and loved. But to imagine that my little child has become a piece of rock somewhere in the night sky just makes no sense at all – and ultimately gives no comfort.
Here is my point: Jesus offers a far better solution. If you mourn within the kingdom of heaven, you may have genuine comfort because you KNOW that your child is safe, loved, and is at home with the Heavenly Father where no more tears will ever be wept, no more pain will ever be felt. Jesus declares that this is actually true. You don’t need to make up imaginary tales about your loved one becoming a star or an angel or floating around you for ever in the air, or absorbed in the trees and flowers as a ghostly presence.
Careful readers will note that the entire list is bracketed at each end with the phrase for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (see v3 and v10). The state of blessedness, of genuine contentedness, of being at peace in this world, surrounds this list. The two conditions that frame this bracketing are to be poor in spirit, and to be persecuted for righteousness’ sake.
The kingdom of heaven is given to those who are either naturally or voluntarily poor, or to those who are made poor for the sake of others. Mourning is a kind of poverty, because you have lost a loved one, or loved home or possessions, that which was most precious to you.
Meekness is a kind of poverty because to be meek is to voluntarily refuse to exercise raw power, even though you could. Meekness is not weakness; it is not being a milksop. It is to be so powerful that that you are able to control your natural need to take control. You can stand back, letting other people make fools of themselves by trying to look good, strong and in control. Just go to the local gym, to see the opposite of meekness in men and women.
It is just as well that the meek will inherit the earth. They are the only ones who can be trusted with it, because they have learned to give up their power for the sake of others.
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness is a kind of poverty because you recognise that you are desperately in need of a sustenance that has nothing to do with money or food.
Perhaps as a final comment, we could reflect for a moment on the general principle at work here. There is nothing in this list of spiritual qualities which is mercenary or consumerist or seeking of profit. Such things are not the currency of the kingdom of heaven. They are not necessarily wrong in themselves, but they are not what drives this kingdom’s economy. (Remember, the word economycomes from the Greek oikonomeia – household management.
It is only the pure in heart who would want to see God. Those whose hearts are divided or conflicted by power games would rather hide from him. Heaven is not their natural home. The kingdom of heaven is only given to those who are empty enough to receive it.
Prayer: Jesus, there is so much to reflect on in these short sayings of yours. Perhaps you could help me just to focus on one at a time. Perhaps for today, and until I learn the lesson, you could help me to learn to make myself poor for the sake of others. Perhaps for me, that will be a poverty of money, or ego, or being in the right, or being in control, or being busy. Whatever it is, please just show me where I need to give up some part of my character that has defined my life so far, so that I may know how to live in the kingdom of heaven. Amen.
