Blessed are…                                                            Matthew 5:1-12

Today I want to continue our look at Jesus “Sermon on the Mount.” Blessed are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger. It seems like those Jesus is talking to are just beaten down under the weight of a hard life. In truth those in the crowd and some today are poor and destitute and Jesus is telling them to be patient, God will reverse your situation in heaven.

As I read this I started to think what about those who are not in quite a desperate situation, how can Jesus words from over 2000 years ago relate to us today?

“Blessed are the poor in spirit…” What is poor in spirit? It can mean those who believe in God but who have little enthusiasm for him. This lack of enthusiasm could be caused by a myriad of reasons; family upbringing, failure to see God’s presence in one’s life, lack of support by other believers. These people look to God not as the source of strength to work for others, but just as something that’s in the back of their lives and not an active part of their lives.

And what about those who believe and accept but life’s circumstances keep them hobbled in their faith? Good people, but the responsibilities of life take all their time. They have families; children, a spouse, perhaps parents to take care of, maybe they’re working multiple jobs; people whose responsibilities leave little room for anything else. Like those Jesus is talking to in our reading, these people are “poor in spirit.”

“Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” Jesus is telling the crowd and men all through the age, your life may be hard here but it is not because God forgot you, not because God is punishing you. Whatever your circumstances on earth, it will not affect nor prevent your eternity in heaven.

“Blessed are those who mourn…” We all face the death of a loved one. We mourn, we grieve, yet our hearts can be eased by the knowledge that as a believer our loved one may be gone from here but they are happy and whole in heaven with our Lord Christ.

Death is not the only thing that takes our loved ones away. In history people left family and friends to come to a new country. People left their homes and moved west. Today, maybe like our son, our loved one move away for a better job opportunity. We mourn the distance and new dynamic to our relationship.

Some mourn the life they used to have as they age or as illness changes their lives. We may mourn the loss of a job or a home. These people on the mountain with Jesus may have mourned over changes in their lives many times as drought forces them to move, or as Rome demands tribute and allegiance.

“Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” Jesus tells us that no matter what we may lose here, no matter what we lament over and mourn here on earth, we are also comforted; comforted by knowing we will inherit heaven and all the bounty of paradise.

“Blessed are the meek…” This one used to bother me. I always saw meek as being timid and weak. Meek has another meaning, “Enduring injury with patience and without resentment.”

We are told to forgive and to let go of our anger and resentment. Forgive; let’s just say there have been times I didn’t want to forgive the one who hurt me. But then I realize the Bible doesn’t say to trust them again, doesn’t tell us to put ourselves back in the same situation. Matthew 10:14 says, “If anyone will not welcome you…leave…and shake the dust off your feet.” This is usually about someone who refuses the Gospel but several years ago the Holy Spirit put something else in my head. I learned that in Jesus day when a Jewish person returned to Israel from a Gentile land they literally shook the dust off their feet and cloths so heathen soil would not enter Judea.

When someone does not welcome us; when they wrong us; we should shake the dust off our feet; that is we should not allow their actions to contaminate the rest of our life. By not letting them have another opportunity to harm us we are being “meek”, we are and we will endure without resentment.

“Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” By living with patience and without resentment, by not letting others actions infiltrate and affect all areas of our lives, we will live a life of peace and wellbeing.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” If you accept Christ then you are seen as righteous in God’s eyes so it is not our righteousness Jesus is talking about. As God’s children it is others righteousness we should seek. We should desire to show Jesus to others so they can believe and become righteous in God’s eyes.

But I believe there is more, as God’s children we should hunger and thirst and work for equality for all men. We should work for the end to prejudice, work to convince those among us and elsewhere to use the bounty God blesses us with to help those with less.

Jesus says in Matthew 26:11, “You will always have the poor among you…” Why? The answer is in John 9. The disciples ask Jesus why a man was born blind and he told them, “…this happened so the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me.”

As followers of Christ, as long as we live we are to use our time, our wealth, our influence to do the work of the one who sends us; the work of God. Psalm 82:3 “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.”

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.” By doing God’s work we will be filled with love and we will be uplifted; our hearts will fill with compassion and joy.

“Blessed are the merciful…” The merciful are those so affected by the suffering of others that they are moved to alleviate that suffering. In the first century the idea of mercy, the idea of helping those in dire circumstances was looked down upon. In fact Roman philosophers of the era wrote, “Mercy is the disease of the soul.”

But God has always called his people to be merciful. Leviticus tells Israel to take care of foreigners and to leave the sides of their fields un-harvested so the poor could gather food.

Jesus says in Luke 6:36, “Be merciful just as your Father is merciful.” God shows us mercy, which is not treating us as our sinful situation would deem him to. God treats us with love and compassion and he accepts us. As Jesus followers we are charged to treat others the same; give to others love, compassion and acceptance.

“Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” The Greek word we translate to “pure” is “katharo”s. It means to be clean, blameless and unstained from guilt. At the cross Jesus took on himself our sins but also our shame and our guilt. By our faith in Christ God sees us as clean, blameless and guiltless; God sees us as pure in heart. Through our faith and trust in Jesus we will stand before God’s throne without condemnation, we will see the face of God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God.” We should all pray for peace; with all the shootings in our country we need God to restore peace. But this blessing adds command to all those that came before it. As followers of Christ, our hearts will find a peace in our spirit. Those who mourn will be comforted and find peace in their hearts. Those that forgive will have peace in their lives. Those that are merciful share God’s peace with others.

Romans 12:18, “If possible, as far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” It depends on each person to live their lives free of prejudice, free of pre-set notions, free of animosity. As believers we should strive to live out this daily because we are children of God.

“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness.” 1 John 3:13 tells us, “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.”

I’ve said before we are lucky to live here. But we know more than 70 Christians are killed each week for no other reason than they are Christians. And the fact that people never waiver in their faith even as the worst happens is a shining and powerful demonstration of the power of God.

Jesus “Sermon on the Mount” starts with what we read today; the Beatitudes. In Latin the word used means “blessedness” and the Beatitudes describe how we are blessed by God.

They tell us that no matter the circumstances of our lives, God is with us. That no matter what we lose on this earth, heaven is full of bounty. That when we let go of our resentment and anger we will live the life God wants for us all, a life of peace and glory. That by seeking and working for righteousness our hearts and souls will be full as God desires them to be, full of compassion and mercy and we will be blessed knowing we are doing God’s work for our fellow men.

The Beatitudes tells us that through faith in Christ we have been cleaned and are pure of heart; that as children of God we are the peacemakers in our churches, in our families and in our community both locally and globally.

As children of God we live out on earth the attributes of God in heaven.

I pray you all are blessed.

Amen.