Grace, mercy and peace be to you from God our Father, and
from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Text: (Matthew
5:1-12)
Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for there is the kingdom of heaven.
Prayer: Let
the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be acceptable to you, O
Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.
Our gospel reading today is often called the “Beatitudes”.
This word comes from the Latin word for blessed: “Beati”. Jesus begins each of
his little sayings with the word “blessed”. Blessed, blessed, blessed, ringing
like church-bells over the centuries—Jesus scattering his blessings over his
disciples of all times and places.
And these words of Jesus are his first words as a teacher
of the people. We read at the beginning of the chapter: Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat
down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them.
Do you notice how everything that happens here is
described in detail: he went up on the mountain, he sat down, his disciples
came to him. It even says that he opened his mouth in order to teach them. It’s
almost as if the Holy Spirit wants us to take notice of what a wonderful
occasion all this was. It’s almost like the words describe a ceremony, where
Jesus opens his mouth.
And Jesus says:
Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who
mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy.
Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who
persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
So what do you think when you hear these words of Jesus?
Do you qualify for his blessings? Are you poor in spirit? Are you meek? Are you
merciful? Are you pure in heart?
I want to have Jesus blessings rest upon me, but I know that
I don’t like to be poor in spirit. I want to think as though I am spiritually
rich. But also, I know that there’s a lot of darkness in my heart and sin—will
I see God as Jesus promises here?
But first of all, Jesus is not talking about us. In fact,
these descriptions of blessed people here, actually describes Jesus himself.
Jesus fits these descriptions the best.
These blessings of Jesus sound a bit like the very first
psalm, which says:
Blessed is the man who
walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor
sits in the seat of scoffers, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on
his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of
water, which yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In
all that he does, he prospers.
Jesus fulfils these words perfectly. He is the man who is
truly blessed, because he is completely free from sin by nature, and as a man
he is also true God perfectly united in one person. He never walked in the
counsel of the wicked—he never took advice from the devil and evil people. He
never stood in the way of sinners—he always did away with sin, and forgave
people’s sin, and ate and drank with them, and took on their sin upon himself.
He never sat in the seat of scoffers—he never scoffed, he only blessed and
healed and showed friendliness and love to people. He delighted in God’s law
day and night—even when he was on the cross he was praying the psalms: Into
your hands, Lord, I commend my spirit. My God, my God, why have you forsaken
me?
But also, the blessings of Jesus in our reading today, the
Beatitudes, also describe Jesus most perfectly:
Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus was poor in spirit. He humbled himself, and became
obedient unto death, even death on the cross. He didn’t live a life royalty in
this world, but he was the king of glory himself. He owned very little, and
what he did have, he had taken away from him, so much so that he was left to
die a lonely death, naked, wounded, and nailed to a cross. But the kingdom of
heaven belonged to Jesus, and he was the king of heaven himself.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they shall be comforted.
Look at Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, where Jesus
says: “My soul is greatly troubled, even unto death.” The prophet Isaiah says
that he was a “man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Jesus knew mourning,
depression, sadness like no-one on this earth has ever known it. But also, he
is comforted—he even defeated death himself through his own resurrection.
Blessed are the meek, for
they shall inherit the earth.
Jesus says: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly of
heart -- (I am meek) – and I will give rest for your souls.” He rode into
Jerusalem, lowly and meek, not riding on a great majestic horse, but on a
humble donkey. He submitted to his Father’s will. And also Jesus inherited the
whole earth. He says before he ascends into heaven: “All authority on heaven
and earth has been given to me.”
Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Jesus hungered and thirsted in the desert for 40 days and
40 nights. He was tempted by the devil. He thirsted for water on the cross. But
also, after he rose from the dead, he was exalted and seated at the right hand
of God. He was satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will receive mercy.
Jesus is perfectly merciful—he always shows mercy to
people, and especially today he shows mercy to us, and promises to show mercy
to us.
Blessed are the pure in
heart, for they shall see God.
Jesus heart is perfectly pure, and he continually sees the
face of God.
Blessed are the
peacemakers for they shall be called sons of God.
Jesus made peace for the whole world through his blood on
the cross, as it says in Colossians. And he is the only begotten Son of God.
Blessed are those who are
persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus was persecuted, and he was completely innocent. All
throughout the time he was teaching people, the high priests and such like were
conspiring to put him to have him arrested and put to death. And finally he was
persecuted through his suffering and crucifixion in one of the most brutal ways
that the world has ever seen.
So we can see that all of these beatitudes, these
blessings, is perfectly fulfilled by Jesus himself.
But we’re not finished yet, because Jesus isn’t talking
about one person, he’s talking about many. He doesn’t say: “Blessed is the poor
person in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to him” or “her”, but he
says, “Blessed are the poor people in spirit, for the kingdom of heaven belongs
to them”, “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
And Jesus here shows us that he is not just going keep all
these wonderful gifts for himself, but that he will share his blessings with
all his disciples of all times and all places. He won’t just die on the cross
by himself, but throughout history he will place his church and everyone in it
constantly at the foot of the cross, and he will say to each Christian, “Take
up your cross and follow me.” And when on Easter Sunday morning he stands up
and walks out of the tomb, he doesn’t just do it for himself, but he does it so
that each of us will do the same. It says in 1 Corinthians 15: “Christ has been
raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as
by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For
as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his
own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to
Christ.”
Do you hear those words? “Then at his coming those who
belong to Christ.” He is the “firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
And this is especially important for us as we remember
today on All Saints Day all those who have fallen asleep with Christ in the
faith, all those who belong to Christ. Christ is not so selfish as to keep
eternal life and the resurrection from the dead just to himself, but he wants
to share this great gift. And he shares this gift by uniting each person to
himself in Holy Baptism, and pouring out his Holy Spirit on them through the
water and the word, and forgiving each and every single sin of the past,
present and future.
And so, Jesus begins this great sermon in our Gospel
reading with the words: Blessed, blessed, blessed. Let me share my blessing.
Let me throw my blessings over here, and scatter my blessings over there.
There’s enough blessings for everyone.
He is the vine, and he makes us his branches. All the
juices that flow through him flow into us.
Jesus is not stuck up in heaven in such a way that he is
not with us on earth. He says: “I am with you to the end of the age.” He unites
himself to us, his baptised people, and lets us plant each footstep we take in
his footprint. And through the forgiveness of sins, he promises to dwell in
each one of us, even through we see still our sin clinging to us.
You see, Jesus only lives in sinners. He doesn’t live in
saints: saints don’t need him. If you think you’ve made it in your spiritual
life, and that you’re free from sin, then go home—you don’t need Jesus, and
Jesus won’t live in you. He will only make his home in a sinner. He knows what
sins looks like, he knows what it feels like. He took it upon himself and died
for all of it.
And now he says:
Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who need me, says Jesus, who are poor,
who have been made destitute by sin, by the world, by the devil, who are
helpless to save themselves. I myself will come and be your Saviour. I will
forgive you in baptism, and through that forgiveness, and through that
forgiveness alone, I will dwell within you. If you are poor, then hear the
living voice of God in his Scriptures, and those living words will enter your
ears, go into your heart and Christ himself will build his kingdom there.
Blessed are those who
mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are those who are depressed and grieving. Come and
be sad with me, says Jesus. Let me share it with you, let me drink that cup for
you and die for you. Let me be your sadness in my crucifixion, and let me be
your joy and your happiness and your gladness in my resurrection from the dead.
And so we can go through each of the beatitudes in the
same way, and see the way in which Christ shares his kingdom with us, his
living presence with us, and all his blessings with us. Read each of these
beatitudes, study them, learn them, and drink deeply from them. Jesus embodies
each of them himself, but he also embodies each of them in us through uniting
us to be part of his own body together with all Christians throughout the world
of all times and places—all the disciples, all the martyrs, all the saints.
So let the Holy Spirit call you to Jesus’ feet, let the
Holy Spirit draw you to him and place you at Jesus feet. Jesus sits down, opens
his mouth and teaches you himself. But he doesn’t simply teach you information,
he teaches you living mysteries of the faith, living blessings.
Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Amen.
Teach us, Lord Jesus, your words of blessing, your words
of salvation, your words of blessedness. Send us the Holy Spirit from your
Father and purify our hearts through the forgiveness of our sins that we may
see God. Make us poor in spirit that the kingdom of heaven may be ours together
with all the little, humble people you have called to yourself throughout all
time. Amen.
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