Living the Blessed Life—Lectionary Reflection for Epiphany 4A (Matthew 5)

Matthew 5:1-12 New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

 

5 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

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, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

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                With this reading, we begin a journey that takes us to several passages from the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, which allows us to engage with portions of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Matthew sets the context of what is to come in verses 1 and 2 of chapter 5. We’re told that when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the mountain and sat with his disciples. Then, according to Matthew, he began to teach. With that, the Sermon on the Mount begins. The opening lines of this sermon contain nine words of blessing, which we call the Beatitudes. The way I have pictured the scene, and most pictures of the scene do as well, imagine Jesus surrounded by the crowd that follows him up the mountain, but Matthew suggests it's just the disciples. We can’t be sure who is listening to these words, but I think I’ll follow tradition and go with the crowds being present since Matthew doesn’t say that Jesus tried to evade them, only that he started the sermon surrounded by the disciples. After all, when the sermon ends in chapter 7, the crowds are amazed at what they’ve heard because unlike the scribes he taught with authority (Mt. 7:28-29). 

                For this week, we attend only to the Beatitudes, which begin in verse 3, where Jesus tells those who are listening: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, because theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 5:3). With that beginning the sermon gets underway. Jesus pronounces blessings on nine different sets of people. This message of blessing (the Living Bible, Phillips, and Common English Bible all use happy, which might not catch what Jesus has in mind) reflects a central message within the Jewish context, for God had promised Abraham that the nations would be blessed through his descendants (Gen. 12:1-3).  In many ways, Jesus’ Beatitudes feel much like the Ten Commandments. Both speak to the nature of God’s relationship with God’s people. Whether commands or blessings, they carry meaning for the way one lives in relationship with God. Luke offers a version (The Sermon on the Plain) of the Beatitudes that has a different feel. Unlike Matthew’s version, Luke’s is more direct and less apt to be interpreted in a spiritualized manner (Luke 6:20-23). While Matthew tends to use the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” as opposed to “Kingdom of God,” these are Jesus’ first words about the kingdom. According to Alan Culpepper, Leo Tolstoy suggested that “the first beatitude controls the rest of the sermon, an insight that echoes Ambrose’s observation that this beatitude is not only the first in order but also the parent of the virtues that follow (Exp. Luc. 5:51). That is because it speaks of the kingdom. [Culpepper, Matthew (NTL), p. 87]. 

                When we read the Beatitudes as presented in Matthew, there is a certain beauty and symmetry to them. Though the final two blessings seem to have a less positive message in that they speak of persecution and being reviled, the message is one of hope. Blessings will come to those who walk in the way of Jesus. Thus, the peacemaker will be called a child of God. The sermon that follows these opening blessings has often been considered by some Christians as rather radical and impractical in a world where Jesus doesn’t have power. Thus, we needn’t bother with it until the kingdom age. The question is, didn’t Jesus declare that the kingdom has drawn near (Mt. 4:17), as such it would seem that as followers of Jesus, we should attend to the way of the kingdom. In this there are blessings.   

                These words of blessing stand as a prologue to Jesus’ larger sermon. Like the sermon as a whole, they turn things upside down. They represent a different vision of the way the world should work than what we normally hear, especially in political circles. The kinds of blessings spoken of here don’t involve political and military power. They speak of blessings given to the meek, the merciful, and the peacemaker. That’s a problem for many, perhaps even me. Power may corrupt but how do you get things done without power? And, if you really want to get things done, don’t you need absolute power, even if such power is said to corrupt absolutely? If we’re good Christians, who want to embody these qualities honored here, then perhaps we should interpret them spiritually. That way we needn’t worry about the problem of accumulating and using power over others. Thus, we can consider these values we celebrate on Sunday mornings and then set aside on Monday morning, when we come to our senses and recognize that these values are impractical for the rest of the week. Spiritual things, like living the life Jesus speaks of should be considered a private matter. It’s okay for the home and church, but in the “dog eat dog” world of daily life in the public square, such values are simply unworkable. Nothing would get done!  

                To better grasp what Jesus has in mind here in the opening prologue, where he lays out the foundations for kingdom life, we might want to turn to the prayer Jesus teaches later in the sermon. It’s a prayer most Christians know by heart— “The Lord’s Prayer” or “The Our Father.” In teaching the people to pray, he invites them/us to pray that God’s kingdom or realm would come into our midst and that God’s will would be done “on earth as in heaven” (Matthew 6:9-11).  For those of us who pray the “Lord’s Prayer” weekly or even daily, it’s worth asking whether we recognize how Jesus brings together the spiritual and the earthly realms in his prayer. I’ve suggested in my study of the Lord’s Prayer that this prayer functions as our pledge of allegiance to God and God’s realm [Ultimate Allegiance: The Subversive Nature of the Lord’s Prayer]. As I understand this prayer, as being a pledge of allegiance, that allegiance supersedes all other allegiances, including national allegiance. That is because God’s realm is a lot larger than my country. Therefore, it is impossible to pray this prayer and proclaim a message of “America First.”

                Returning to the parallel between the Beatitudes and the Ten Commandments, both statements provide a foundation for a relationship between God and God’s people. Here in Matthew, the Beatitudes describe the kind of realm Jesus was intent on inaugurating—on earth as in heaven. This sermon is simply an expression of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee where he called for repentance as part of his proclamation of the coming realm of God (Matthew 4:17). In calling for repentance, Jesus was calling for a change of allegiance. What he shares in the sermon is an expression of what that realm will look like. To repent would be to recognize that the work of creating that realm on earth as in heaven begins with us.  

                Now if the message we read here in Jesus’ sermon isn’t just a word about the religious life but reflects God’s vision for creation, then this word is a dangerous one. It suggests that God’s vision supersedes the way of the world. It might sound like theocracy, but that would misread things. Jesus isn’t calling for the establishment of some kind of earthly government that uses religious law to define behavior. Rather, it is a word about how God’s kingdom vision shapes the way we live in the world, and as we do so, then the blessings of God are made known, in keeping with the original covenant promise made with Abraham (Gen.12—see my book Called to Bless, chapter 1). If this vision is intended to shape the way we live in the world, then how might we discern how to implement this vision in our context?

                If we assume, as I do, that Jesus’ message is rooted in the promise made to Abraham and Sarah, then our calling as the people of God is to be agents through whom God brings blessing. That starts with the promise that the poor in spirit shall receive the kingdom of heaven. Now, we must be careful not to simply read this in pietistic terms. As the reading from Micah 6:1-12 (the first reading for Epiphany 3A) reminds us, God isn’t interested in piety but in actions that reflect God’s concern for justice, mercy, and humble walking before God. In keeping with Micah’s word from God, we might think of this word about the poor in two ways. The first is in keeping with Luke’s version, and we envision those who experience poverty receiving God’s blessing of the kingdom. At the same time, we might think in terms of Micah’s call to walk before God in humility as the foundation for receiving the Kingdom. Could we not embrace both visions as being in keeping with what Jesus has in mind here?

                As we ponder this question, Pope Francis has, in his tenure as Pope, continually called upon Christians to embody the way of Jesus, including caring for those who are poor. One of his early encyclicals, Evangelii Gaudium, echoes Jesus’ call to make known God’s realm in the way we live in the world. In that vein, Francis calls for Christians to work for justice in the world. In so doing,  the Pope, like Jesus and Micah, calls on Christians to commit themselves to work to build a better world, what the Jewish community calls Tikkun Olam. Thus, Francis wrote:

All Christians, their pastors included, are called to show concern for the building of a better world. This is essential, for the Church’s social thought is primarily positive: it offers proposals, it works for change and in this sense it constantly points to the hope born of the loving heart of Jesus Christ. At the same time, it unites “its own commitment to that made in the social field by other Churches and Ecclesial Communities, whether at the level of doctrinal reflection or at the practical level.”  [Evangelii Guadium, par. 183]

                Each of these nine statements envisions following Jesus along a path that will prove challenging. It also promises blessings that will come to those who take up this way of living, blessings that are then extended to others.  So, those who mourn will be comforted. The meek will inherit the earth (that in itself is counter-intuitive). Those who hunger and thirst after righteousness/justice will receive their fill. As for the merciful, they will receive mercy (Mic. 6:8 again). Those who are pure in heart will see God. Peacemakers will be called children of God. Finally, those who are persecuted for what is right and just will receive the kingdom. Yes, those who are reviled because of Jesus, will receive their heavenly reward. This last blessing needs to be flagged because I’ve heard more than a few Christians claim to be persecuted for their faith in Jesus when in reality they’re just being obnoxious. I don’t think Jesus promises blessings to people who are obnoxious in his name!   

                Each of these nine statements (eight if you combine verses 10-12) deserves to be delved into individually.  Each statement has integrity that is worked out elsewhere in scripture. However, when we take them as a whole, we gain insight into God’s vision for this world. That vision is one of blessing, in keeping with the promise made to Abraham and Sarah. So, as children of Abraham, who have been incorporated into that family line by adoption (Galatians 4:4-6) that comes to us through our relationship with Jesus, the sermon that follows speaks to how we might live out this vision of blessing. When we pray, as Jesus taught us, giving our allegiance to God’s realm, then we can be agents of God’s blessing in the world.  To do so is to embrace the principle of Tikkun Olam.