The Beatitudes Part 1: The Language of Hope
Rev. Lee Ann Bryce
Community Christian Church
January 30, 2011
Text: Matthew 5:1-12
We’ve just sung our text for today, Matthew 5:1-12, otherwise known as the Beatitudes. It’s one of the better known and beloved passages in the Bible, right up there with the 23rd Psalm. In Matthew, the Beatitudes are part of what is called the “Sermon on the Mount,” because verse one says, “And when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountain and begin to teach them saying, ‘Blessed are…’” A similar version is found in Luke, only in Luke it’s called the “Sermon on the Plain.” Any idea why? The answer is a bit like the answer to “Who is buried in Grant’s tomb?” In Luke it’s called the Sermon on the Plain because it says, “Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place….and Jesus looked at his disciples and said, ‘Blessed are…’” (Luke 6:17, 20). Of course it isn’t the local that matters here. What matters is the rich, memorable, and thought-provoking text that is attributed to Jesus.
It’s interesting to note that beatitudes were very common expressions in those days, and not just in religious circles. They were everyday sayings about the good life, listing virtues that anyone would have been pleased to have. Blessed are the wise, for they shall not be fooled. Blessed are the wealthy, for they shall never go hungry. The word “blessed” is also translated as happy – Happy are the strong for their enemies will fear them, or in French, debonair. That’s fun, isn’t it? Debonair are those who invest well, for their old age shall be secure. (Supposedly, anyway.)
What was so shocking about Jesus’ version of beatitudes was his peculiar content. Blessed are the meek? The mournful? The poor in spirit? Is he kidding? Do these thing sound debonair? Rejoice and be glad when you’re reviled and persecuted? It sounds like a pretty convoluted idea of the good life, doesn’t it? (Taylor, The Upside Down Good Life.)
It could be that many of us have heard them for so long that we don’t really hear them anymore; they’ve lost their shock value for us. We love to sing “Blest Are They,” (and we sing it quite well!) The Beatitudes sound sort of comforting, that’s why that song is often sung at funerals. We might be inclined to needlepoint the Beatitudes on a little pillow or something. Or maybe we hear them like they’re commandments and we worry that we’re not meek enough, not poor enough, not persecuted enough!
The Beatitudes are not commandments. There’s no “do this and this will happen.” They are descriptive: this is what these people are now and this is what the future holds for them in the “kingdom of heaven” as Matthew puts it. The Beatitudes speak the language of hope. They promise that the way things are now is not the way they will be in the future. What future is Jesus referring to? When will things be the way he describes them? Well, that is the topic for next week’s sermon as we continue looking at the Beatitudes. For today, we’re considering how they sound – to us and to others. Anything we hear, any message we receive by written or spoken words (and this applies to every word of the Bible, of course) is understood differently depending on who we are. What sounds like very good news to some may sound like very bad news to another. In Luke’s version of this text, we hear a similar “blessed are the poor, the hungry, etc.” but Luke follows that up with a little section that sounds a bit off-putting, “Woe to you who are rich,” “Woe to you are full now” because you’re going to be hungry. “Woe to you who are laughing now,” for things will change and you will be weeping. If you’re weeping, that sounds pretty good. If you happen to be laughing it’s a bit sobering.
Consider how different people might hear the beatitudes:
John shuffled down the city street. It was January in Rochester and streets were lined with big icy piles of brownish snow, pushed there by plows. Today’s allotment of snow was starting to fall as he walked along, pulling his inadequate coat tighter around him, an old ball cap on his head, his hands bare. For John, the streets had been his home for a long time. Most nights he was able to find a place to spend the night and he was grateful for that. His feet were sore and it hurt to walk. He spent much of his day standing, walking on concrete sidewalks. Whenever he found a warm, dry spot to pass the time, it didn’t seem to last for long. He would spot someone in authority walking toward him with that look on their face that said he was about to be asked to leave. He understood and he would meekly nod and get up to leave to find the next spot.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Stan was preoccupied as he drove home from work. Shock was probably the more apt description. Joe, his partner of 20 years, was dying. He didn’t have long left and Stan had requested family leave to care for him. Stan had never told his boss or his co-workers about Joe, but he trusted it would work out. Surely everyone knew he was gay. He had turned in his request for family leave yesterday and today expected to get approval. But when he had entered his boss’ office her expression was…well, frightening. She shook her head, “Your kind,” she had said. “Your kind…destroys our families.” He looked down to see the cross necklace against her sweater. He hadn’t heard much else that she had said. He didn’t even know if his request had been granted or denied. It was just her expression, and that cross, and those two words, “your kind,” that kept replaying over and over again as he tried to drive home.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
Angela was quietly weeping as she drove. Her meticulously manicured fingernails gripped the
steering wheel of her Porsche as if it were a life-vest. She was late for her massage appointment,
but her therapist would wait. Everyone waited for Angela and eagerly did her bidding – her housekeeper, her hair stylist, her few friends, everyone except her husband. You see she had married the love of her life, the cheerleader and the quarterback of the football team, no less. Together they had ridden the roller coaster that was their shared life. She knew he had had indiscretions, but nothing prepared her for his brisk announcement three days ago. He was moving out and Angela’s tears knew no end.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
The Beatitudes are the words of God for the people of God. They speak of a different reality than we know. They promise that the kingdom of heaven belongs to the poor in spirit, the meek, the persecuted. What do you suppose he meant by that? Does the kingdom of heaven refer to an afterlife or to this life? Will God bring this kingdom about with or without us? Do we have anything to do with the creation of a kingdom, a reality in which the whole earth belongs to the meek?
Next week, we will continue with this text by considering what the Kingdom of Heaven might have meant to Jesus.
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