The Beatitudes

And seeing the multitudes, he went up on a mountain, and when he was seated his disciples came to him. Then he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

"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 filled.

"Blessed are the merciful,
For they shall obtain 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 are persecuted for righteousness sake,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

- Matthew 5:1-10

In this first part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches us what are known as The Beatitudes, (or the "blessings"). My study bible refers to The Beatitudes as that which describes "the joy of true discipleship, the blessed way of life. The people of God await the rewards of the promises Jesus makes." Jesus is seated while giving this homily; this is the traditional position of Jewish rabbis while teaching. Christian preachers in the early Church often sat (such as St. John Chrysostom) to teach, while the people stood. A note reads, "To understand this sermon is to recognize this Rabbi is the one true Teacher of Israel."

Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. My study bible notes, "Blessed in this context indicates heavenly, spiritual blessedness rather than earthly happiness or prosperity. In Hebrew, 'poor' means both (1) the materially poor and (2) the faithful among God's people. The poor in spirit, the humble and lowly have the heart of the poor and their total dependence upon God. These are truly the 'spiritually rich.'" This note is very helpful. For myself, the Beatitudes teach us a set of values, something worthwhile, that may be at odds with the worldly values we learn from our surroundings. Which do we choose? Which is valuable to us? Where is our treasure?

Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted. The traditional view of the Church is to see this in the context of repentance, and "holy sorrow." My study bible notes, "Those who mourn over their sins and the suffering of mankind are genuinely repentant, to be comforted in the new age. Holy sorrow is part of conversion, the consummation of repentance, the firstfruit of infinite joy. It is distinguished from ungodly sorrow, a sadness which leads to despair." Do we mourn over our past way of life, or ways of thinking that are harmful to ourselves or others? Letting go is a part of conversion, repentance. When we let go of things which are not good for us, we have a comfort awaiting us - we do not plunge into despair, but go toward a different place of comfort. I feel that for any loss, a true Comforter awaits. We have but to turn to that Comforter for its solace. We remember the Greek word for repentance, metanoia, means "change of mind." And the word for sin, amartia, means "missing the mark." So, we can understand this to be anything which needs changing, a way of thinking transformed. To mourn, then, is to grieve over a loss or sense of loss, however necessary it may be as a consequence of our choice for this kingdom.

Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth. To repent is to learn humility, meekness, to detach from arrogance. My study bible notes, "Mourning can extinguish the flame of anger and make a person meek. Meekness is an attitude of being content with both honor and dishonor. It is an imitation of Christ who said, 'Learn from Me, for I am gentle [meek] and lowly in heart' (11:29). The meek are God-controlled, and through their prayers God gives them mastery over their passions -- especially anger. Meekness is not passive gentleness, but strength under control. Jesus' promise of future blessings is not for the powerful, the rich and the violent, but for those who are meek and humble: they will inherit the earth, the new earth which is everlasting." To accept what is, with humility, is truly a great gift. We all suffer loss, sometimes we must let things go. If we do this as a product of our spirituality, it is a great gift to learn humility, and the "strength under control" my study bible speaks of. Our image before others may suffer in this process, a sense of "worldly" competition we have lost. But this meekness, this acceptance, is a great gift we should cherish.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled. The Greek word here for righteousness (dikaiosune) can also be translated as "justification" or "justice." Righteousness is often understood as "right-relatedness." For this we understand a great part of the nature of God, God's justice. We exchange worldly values for God's values, we "hunger and thirst for righteousness" - and we receive this from the presence of the kingdom in our hearts, which is our treasure by our choice. We always have this available to us!

Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. My study bible says, "Mercy is love set in motion, love expressed in action. God's lovingkindness, his mercy is taking our sufferings upon Himself in order to grant us His Kingdom, sets us free from captivity to the evil one. In view of God's lovingkindness (Luke 6:36), we in turn are to be merciful to all others." Mercy, as Justice, is also a part of the nature of God, the reality of the kingdom we keep as treasure in our hearts. We practice mercy, and are flooded with its reality - also a part of the Comforter.

Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God. My study bible notes that, "to be pure is to be unmixed with anything else." This is the traditional understanding of purity. It is similar to Jesus' teaching to "make your eye single." I will again reprint the note in my study bible for its helpful orientation: "The pure in heart are devoted to the worship and service of God. With the aid of the Holy Spirit, they (1) practice all virtue, (2) are not conscious of any evil in themselves, and (3) live in temperance -- a stage of spirituality attained by few in this life. When the soul is not dominated by sinful passions, nor its energy dissipated by the things of this world, its only desire is God. Then the heart -- holding fast to the new life in Christ and contemplating the glory of God (2 Cor. 3:18) -- shall see God through communion with His Son." So we are to understand a devotion in our hearts to a true treasure as that which leads to this "communion" - a depth of relationship to God, and the wisdom this reveals in our hearts. I believe this is what we truly seek in earnest prayer, and this "purity in heart" is therefore a kind of goal in terms of intention and depth in ourselves, our character. Certainly the process of repentance and transformation over a lifetime is that which builds and refines this purity, bringing up that which we need to discard, to give up, to lose, in exchange for the things of God (righteousness, mercy) which we receive.

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God. Again, I will quote from a note: "Being Himself the source of peace, the Son of God found no price sufficient for peace but that of shedding His own blood. In doing so, Christ reveals Himself to us as the Reconciler, the Prince of Peace ... The Holy Spirit gives peace, the sign of God's presence, to those who meditate on Christ and imitate Him. Peace brings communion with God and concord with all creation, the sign of our sanctity. Thus, peacemakers share God's peace with those around them, participating in the work of God's Son and becoming, by God's grace, sons of God themselves." In a sense, we see the Beatitudes, as with all the text of the gospels, as that which teaches as it goes. So, we start with those who choose the kingdom above all, and its values of change and repentance, loss (or letting go) and comfort, justice, mercy, and purity of heart, and we lead to a sense of what it is to be a true peacemaker, a reconciler. This is a reconcilation to the reality of the kingdom, to its values and what it asks of us here in this world. In this sense, we become peacemakers.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Again, a note from my study bible: "Children of God uphold God's truth and refuse to compromise with the ways of the world. They give themselves to no other ... It is not surprising then that they, like Jesus, should be persecuted for righteousness' sake. For Christ's kingdom is the crown awaiting the righteous." The peacemakers, or reconcilers, are those who are willing to do what it takes to exchange worldly values for the values of the kingdom, those things that follow from placing its values first: change of mind, a giving up or loss, acceptance, justice, mercy, purity of heart, reconciliation. For this, many may suffer who put it into practice, its values at odds with the pressures of the world around us, and with those who would hold fast to those worldly values and insist that we do, too. We may make choices, "for righteousness' sake" that cause rejection, persecution, punishment or penalizing behavior in others. This kingdom is the choice we make, our crown, our treasure.

In the Beatitudes, I find a formula for the way we live our lives. I see it as parallel to modern self-help programs, such as the Twelve Steps, in its setting out of the steps of righteousness, and what it takes to have this crown. It all depends upon where our treasure is, and then what we are willing to do to keep that in mind, to always be a part of that treasure, to put it first above all. Transformation and transcendence are illustrated in this step-by-step teaching about what we choose first, as that which is most important, and then how we continue through our lives to make that choice and what we receive in exchange. Certainly modern therapeutic research has taught us the value of humility, the power of righteousness in the face of that which would teach us otherwise, the power of mercy and love to heal ourselves as well, the necessity of loss, of giving up that which is harmful in our own hearts and minds in exchange for a better way. But Christ's Sermon teaches us one thing more powerful than a self-help book can do: from this Sermon we understand the power of this reality that is present within us and to us at all times, and the reality of this Kingdom. It is more than a choice we make with our hearts and minds. It is, rather, a set of values endowed with power and the Spirit that is there to help us make these choices, something that can conquer whatever obstacles stand in its way, as a help to us. We must keep this in mind as we continue on, and listen to this Sermon as it continues in the following readings. Where is your treasure, your heart? Are you prepared for this journey? You are never alone, you always have extra help! It is, indeed, a spiritual kingdom awaiting your response, this choice.