The Beatitudes

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

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

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

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

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

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

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

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

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

- Matthew 5:1-10

The Sermon on the Mount begins here, with the Beatitudes. Beatitude means "blessing." In this first section of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus enumerates the blessings attributed to those who seek this kingdom of which he has been preaching. These are not blessings of a worldly nature, but of a spiritual nature. We're speaking of spiritual disciples, those who make their lives in the world via the welcoming of this kingdom and the practice of spiritual faith. Jesus is seated (verse 1) in the traditional teaching position of a rabbi.

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Jesus begins with a teaching on what it is to be humble. In Hebrew, "poor" means both the material poor and the faithful among God's people. The "poor in spirit," therefore, are those who have the heart of the poor and their total dependence upon God. Their blessing is this kingdom of heaven

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. My study bible equates mourning with the fruits of repentance; the idea that we turn from one way of life to another. In some way, this makes much sense to me. Repentance can connote a kind of grief. When we turn from one thing to another there is a sense of loss. If we give up certain "worldly" things or pursuits or ways of thinking, are we not left with a sense of loss - a way in which we don't necessarily fit easily into the world? "Holy sorrow" is not only a state of personal repentance, but also sorrow over the suffering of mankind. This is a product of repentance or conversion. Importantly it is distinguished from an ungodly sorrow or morbid guilt which leads to despair.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. My study bible says that "mourning" (above) can extinguish the flame of anger and make a person meek. This is not a sense in which one is passive, but rather in which we are each in control of our own passions. It is the cultivation of a perspective that allows us to reflect, a contained strength. We recall the strength that we rely on through prayer, that helps us with perspective and detachment, to find a way through our passions and impulses (especially anger) for a good response, a God-bearing way of life in the world. The world, in other words, does not belong to the powerful and violent - but those who shall inherit in the new age of the kingdom are those who seek God's will in their responses to life and its challenges.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Righteousness is right-relatedness. We recall Jesus' two great commandments: To love the Lord God with all one's heart and soul and mind, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. To desire to live in this "justification" (as the Greek can also be translated) is to be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. My study bible says that mercy is "love set in motion." I quite like this description. We are to approach others tempered by mercy, open to its reality. Living by this law of God's love we in turn receive and come to know God's mercy in ourselves through the reality of this kingdom and our relatedness to it.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. What does it mean to be "pure in heart?" To be pure in this sense means, in the first place, to place no other gods before us. That is, devoted to the manifestation of God's will, to knowing and pleasing God, the spiritually good and true and beautiful.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Peace is so often invoked in the spiritual sense, and yet this peace has also been called the "peace that passes understanding." It is a state of the acceptance of the spirit of God which we then share with others. Jesus' acceptance of this peace led him to no less than his death on the cross. But it is a profound way to understand reconciliation and the desire to share this love with others.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. As I am typing and composing this blog, I'm listening to a channel on cable television that plays classical music. What began to play just now is Beethoven's "12 Variations/See the Conquering Hero"- which in its first few bars incorporates the melody of the hymn of the Armenian Church, Der Voghormia or "Lord have Mercy." It is sung during the ministration of Communion to the clergy, which takes place behind the closed altar drape and before the faithful receive Holy Communion. I don't believe in literal signs, but I'm going to take this one as a gentle hint, something for me to consider. God's mercy is always present for those who suffer for the kingdom's sake. If we serve something that is not "worldly," we are bound to come up against its rules. In John chapter 15, Jesus has said, " If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. " We hold fast to the teachings of righteousness; but the servant is not greater than the master. Our blessing is the kingdom. Can you think of ways in which the practice of mercy and righteousness may lead us to conflict with "worldly" life? If you look to the left at the photos on my blog, you will see one of an orphan of genocide. It is representative of my grandparents' generation of survivors. When I was a child, I saw many of those survivors, men and women, as elderly folk, cry each Sunday in church when this hymn was sung. For so many, their experiences merely strengthened their faith. This is truly a peace that passes understanding, and we must remember that in the midst the sorrow of the world, we are blessed. Do you know those who have been persecuted in some way for their faith? Jesus prepares us for life in the kingdom, in these Beatitudes. Each of us must reflect and find what these mean for us in our own lives.

In you, O Lord, I take refuge

- Psalm 71