Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven

 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

Yesterday we read that Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men."  They immediately left their nets and followed Him.  Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets.  He called them, and immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him.  And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.  Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them.  Great multitudes followed Him -- from Galilee, from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.

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: . . .  My study bible tells us that in the Old Testament, there were only a select few who were chosen to hear God directly (see Exodus 19:3-13).  But here in today's passage, it is God Incarnate who speaks to the multitudes face to face.  The mountain is a place where divine action enters human history, the place where God reveals God to man (see 17:1, Genesis 22:2, Exodus 3:1, 19:2, 3 Kings 18:20).  Seated, my study bible adds, is the traditional Jewish position for teaching with authority.  Some early Christian preachers, in imitation of Christ, sat while the people stood, such as St. John Chrysostom.  Matthew tells us that Jesus opened His mouth.  We are first reminded that Christ is Himself the Incarnate Word.  My study bible says that this phrase emphasizes that that this teaching is "one way."  Christ has come to speak with authority (7:29) and the disciples who listen are there not to discuss or to debate, but rather to listen and to hear.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Blessed is the plural form of the  Greek word makarios/μακάριος.  It means in this context, my study bible explains, a heavenly and spiritual exaltation, and not earthly happiness or prosperity.  It denotes a state or way of being, a richness conferred through the spirit.  In Hebrew, "poor" means both the materially poor, and also the faithful among God's people.  Those who are poor in spirit are those with the heart of the poor.  That is, having the same attitude as the poor, and totally dependent upon God.  It also denotes a type of gratitude for and recognition of the blessings of God and the kingdom of heaven, as well as the orientation of humility which makes that possible.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Those who mourn are those who sorrow of the sufferings of our lives (9:23), the sufferings of others (John 11:35), the state of the world (Luke 19:41), and also their own sins (Luke 7:36-38).   My study bible says that all of these are comforted by the power of God both in this world and also in the age to come.  It notes that holy sorrow is part of repentance, conversion, and virtuous action, and that it is the firstfruit of infinite joy.  This kind of mourning is to be distinguished from ungodly sorrow, which is a sadness that leads to despair (see 2 Corinthians 7:10).

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."  Meekness is akin to humility.  My study bible calls it an attitude of being content with both honor and dishonor.  It is a way to imitate Christ, who said, "Learn from Me, for I am gentle [meek] and lowly in heart (11:29).  The meek are God-controlled, my study bible says; they have mastery over their passions -- especially anger.  Meekness isn't passive weakness.  It is rather strength which is directed and under control.  To inherit the earth in the context of the meek does not denote power or possession in this world, but rather the new earth, which my study bible reminds us is everlasting (Revelation 21:1). 

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled."   Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness see the presence of God and of God's kingdom as the most important thing in their lives, my study bible says.  They are the ones who have a desperate craving for what is right before God, which can be compared to a starving person's craving for food (see 6:33).

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."  My study bible calls mercy love set in motion, expressed in action.  This is perhaps our most key understanding of God's work in the world, and the root of all knowledge we have of God.  My study bible explains that God's mercy in taking our sufferings on Himself in order to grant us God's Kingdom is what sets us free from the evil one.  In our understanding of God's mercy to all, we in turn are to be merciful to all.

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  "Pure" means to be unmixed with anything else, unadulterated.  The pure in heart are those who love God with all their heart, and so subsequently manifest the things God asks, a God-likeness.   My study bible explains that they are those who are completely devoted to the worship and service of God and will accept no compromises.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, the pure in heart practice all virtue, have no conscious evil in themselves, and live in temperance.  A note adds that this level of spirituality is attained by few, but everyone may strive for it.  When the soul's only desire is God, and the will holds to this desire, then such a person will see God everywhere, and know the presence of God in the here and the now.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."  As the source of peace, Christ found no price sufficient for peace other than shedding His own blood, my study bible says.  In so doing, Christ revealed Himself to us as the Reconciler, the Prince of peace (Isaiah 9:6, Ephesians 2:14-16).  A note adds that the Holy Spirit gives peace to those who imitate Christ.  Therefore, peacemakers share God's peace with those who are around them, imitating the sacrificial love of Christ, and participating in Christ's work.  By the grace of God, peacemakers become sons of God themselves.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  My study bible explains that children of God uphold truth, refuse to compromise with the ways of the world, and give themselves to no other (6:24, 33; see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).   As was Jesus, these will be persecuted for righteousness' sake (see John 15:18-20).  Christ's kingdom of heaven is the crown which awaits the righteous, my study bible tells us. 

 Righteousness sums up what it is to live this blessed way of life that Jesus describes in the Sermon on the Mount.  All the things that He teaches here add up under the title of what it means to be a righteous person and to practice righteousness.  All of the things He teaches are those things that we need in order to live our lives in righteousness, to conduct ourselves in the way of righteousness, or "right-relatedness" to all, to the whole of the world.  This is the blessed way of life.  That is, it is the way of life that confers the blessings of the kingdom of God.  Christ will teach in Luke's Gospel,  "The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, 'See here!' or 'See there!' For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you" (Luke 17:20-21).   We live this righteous life of blessedness so that we may, indeed, dwell within that kingdom -- and have it dwell within us and among us -- even while we are here in this world.  Just as God's energies at work in the world give us mercy, so it is that we seek to be a part of this blessedness so that we, too, may share in this work in the world.  This is what it means to live in righteousness, to follow this blessed way of life.  As we seek to live as Christ teaches, that blessedness doesn't only touch our lives, but it also touches the lives of others and of all things around us.  There will be those who resent that way of life, who do not like what it teaches or says.  It will bring up conflicts within others who have chosen otherwise.  Thus, persecution arises for righteousness' sake.   We should not be surprised at this.  The way of life that Christ describes isn't easy or simple.  It asks something of us.  Moreover, it also asks us to grow within that life, to become more like God as we seek to live this life of the kingdom.  In addition, whatever is within us which is challenged by that way of life will also come up at times for our own review, repentance, and turnaround.  And this itself is an ongoing process.  We do not simply manifest such virtues by following rules.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, we are to grow in that righteousness, in those blessed things that make for "God-likeness" (see Genesis 1:26).  And it is important, even essential, to recognize that this is not an intellectually driven endeavor.  We don't simply hear or listen to Christ's word in this Sermon and think about in terms of abstraction or external show to display that we comply.  We are meant instead to live a prayerful life.  Our participation includes the help of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of angels, the worship of God in the context of a communion, so that we are led down this road in ways we are incapable of thinking up for ourselves.  The blessed way of life also reflects the very nature of the Incarnation in the sense that it is a life meant to be led in cooperation and communion with God all all those things made possible through Christ:  the communion of saints, the fullness of the Church, the invisible world that ministers to us, and the love that surpasses all we know that is present to us in these mystical realities brought here through the life of Christ.  Righteousness, then, becomes truly a way of life, and blessedness a fullness of being, something which we walk in -- and even a mystery that may take root and grow in us (see the parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13).  Our faith is not based on intellectual abstraction, but is instead a lived blessedness, conferred through a mystical communion and our participation in that.  It is not outside of our intellectual capacities, nor does it exclude them -- but rather, we need to understand that it includes every single part of ourselves, and will call us to reconcile our lives of participation in this Kingdom with everything inside of us:  our memories, impulses, emotions, habits, and all the rest of what we are, body, soul, and spirit.  Let us consider our prayer in light of Christ's teachings about righteousness.  We pray that we might more fully live this life, and follow His way, as those disciples who listen and will go and do likewise.