Blessed are the poor in spirit, 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

On Saturday 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, and 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: . . .   At this time, the text has already told us that Jesus has great multitudes following Him, from all the regions of Israel (see Saturday's reading, above).   At this juncture we're given the Sermon on the Mount (He went up on a mountain), perhaps the most splendid example we have of Jesus' preaching.  My study bible comments that in the Old Testament, only a select few were chosen to hear God directly (see Exodus 19:3-13).  Here, God Incarnate speaks to the multitudes face to face.  The mountain, it says, is a place where divine action enters human history, the place where God reveals Himself to humankind (17:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 3:1, 19:2; 1 Kings 18:20).  To be seated is the traditional Jewish position for authoritative teaching.  Some early Christian preachers, for example, St. John Chrysostom, sat while people stood to listen.  My study bible adds that Matthew mentioning that Jesus opened his mouth give an emphasis to say that this teaching is "one way."  That is, Jesus has come to speak with authority (7:29), and the disciples are there neither to discuss nor to debate, but rather to listen.

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."   To blessed in this context of blessings in the Sermon on the Mount is to be blessed with a heavenly, spiritual exaltation -- rather than earthly happiness or prosperity.  Jesus is offering us the reality of the kingdom of heaven, present to us even as we live in this world.  In Hebrew, my study bible explains, "poor" means both the materially poor, and also the faithful among God's people.  The poor in spirit are therefore those who have the heart of the poor.  That is, the same attitude as the poor, totally dependent on God.

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."   Those who mourn, my study bible says, are those who sorrow over the sufferings of this life (9:23), the sufferings of others (John 11:35), the state of the world (Luke 19:41), and their own sins (Luke 7:36-38).   All of these are comforted through the power of God both in this world and also in the age to come.  My study bible adds the holy sorrow is a part of repentance, conversion, and virtuous action.  It is also the firstfruit of infinite joy.   This is 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."  To be meek, according to my study bible, is to be of a particular attitude -- one 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).  It is similar to Godly humility in the sense that the meek are God-controlled, and express mastery of over their passions, especially anger.  This is not passivity nor weakness.  It is instead strength which is directed and under control.  The earth that the meek will inherit is not power or possession in this world, but rather the new earth, which 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, according to my study bible, are those who see the presence of God and God's Kingdom as the most important thing in life.  They have a desperate craving for all that which is right before God, which is comparable to a starving person's craving for food (see 6:33; also Psalm 42:1).

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."  Mercy, my study bible comments, is love set in motion, expressed in action.  God's mercy in taking our sufferings on Himself in order to grant us God's Kingdom sets us free from captivity to the evil one.  In view of God's mercy to all, we are in turn to be merciful to all, and so Godlike.    But let us note the conditional power of this statement, and its echo in the parable of the Judgment (25:31-46).

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."  To be pure is to be unmixed with anything else, unadulterated.  The pure in heart, in this understanding, are those who are completely devoted to the worship and service of God, who accept no compromises.  Note that this is not a condition into which one is automatically born, but one which can be developed.  With the aid of the Holy Spirit, my study bible comments, those who achieve purity practice all virtue, have no conscious evil in themselves, and live in temperance.  This level of spirituality is attained by few, but everyone may strive for it.  It is in understanding of this condition of purity that the Church speaks of Mary, the Mother of God.  My study bible says that when the soul's only desire is God, and a person's will holds to this desire, then that person will indeed see God everywhere.  Truly in such a condition, we may find that all circumstances present opportunity for the expression of this purity in heart.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."  My study bible writes that being the source of peace, Christ found no price sufficient for peace other than shedding His own blood.  In so doing, He reveals Himself to us as the Reconciler, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6; Ephesians 2:14-16).  The Holy Spirit, it adds, gives peace to those who imitate Christ -- and in this imitation we must understand we are not alone nor do we do so according to our own power and understanding.  Therefore, peacemakers are those who share God's peace with those around them, expressing and sharing in Christ's sacrificial love and participating in Christ's work.  By God's grace, therefore, peacemakers become sons of God themselves. 

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Children of God, my study bible notes, are those who 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).   Like Jesus, a note continues, these will be persecuted for righteousness' sake (see John 15:18-20).  Christ's kingdom is the crown which awaits the righteous.

In all things, this sermon and these Beatitudes seem to tell us, to seek the Kingdom of God is to seek a kind of righteousness that passes the understanding of the world, and to reap a harvest of these blessings of the Kingdom.  What does it mean to be persecuted for righteousness' sake, or to be pure in heart, or to be a peacemaker?  Surely these things are not nominal "good" things we can point to, actions that follow a particular intellectual rule or philosophical understanding.  But rather they are living things and they are things that we "live."  They are the foundations of a living Kingdom, one in which we dwell -- even while still living life in this world -- in which we have our solitary focus of setting all things and living through all things in righteousness under participation and communion with our Lord.  That is, everything in our lives becomes ground for living this life, both the good and the bad.  In all cases, I find, there are not just simple and easy rules to follow to always know what is righteous before God.  Everything in this model starts with prayer, and not with dry letter of the law, but lives in us with a growing sense of who we are and who we are not.  This is a righteousness of discipleship -- that is learned through time, struggled for through difficult choice, meant to be lived together with the God who lives with us and dwells with us (Revelation 3:20, 21:3).  This is a living, growing reality, a realization of relatedness and participation in the life God asks of us, and shares with us ("If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him" - John 14:23).  This is a living, mystical reality that is with us all the time, if we but decide and struggle to be conscious of it and to live it and dwell within it.  It requires of us discipleship, a long series of decisions and junctures in life in which we make choices, choices to change and to repent, choices to change our minds and live a different way, and choices to accept the wisdom which we are offered.  In all of these blessings of the Kingdom which Jesus names in the Beatitudes, we accept that with time we can look back and discern our growth in them, and their growth in us, as we are taught along the way to discard that which is not fruitful, and to pursue that which is.  It is, all in all, a life in which we are invited into mission, into growing dedication, and a pursuit of something meaningful, made for us, and for which we are adapted through the work of God in us.  Let us consider these blessings, and whether or not we wish to pursue them, for they persist and live and growth through all things, both the good and the bad, and they are the bedrock upon which our God invites us to God's life in all its abundance and blessings.  It is learning a way through life, a journey, in which it is faith that makes all the difference, and is the choice we need for growth and deliverance from what keeps us from God.