Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you

 

 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.

"Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

 

- Matthew 5:1-12 

 

 In our recent readings in St. Mark's Gospel, the setting has been Jesus' final week of His earthly life, iin Jerusalem.  He had made His Triumphal Entry into the city, cleansed the temple, and spent His days disputing and sparring with the religious leaders as He taught in the temple.  Most recently, after one question, Jesus told the scribe who had asked Him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God."  On Saturday, we read Jesus then responded again and said, while He taught in the temple, "How is it that the scribes say that the Christ is the Son of David?  For David himself said by the Holy Spirit:  'The LORD said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool."' Therefore David himself calls  Him 'Lord'; how is He then his Son?"  And the common people heard Him gladly. Then He said to them in His teaching, "Beware of the scribes, who  desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers.  These will receive greater condemnation."  Now Jesus sat opposite the treasury and saw how the people put money into the treasury.  And many who were rich put in much.   Then one poor widow came and threw in two mites, which make a quadrans.  So He called His disciples to Himself and said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than all those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

 

  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: . . .  Today the lectionary takes us to the Sermon on the Mount (found in St. Matthew's Gospel), from which the readings will come for this week, no doubt in preparation for Lent which begins next week.  My study Bible comments on these verses that in the Old Testament, there were only a select few who were chosen to hear God directly (see Exodus 19:3-13).  Here, God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, is speaking to the multitudes face to face.  The mountain, as my study Bible explains it, is a place where divine action enters human history; it is the place where God reveals Himself to humankind (Matthew 17:1; Genesis 22:2; Exodus 3:1, 19:2; 1 Samuel 18:20).  To be seated is the traditional Jewish position for teaching with authority.  There were early Christian preachers, such as St. John Chrysostom, who sat while the people stood.  St. Matthew mentions that Jesus opened his mouth in order to emphasize that his teaching is "one way," my study Bible says. That is, Jesus has come to speak with authority (Matthew 7:29), and the disciples are not there to discuss or debate, but to listen. 

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  Jesus begins the Sermon on the Mount with what are called the Beatitudes, after these beginning statements regarding those who are blessed.  (Beatitude comes from the Latin word meaning "blessed.")  In this context, my study Bible explains, blessed indicates heavenly, spiritual exaltation rather than earthly happiness or prosperity.  In Hebrew, "poor" means both the materially poor, and also the faithful among God's people.  To be poor in spirit is to have the heart of the poor, the same attitude as the poor, and to be totally dependent upon God. 

 

 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  My study Bible says that those who mourn sorrow over the sufferings of this life (Matthew 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 are comforted by the power of God both in this world and in the age to come.  My study Bible says that holy sorrow is part of repentance, conversion, and virtuous action, and is the firstfruit of infinite joy.  This is importantly 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."  My study Bible explains that meekness is an attitude of being content with both honor and dishonor.  This is an imitation of Christ, who said, "Learn from Me, for I am gentle [meek] and lowly in heart" (Matthew 11:29).  The meek, it says, are God-controlled and they have mastery over their passions, especially anger.  Meekness is not passive weakness, but strength 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."  My study Bible says that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness see the presence of God  and God's Kingdom as the most important thing in life.  It says they have a desperate craving for what is right before God, comparable to a starving person's craving for food (see Matthew 6:33).  

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."  My study Bible defines mercy as love set in motion, expressed in action.  It says that God's mercy in taking our sufferings on Himself in order to grant us His Kingdom sets us free from captivity to the evil one.  In view 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," according to my study Bible, means unmixed with anything else.  The pure in heart are those completely devoted to the worship and service of God and accept no compromises.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, those who are pure in this sense practice all virtue, have no conscious evil in themselves, and live in temperance.  My study Bible says that this level of spirituality is attained by few, but all people may strive for it.  When the soul's only desire is God, it tells us, and a person's will holds to this desire, then that person will see God everywhere.  

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."  As Christ is the source of peace, He found no price sufficient for peace other than shedding His own blood.  By so doing, He revealed Himself to us as our Reconciler, the Prince of peace who brings us into communion with God (Isaiah 9:6; Ephesians 2:14-16).  The Holy Spirit gives peace to those who imitate Christ, my study Bible says.  So peacemakers share God's peace with those around them, imitating Christ's sacrificial love and participating in His work.  By God's grace, then, 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 declares that children of God uphold truth, refuse to compromise with the ways of the world, and give themselves to no other (Matthew 6:24, 33; see 1 Corinthians 6:19-20).  Like Jesus, it notes, these will be persecuted for righteousness' sake (see John 15:18-20).  Christ's kingdom is the crown awaiting the righteous.

 

 "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake.  Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you."  My study Bible claims that those who suffer persecution for Christ walk the road of the prophets, saints, and martyrs.  The Greek word meaning to be exceedingly glad literally means to "leap exceedingly with joy."  Sometimes this word is translated as to "exult."  See Acts 5:40-41.

Among all the other seemingly paradoxical statements we read in the Sermon on the Mount, perhaps the most strange, to our modern ears, is to hear that not only are we blessed when we're reviled and persecuted, or have evil slander directed against us -- all for Christ's sake.  We're to rejoice and be exceedingly glad because our reward in heaven is great; moreover, so the prophets before were persecuted.  Clearly this would have been meaningful to His direct audience, as for the Jews, the prophets were the greatest representatives of God sent into the world, so often to speak God's truth to power and face the consequences for doing so.   From the Gospels it is clear that Christ's first disciples were those guided to Him by John the Baptist, while John himself is considered to be the greatest of all the Old Testament type prophets.  We can see this heroic continuity in those who've been sent exemplified in Christ's parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Mark 12:1-12), which was given in Wednesday's reading last week.  There, servant after servant is sent by God to the vinedressers, only to be killed, and finally the owner sends his beloved Son.  It is into this known continuity that Jesus' listeners are given these words, Christ speaking of the prophets as images to imitate.  But most stunning of all is His assertion that now, we are to rejoice if this persecution comes for His sake.  For there He is placing Himself as central to the narrative of salvation, if you will.  He is placing Himself firmly in the place of the beloved Son sent to us all by God the Father.  He declares Himself worthy of such suffering and sacrifice, because He can offer us that eternal life, that place where our reward is great in heaven.  Noteworthy also, is remarking upon Christ's statement, "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy."  We frequently read in Christ's teaching a sort of reciprocal principle at work within our communion with God and with our fellow believers and neighbors.  Further along in the Sermon on the Mount, after He gives us the Our Father, or the Lord's Prayer, He teaches, "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:15).  Both Christ's teaching on the practice of mercy and on forgiveness sound similar notes of reciprocal action within our communion with God and neighbor, and they are indeed related to one another.  We need to practice mercy and forgiveness in order to realize and receive these ourselves.  Perhaps, however, we need to understand suffering for Christ's sake within this same type of context.  For to suffer for His sake is to live His teachings and to be persecuted in some way for doing so.  To be merciful, and yet be made to suffer for it, even slandered for it, is a sense in which we're to understand that Christ's repayment for such a heroic dedication to His word will be ever greater, reciprocal in the greatest degree.  Moreover, to suffer for the sake of Christ's word and teachings is to do so in imitation of Him, for it is He who will pay the highest price for doing so, and out of love for us.   The modern cynical expression, "No good deed goes unpunished" may have a lot of truth in it for those who have experienced persecution for living the Lord's words and teachings.  But to suffer for Christ's sake is also to express our love for Him in return for the love we know first (1 John 4:19).   Let us consider how the practice of Christ's love and compassion might also mean that we suffer for His sake -- and then ponder His words that we need to rejoice and be exceedingly glad in the times when this is so!