Matthew 5:1-12
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he
went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then
he began to speak, and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who
mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they will
inherit the earth. 6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 "Blessed are the merciful, for
they will receive mercy. 8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will
see God. 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children
of God. 10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when people
revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on
my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in
the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying… "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
·
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount is an
outline of what a disciple is. Matthew’s Gospel centers a lot on discipleship,
who the disciples are and what makes them a disciple.
·
What we call the Beatitudes is a list
of people Jesus calls blessed. The odd part is that this is not the list of
people we would call blessed.
·
The poor, the mourners, the meek,
those hungry for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the
peacemakers, the persecuted… not people on the top of the world. Actually these
people are usually someone’s target.
·
Have you heard these phrases?
o
The poor are lazy.
o
Mourners should just get over it.
o
The meek should stand up for
themselves!
o
Righteousness is too much work.
o
Mercy invites abuse.
o
The pure are just hiding something.
o
Peacemakers are always caught in a
cross-fire.
o
Persecution is deserved (by them, but not by me.)
·
I’d like to look at one of these
statements, one that is often misunderstood - "Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.”
·
We see meekness as a vice, as in
someone who won’t stand up for themselves. Our culture celebrates those who go
out and get what they want, who strive to achieve their goals, despite
difficulties and opposition. Sad to say, this often includes the desire to succeed
at any cost, including damaging relationships and destroying others.
·
In the Scriptures, “meekness” is
often translated as “gentleness”, as in “Blessed are the gentle.” In this case,
as in many other cases, a single word can have a number of meanings or a great
depth in meaning. Here meekness can also mean “restrained” as in how a running
horse is reined in. Applied to a person, it can mean a person is able to do a
thing, but chooses not to. It becomes a conscious decision, a way of acting that
can eventually become a habit. A person who will not take advantage of
another’s misfortune or a person who is, by nature or by habit, unwilling to
damage another could be called “meek.” They are not weak; Quite the opposite, they
have taken a different path. Meekness is power under constraint.
·
Naturally this leads to
misunderstanding. People who are called “meek” are seen as ineffectual,
powerless, and weak… especially in today’s political climate. Meek people
squeak like mice while the powerful roar like lions. It is strength displayed
that is respected.
·
Meekness is a different sort of
strength, one that is applied to the self. The way the word is used in
Matthew’s Gospel can also imply the virtue of humility. Humility is something
the Christian writer, C.S. Lewis wrote about in these words: “True humility is not thinking less of
yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.”
·
We’ve looked at one example today.
All of the “blesseds” found in the Beatitudes are virtues that may be found to
some degree in the life of a disciple. It isn’t a check-list or a magic
formula, but it is essentially a notice that all things that were thought to be
holy and best have been turned on their heads.
·
We don’t always think about it but
Jesus’ message – the Good News – is a revolutionary message. If we look at it
that way, we see that what was considered un-Godly is seen as holy and blessed.
·
The poor. who were seen as cursed by
God, are now the first addressed as blessed. Mourning, a situation all humans
have in common, is not declared good, but those who mourn are told that comfort
will be theirs. The humble will receive what the proud have claimed as their
own for so long. Those who see what is wrong with the world and who hope and
work for better will find themselves satisfied. The merciful and the pure of
heart will find God’s grace poured out on them. Those who work for peace and
those who find themselves in suffering for the Kingdom will receive it.
·
The world will be turned upside-down
and the unexpected will be raised up.
·
No sign of this reversal is greater
than the sign of the Cross in which death leads to life and evil in the world
is laid bare for all to see… if they have eyes to see,
·
Do the Beatitudes of Jesus’ Sermon on
the Mount fit us? They might. As an example, they remind us and proclaim to us
that being poor is no sin and being humble has a definite reward, even that
reward is true self-knowledge.
·
So then, do we fit the Beatitudes? As
a way of being a disciple, fitting our lives to the blessings found in this passage
makes sense. Such a life is also a gift of grace… and as we’ve heard many
times, it is the grace of God that has the last word.
Remember the words of the prophet Micah: He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Then he began to speak, and
taught them, saying… "Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the
earth.”Remember the words of the prophet Micah: He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
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