The Blessed - How God Encounters the World

A sermon from the fourth Sunday after Epiphany.

This sermon is the first in a four part series on the Sermon on the Mount.  The series is titled "God's Radical Vision for Community."

The first movement is based in the Sermon on the Mount.

The Blessed - How God Encounters the World

 Matthew 5:1-12

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.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.  Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 


When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain.  The movement was already catching on fire.  The preacher who walked out of the wilderness and into the backwater town of Capernaum has gathered quite a following.  Not only does he have disciples, among their ranks the simple fishermen we encountered last week, he is followed by a large crowd.  He sits down on the mountain and gazes out upon an unnumbered mass of people who have come to hear him speak. 
    Perhaps they had heard of the healings he had done in Galilee, the ten cities, Jerusalem, or Judea.  Perhaps the talk of a new kingdom had gotten their attention.  Whatever the reason, there they sit.  Drawn to the power of Jesus they wait for what he has to say next.  Jesus walked up the mountain and sat down.  The mic is checked.  It’s showtime.
    We too gather on the mountain today.  We join the crowd of generations who have come before us to sit at the feet of Jesus and learn where he is leading us.  We gather on this day to hear the words that mark the beginning of what we know as the “Sermon on the Mount.”  For the next four weeks we will hear various parts of this most famous sermon.  Pastor Casey and I will follow the flow of the lectionary as it takes us through the many and various teachings wrapped up in the words of this sermon.  We will explore “God’s Radical Vision for Community.”  Buckle up.  Tell a friend.  And come hungry.  It’s going to be a nourishing ride.  So up the mountain we go.
    The stage is set.  And the stage is important.  The way Matthew describes the setting and the action of Jesus before teaching is important.  Matthew tells us that Jesus goes up the mountain.  For Matthew and his audience this is a nod to Moses.  Moses ascended the mountain at Sinai to converse with God and receive the law.  Matthew wants us to draw this parallel.  Matthews wants us to engage the overtones of Moses and the law on Sinai.
    The law that Moses receives is the way that God encounters the people of Israel.  It’s a vision of how the community created and blessed by God is live out its calling in the world.  The law, and here I speak of more than just the ten commandments, is God’s vision for the way God’s own blessed community will be a blessing to each other and the world.  It’s as if God says, “I am the LORD you God, this is how I encounter the world - you should act accordingly.”  With the law and Moses echoing in our memories we move to the Sermon on the Mount.
    The Sermon on the Mount is the first of five teaching moments in the Gospel of Matthew.  It sets the tone for the life and ministry of Jesus.  It is the platform for the kingdom of heaven.  It points us to where Jesus is going.   
    With these overtones in mind, Jesus begins with what we know as the Beatitudes.  This series of nine blessings invites us to imagine the world with God.  In these blessings God is giving us a glimpse of the community that makes up the kingdom of heaven.  Wrapped up in these statements is a living picture of how God encounters the world.
    I can remember as a child seeing these nine statements written out on many a poster in the hallways of the church Sunday school wing.  I can remember reading in books about how we ought to post these on the lawns of our courthouses.  About how these were the ultimate Christian teaching.  I encountered them so often that my understanding of them began to soften.
    For a long time I saw heard the Beatitudes as a moral code.  I understood them as rules to follow, as if Jesus was saying “if you follow these rules you will be blessed.”  They became another set of statements by which to measure my life - and when I fell short they were another tool for me to judge myself.  But that’s not what these statements are.  The Beatitudes are not rules.  They are so much more.  They are radical statements for our life in the kingdom of God.  Let’s recapture their power today.
    The Beatitudes are not imperative statements, they are not commands or requests.  They are indicative statements.  They point us to a reality that is created by God.  These blessings named by Jesus are not something we are to strive for, they are something for us to look for in this world.  They are not entrance requirements.  They declare who the insiders already are in the kingdom of heaven.  The Beatitudes are a picture of how God encounters the world.  It’s as if God is saying, “I am the LORD you God, this is how I encounter the world - and I invite you to follow.”
    It would take quite a while to work our way through these nine statements about how God encounters the world.  So let’s engage the first to understand the depths of these blessings. 
    “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their’s is the kingdom of heaven.”  The concept of “poor in spirit” comes from the Old Testament and points to the dispossessed and abandoned ones in Israel.  Matthew takes this further.  Jesus has come to engage the whole world, so we can understand the “poor in spirit” for Matthew to name the dispossessed and abandoned people of the world in general.  These folk named by Matthew are not just financially poor, they are also without hope.  They have lost any sense of hope in the world, having been pushed to the margins of life. 
    To hear these people named as blessed by Jesus was a shock to Matthew’s audience because this is not how the world worked.  The blessed in the community were the wealthy and well-off.  Those who had it made and lacked need for anything.  But here Jesus turns the world around.  “Blessed are the poor in spirit” - not the rich and famous.  If we were to image this statement today, perhaps we would hear Jesus would say; “Blessed are the single moms who work three jobs and still live below the poverty line.”  Blessed are the undocumented, migrant workers who pick the produce for our grocery store shelves.”  “Blessed are the bus boys and construction workers and hospital custodians who work long hours without access to healthcare or insurance.”  These are the poor in spirit in our midst, left hopeless by the world, and yet named as blessed by God.  Quite a shock.  But that’s how God encounters the world.  And if that’s how God encounters the world, then maybe we who follow Jesus ought to get with the program. 
    This is the way of life we are invited to follow.  It’s as if God is saying, “I am the LORD you God, this is how I encounter the world - and I invite you to follow.”  God blesses those we do not expect or even notice and God expects us to follow suit.  The whole of Jesus’ life can be seen engaging the world based on these blessings.  Jesus went to the cross not for those the world honored but for all people.  The whole world.  And we do not get to set the boundaries.  The very table we gather around is a reminder of the expansive grace of the kingdom of heaven.  All are welcome.  All are welcome.  The bread and cup are extended to all people and through the ordinary things of bread and wine and God’s extraordinary promise we receive a foretaste of the feast that is to come. 
    The Beatitudes are a glimpse of God’s radical vision for community.  They show us how God encounters the world.  They change the way we live and how we orient our lives.  It’s as if God is saying, “I am the LORD you God, this is how I encounter the world - and I invite you to follow.”  So let us follow.