“Blessed”
Psalm 67; Matthew 5:1-12
Rev. Dr. Deborah L. Clark
February 19, 2016
Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the merciful, the peacemakers…. The Beatitudes are among the most beloved of Jesus’ teachings–beautiful, comforting. But what do they mean? Who wants to be poor in spirit? Since when it is a blessing to be trapped in the deep pain of grief? And what about meekness? Doesn’t our faith calls us to be bold?
These are a few of the questions that came up in the fall of 2015 when our Wednesday and Thursday Bible Study groups read these opening lines of the Sermon on the Mount in our study of Matthew’s gospel. We agreed the poetry was lovely, but once we looked carefully at the actual words we found ourselves perplexed.
This fall, as we continued our study of Matthew, we decided to go back to the beginning for a quick review. When we approached the Beatitudes this second time around, we heard them differently. We had read enough of Matthew to develop a framework for understanding how Matthew approached Jesus’ ministry. We still didn’t understand this passage completely, but there were “ah-hah” moments that helped us claim the power behind the beautiful poetry. What made the difference for us was a clarified understanding of what “the kingdom of heaven” means in Matthew’s gospel.
It’s tempting to assume Jesus is talking about heaven as we envision it today: a place, or perhaps a state of being, where we go after we die. With that understanding, the Beatitudes seem to be part of an elaborate, even convoluted system of rewards and punishments.
This is not what Jesus meant; it’s probably not even what he said. The author of Matthew’s gospel was following an ancient Jewish practice of honoring the mystery of God by not writing God’s name. Where the other gospel writers record Jesus proclaiming the coming of the kingdom of God, Matthew writes “kingdom of heaven,” substituting a word that, in his time, simply meant wherever God dwells.
Jesus began his ministry with this proclamation: “The kingdom of God has come near.” His words were a direct challenge to the empire of Rome, for in proclaiming the rule of God Jesus undercut the emperor’s claim to absolute power and divinity. Some people expected him to lead a violent overthrow of Rome, and were infuriated when he refused swords and spears. Others recognized in his healing and teachings a sign that God was at work transforming the world in a different way. Every time his disciples thought they understood what Jesus meant by this proclamation, he did or said something else to confuse them.
Over the millenia, Jesus’ proclamation has been interpreted in many ways: as a prediction of the end of the world, as a reference to heaven, as an antiquated statement to be ignored. When we read the gospels carefully, it is clear that this proclamation was at the heart of Jesus’ message, and that it was not a prediction for some future time. Jesus preached with urgency and joy about a new thing God was doing–God’s healing and transformative love breaking in right then and there, right here and now.
All four gospel authors wrote in Greek, and used the word basileia, which is commonly translated as kingdom. Basileia is actually a feminine noun in Greek, and means empire or dominion or ruler-ship. Early translators assumed the ruler was male, and their translation as kingdom stuck.
Last year during Lent, in our focus on the Lord’s Prayer, we explored possible translations for basileia. “Kingdom” perpetuates the idea that God is male; it also loses meaning in our world where most kings are either despots or purely ceremonial leaders. We talked about “kin-dom,” which highlights Jesus’ vision of a new community of healing and compassion, in which we recognize each other as kin. We also talked about theologian Brian McLaran’s suggestion of “the insurgency of God’s love”–which conveys the urgency of Jesus’ ministry and how threatening it was to the people in power. I like holding those two phrases together: “The kin-dom, the insurgency of God’s love–has come near.”
When the Bible Study groups came back to the Beatitudes this fall, we looked at them through the lens of this clarified understanding of “kingdom of heaven.” The blessings in the Beatitudes are not promises of a reward in heaven after we die; they proclaim the good news that we are already part of this kin-dom, this insurgency, breaking into our world. We also looked at the Beatitudes using an intriguing translation from biblical scholar N.T. Wright: instead of “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” he translates, “Wonderful news for the poor in spirit.”
Our Bible Study conversations changed the way I hear the Beatitudes and spurred my imagination about what they might mean for us in our world today. This morning I offer my own interpretation of the blessings Jesus proclaimed. I hope you will hear in them some wonderful news that speaks to your own life.
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You who are poor in spirit, you who know you don’t have it all figured out, you who know you need help, I have wonderful news for you. This kin-dom breaking in–it is for you. Here you don’t have to be tough; you don’t have to pretend to know all the answers. In this kin-dom we rely on each other; we figure it out together.
I have wonderful news for you who mourn, for this kin-dom is also for you. We can’t take away your pain; that’s part of being human. We can surround you with people who care–people who will enfold you in prayer shawls, people who will make you casseroles, people who will listen. Here you will find healing over time, and comfort in the meantime–for love is strong enough to heal the greatest loss.
You who are meek, who live in fear, I have great news for you as well. In this kin-dom you do not have to be afraid. We will surround you and do our best to protect you. We will wait patiently, and we will hear you into speech. We will help you claim your gifts and then we will challenge you to use them. You will inherit the earth–not to exploit but so you can use your gifts to be part of caring for the great web of life.
I have the most amazing news for those of you who hunger and thirst for righteousness. You are on the front lines of God’s insurgency of love. True, it is a daunting place to be, for there is so much to do, and not everything you try will lead to the results you want. I promise you, though, you will be fed, for there will be moments you will know your actions gave someone hope. You will never be alone; you will meet people from all walks of life who will stand on the front lines with you–marching, strategizing, writing, speaking. And there will be great potluck suppers with food from all over the world.
You who are merciful, you too are blessed to be part of this kin-dom. For when you are able to acknowledge someone else’s vulnerabilities, when you accept their imperfections and forgive their mistakes, you allow yourself to be human too. This kin-dom is all about human beings doing their best, making mistakes, and trying again.
I have wonderful news for those of you who try to be pure in heart. In this kin-dom, we don’t expect you to be perfectly pure; we know that every human being struggles with mixed feelings and mixed motives. In this kin-dom, we pay attention to our hearts–noticing when anger begins to harden into hate, when disappointment descends into cynicism–and we ask God to help us. We also pay attention to the hearts of our neighbors–listening to their stories, honoring their pain and hopes. As you cultivate practices to care for your tender hearts, you will encounter God–deep within yourself, through a heart-to-heart connection with a stranger.
And then there’s the wonderful news I have for you who try to be peacemakers. You are following God’s way; you are living God’s calling. I know it’s hard to keep trying in this violent world, but God is with you. You are living into the depths of who you are: children of God whose nature is peace.
Finally, I’ve got the most wonderful news for you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you. When that happens, it means you are doing something right. Any time you make a difference, change happens, and someone is going to be threatened. Any time you proclaim the power of God’s love, you call into question someone else’s power–and they might not like it. Be strong, for you are part of something that goes back to the prophets and forward into a future we cannot yet envision. When it seems hate is winning, hang in there, for in the end nothing is more powerful than God’s love.
I have wonderful news for all of you–the uncertain, the grieving, the frightened, the justice-seekers, the merciful, the tender-hearted, the peacemakers, the persecuted. You are part of this kin-dom insurgency breaking into our world, transforming it with love. Rejoice and be glad! Amen.