We Are The Blessing
Matthew 5:1-12
The sermon on the mount is the well known section of Gospels in the New Testament like Matthew full of multiple chapters of Jesus’ teachings distilled into wisdom sayings or parables. In the Gospel of Matthew the sermon on the mount is Jesus’ first teachings we get to read for ourselves, and it starts with a recognizeable section called the Beatitudes.
“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 the sake of righteousness, 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.” (Matthew 5:1-11 NRSVUE)
They are popular sayings. Even the Department of Homeland Security used one of them in a sick perverse way on their social media, equating peacemaking with the military appetite of our country.
And we can read them and move on, or we can sit with them a bit. When I sit with them, I struggle with them. They are bold statements that Jesus is making that, on their face, do not make sense. Blessed are the poor in spirit? Blessed are those who mourn? Blessed are the meek? I don’t feel blessed when I am mourning! I don’t feel blessed when I am poor in spirit! (What does that even mean anyway?!)
And I wonder if that is how people who listened to Jesus teaching this (just his disciples in the Book of Matthew) felt, too. Jesus is doing what he does in a lot of places, reveling in reversals. “Blessed are the poor in Spirit.” “Love your enemies.” “Pray for those who persecute you.” It’s an effective rhetorical device because it surprises us into listening.
But what do we do with this teaching that blessed are the poor in spirit? What makes them blessed? I think Jesus was implying something here that he also hinted at in his teaching that followed directly after the beatitudes when he then told his disciples, “You are the salt of the earth,” and “You are the light of the world.”
Want to know why the poor in spirit are blessed? They are blessed because we are called to be a blessing. The poor in spirit are blessed because we are the light of the world, Jesus is saying.
Jesus’ teachings start with the beatitudes because the beatitudes set the tone for the work Jesus is calling us to do. When we follow Jesus, we bring the beatitudes to life! Thanks be to God.
