Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach 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 be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:1-12)
One thing that I've come to appreciate is that even after more than 2000 years and even when you think you've read and studied and preached on a passage long enough to know what it's about, Scripture can still surprise you when you take the time to really work with it – and you don't even have to do an incarnational translation to make it surprisingly fresh! This is, after all, a living word that's always at work revealing fresh insights for modern people, not a dead word that merely records the events and reflections of the ancients. These are not mere words on a page – they are the word of God, revealed to us, and since we can't control God, it shouldn't come as any surprise that we can't control the Scriptures. No, they can surprise us. My surprise around the Beatitudes came a few years ago. I had preached on them several times, and one day as I read through them and reflected upon them, something struck me. If you look at pictures that have been painted of the Sermon on the Mount (that wonderful collection of teachings that begins with the Beatitudes) you usually see them portraying Jesus at the top of a hill, surrounded by multitudes who are straining to hear his every word. It's a word for the nations, in other words; a word for the world according to that interpretation. It's extended to all. And then one day I really listened to the passage, and I heard this: “Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him ...” Jesus withdrew from the crowds, and sat with his disciples, separate from everyone else. It was only those handful of people who had committed themselves to him that Jesus would share this teaching with. I don't believe that Jesus had anything to hide, but I do believe that he realized that the world would never be ready for this teaching – I don't believe the world is ready for the Beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mount as a whole even today. It takes a unique perspective on the world to really get this, and today even a lot of disciples of Jesus have missed the point.
We don't really understand the concept of “blessings” or “being blessed” or “blessedness” today, and the end result of that misunderstanding is that there are a lot of people who walk through life thinking that they’ve never been blessed; more than a few, perhaps, who feel as if they’ve been cursed; maybe a few of those in the churches we serve. And yet, what’s truly shocking when you read these first verses of the Sermon on the Mount is to see exactly who it is that Jesus declares blessed. They’re the poor in spirit, they’re those who mourn. About those seeming unfortunates Jesus says “Blessed are those …” And then there are the meek – but the world thinks of meekness as weakness. And there are the peacemakers, but in a world where war sometimes seems like the best option rather than the last resort, peacemakers are a bit wimpy. There are the merciful, but my general perception north of the border at least is that our society is getting progressively less merciful – meaner, less compassionate, perhaps less caring. About these, whom many would think of as undeserving, Jesus says “Blessed are those …” And there are the persecuted. Yes, the persecuted. Some blessing. That's just plain weird. And yet, once more, Jesus says of them, “Blessed are those ...” So why this unusual collection of people? To many in the world the Sermon on the Mount starts off with nonsense; it's gibberish. Many today would look at those in such conditions and think of them as anything but blessed, and when we face such things we don’t feel ourselves blessed. So what does Jesus mean?
Something unfortunate has happened in recent years: we’ve started to equate “blessedness” with “happiness.” In fact, one popular translation of the Bible (the Good News Bible) translates the Beatitudes not as “Blessed are those …” but as “Happy are those …” That’s a problem, because blessedness and happiness are not the same thing. Happiness is an emotion. It comes from within us. It’s what we feel when things are going well in our lives and many good things are happening. It’s something we generate for ourselves. It doesn’t even have to be big things. If happiness is all Jesus meant in the Sermon on the Mount then He might as well have said, “Happy are those who are eating ice cream.” We had ice cream at the McCormick residence last night. We were happy! “Happy are those who are eating ice cream” actually makes more sense than “Happy are those who mourn.” I’ve mourned. It’s not a happy time. I was anything but happy when I was in mourning. That’s the problem with thinking of blessedness as happiness. Happiness is just temporary, but blessedness is permanent; happiness depends on our circumstances, but blessedness transcends our circumstances; happiness is generated from within, but blessedness comes from God. Understand the difference. People being persecuted are not happy people. People at picnics are happy people.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus pronounces a state of blessedness upon the most unexpected people, and what does that tell us? It reminds us that blessedness is a little bit like grace – it comes from God, even to those who seem to be the least likely to receive it. It reminds us that blessedness is offered to us by God no matter what our circumstances are. Blessedness in fact comes to those who may be the most desperate, unfortunate, poverty-stricken (spiritually or otherwise) people in the world – because God offers blessedness most powerfully to those who need it the most. It isn’t happiness. You can be both sad and blessed at the same time, or you can be entirely happy but totally bereft of blessings. Happiness is human; blessedness is divine. Blessedness, in fact (at least if we take Jesus seriously in the Sermon on the Mount) seems to come most powerfully and most directly to those who might be the least happy.
A little over a month ago I found myself (quite to my own surprise) lying on a hospital bed in our local emergency room. That experience taught me something about blessedness. I found myself totally at peace in the most unlikely of circumstances. I didn't really know why I was there, except that it was a heart problem. That should have worried me, but it didn't. In that moment of my life, I experienced the presence of real, honest to goodness blessedness. I wasn't happy to be there, but I was at peace about being there. I learned the truth of these wonderful words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” In the most unlikely circumstances, I found myself truly experiencing blessedness.
When life doesn’t seem to be treating you fairly, when you’re down in the dumps, when your incarnational translations aren't going so well, or when you have trouble getting the hang of motorcycles or if social justice is getting a bit too hot to handle, when everything seems to be falling apart around you, and you feel as if you have no place to turn – it's not so. There’s one place you can turn without any hesitation – and that’s to Jesus. “ Blessed are you.” “Blessed are we.” Turn to Jesus, and let Him pronounce a blessing over you. Let Him give you peace rather than happiness. Happiness is only temporary, but God’s blessings will last for an eternity. Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when He said “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Something unfortunate has happened in recent years: we’ve started to equate “blessedness” with “happiness.” In fact, one popular translation of the Bible (the Good News Bible) translates the Beatitudes not as “Blessed are those …” but as “Happy are those …” That’s a problem, because blessedness and happiness are not the same thing. Happiness is an emotion. It comes from within us. It’s what we feel when things are going well in our lives and many good things are happening. It’s something we generate for ourselves. It doesn’t even have to be big things. If happiness is all Jesus meant in the Sermon on the Mount then He might as well have said, “Happy are those who are eating ice cream.” We had ice cream at the McCormick residence last night. We were happy! “Happy are those who are eating ice cream” actually makes more sense than “Happy are those who mourn.” I’ve mourned. It’s not a happy time. I was anything but happy when I was in mourning. That’s the problem with thinking of blessedness as happiness. Happiness is just temporary, but blessedness is permanent; happiness depends on our circumstances, but blessedness transcends our circumstances; happiness is generated from within, but blessedness comes from God. Understand the difference. People being persecuted are not happy people. People at picnics are happy people.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus pronounces a state of blessedness upon the most unexpected people, and what does that tell us? It reminds us that blessedness is a little bit like grace – it comes from God, even to those who seem to be the least likely to receive it. It reminds us that blessedness is offered to us by God no matter what our circumstances are. Blessedness in fact comes to those who may be the most desperate, unfortunate, poverty-stricken (spiritually or otherwise) people in the world – because God offers blessedness most powerfully to those who need it the most. It isn’t happiness. You can be both sad and blessed at the same time, or you can be entirely happy but totally bereft of blessings. Happiness is human; blessedness is divine. Blessedness, in fact (at least if we take Jesus seriously in the Sermon on the Mount) seems to come most powerfully and most directly to those who might be the least happy.
A little over a month ago I found myself (quite to my own surprise) lying on a hospital bed in our local emergency room. That experience taught me something about blessedness. I found myself totally at peace in the most unlikely of circumstances. I didn't really know why I was there, except that it was a heart problem. That should have worried me, but it didn't. In that moment of my life, I experienced the presence of real, honest to goodness blessedness. I wasn't happy to be there, but I was at peace about being there. I learned the truth of these wonderful words of Jesus: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” In the most unlikely circumstances, I found myself truly experiencing blessedness.
When life doesn’t seem to be treating you fairly, when you’re down in the dumps, when your incarnational translations aren't going so well, or when you have trouble getting the hang of motorcycles or if social justice is getting a bit too hot to handle, when everything seems to be falling apart around you, and you feel as if you have no place to turn – it's not so. There’s one place you can turn without any hesitation – and that’s to Jesus. “ Blessed are you.” “Blessed are we.” Turn to Jesus, and let Him pronounce a blessing over you. Let Him give you peace rather than happiness. Happiness is only temporary, but God’s blessings will last for an eternity. Maybe that’s what Jesus meant when He said “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
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