The Beatitudes A sermon preached at Skipwith UMC On February 2, 2014 William A James Matthew 5:1-12

Transcription

1 The Beatitudes A sermon preached at Skipwith UMC On February 2, 2014 William A James Matthew 5:1-12 This is our third message in a series on Jesus call and how that call informs our lives and the life of our church. Today we will look at the Beatitudes, a portion of the Sermon on the Mount. This great teaching of Jesus has been used as a basis for teaching ever since. How often, in our prayers, we say things like: bless me God for I have sinned ; or bless me God and help me to be a blessing ; O God, bless me and help me endure this present darkness. In the beatitudes, Jesus teaches us how to receive God s blessings and live according to the Covenant with God by living the way required to receive God s blessings. The measure of a person set down by Jesus is far and away contrary to what we perceive in our modern culture. Some years ago the Raleigh, North Carolina News & Observer published an article entitled: How Do You Measure Up As A Man? The article stated that some extensive research had been conducted on the 20th century standards for measuring a man. The criteria were quite interesting and I thought that I might list them for the men here this morning just to see how they measure up. 1. His ability to make and conserve money (That lets me out already). 2. The cost, style and age of his car. 3. (This is my favorite) How much hair he has. 4. His strength and size. 5. The job he holds and how successful he is at it. 6. What sports he likes 7. How many clubs he belongs to. 8. His aggressiveness and reliability.

2 That day on the mountain Jesus looked out at the sea of people and realized that, as different as they were, they were all there after the same thing: They wanted to be happy! It s a universal thing, even today. Call it what we want, no matter how we color our request, we want to be happy. Think about it have you ever heard anyone say: I don t want everything in life, I just want to be unhappy.? And there is none among us who doesn t want happiness for our children. The problem is that when we think of happiness we are thinking of outer circumstances. All those things that bring contentment and security don t misunderstand me, please. Most of us are a lot happier when we have a warm home, clothes to wear and a job that pays a salary. Maybe we don t grasp the true nature of happiness because so many of us have never experienced it. For some it (happiness) always seems to be what happens to the other guy. There is a character on the series, Downton Abbey who was once a butler, but the man for whom he cared died. He just can t bring himself to lower his standards to take a lesser position and always feels as if life is just kicking him when he is down. 21 st Century beatitudes read like this: 1. Blessed is the man who makes a fortune 2. Blessed is he who earns 6 figures 3. Happy is the man who has a palace in the city and a summer home in the mountains 4. Blessed is he who has won the applause of his peers 5. Blessed is the woman who is recognized as a darling of society On this occasion Jesus was sharing with his listeners that a concept of happiness as in the previous list is a foundation built on sand. Happiness is not about what we have, but who we are!

3 Here is a good place to emphasize that Christ was not giving the beatitudes to the people that day. He was teaching his disciples! This sermon on the mount has been called the Ordination of the Disciples. Why didn t he just give them to the people and let them form their own conclusions? [Until we have come to Christ and accepted Him as Lord and Savior, we cannot accept his teaching]. In, perhaps, any Christian Seminary, you ll find instructors who can tell you anything you want to know about Jesus, but would be hard pressed to show evidence of a personal relationship with Jesus. On the same token, there are those who read their Bible faithfully, listen to every TV preacher and read books about the Christian life and expect doing so to change them. This is akin to putting the cart before the horse. It s CHRIST who changes us! As we are changing, we can more easily adhere to his teachings. Thus, the sermon on the mount is the pattern for living for those who have received Jesus Christ as Savior. Jesus began by saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. What does Jesus mean by poor in spirit? Luke states Jesus words slightly different: Blessed are you poor. That s a problem, isn t it? The wealthy say, Jesus is not talking about money, he s talking about spiritual poverty. Those who are poor say that he was talking about financial poverty. The rich say, Thank God for Matthew; and the poor say, Thank God for Luke. But both say, He blessed me. So who is right? I would go with neither one. It s this attitude of self-praise and selfjustification that takes away a person s need for the Kingdom of God. If one person says, I don t need to be poor in spirit, for I am poor in things. Another says, I don t need to be poor in things because I am poor in spirit. Here s the problem: Both are saying, I don t need. And we can never receive Jesus as Savior unless we NEED a Savior.

4 Now, it s true that it is easier for a poor person to recognize his needs that for a rich person. But it s neither wealth nor poverty that keeps a person out of the Kingdom of God. It is pride. Pride is the root of all sin! Jesus is saying that before we do anything else, we must deal with our pride. Blessed are the poor in spirit means that we must decrease so that God can increase. Or, as I like to remember it: More of Thee less of me. In Copenhagen there is a statue of Christ. After the bronze had been cast, something happened. Because of either temperature or poor casting, the head of the statue bent forward. The church decided to leave it that way. Their thinking: if someone wants to look into the face of Christ, he must be on his knees. That is what being poor in spirit is all about. Jesus then said: Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Again, the world thinks this ridiculous. Most people like to avoid people who are mourning. We try to get people out of their state of mourning by cheering them up. Yet, here is Jesus saying, Blessed are those who mourn. Perhaps that is from where the stereotype of religious people being droopy-eyed and sad-faced came. We have to tread carefully here. A person who mourns is not necessarily one who weeps, but one who shows concern is sensitive in spirit. In order to be in the Kingdom of God, one must be genuinely grieved about the way things are. I m not talking about those who listen (day after day) to the Rush Limbau s and other talking heads) to find out what they are supposed to be angry about. To be constantly stirred up because the world is in a mess is not an expression of grief, but a resignation that nothing will get better. Our culture wants victory without suffering. We want cheap grace. We want the promised land but would rather skip the wilderness. We want the Resurrection, but

5 would like to avoid Calvary. Yeah, sure, we want God s blessing, but do not want all that purging and purifying stuff that Christians talk about. Jesus is not calling us to turn the world into a place of darkness and gloom. Quite the contrary (remember, as John tells us in his Gospel and his letters, He is the light come into a dark world.) He is telling us that if we avoid suffering and grief we will never be truly sensitive. At this point in my life I have lost both parents, both parents-in-law, all my aunts and uncles and some cousins, not to mention several good friends and many beloved dogs. If I had never suffered grief, I would scarcely be able to minister to those who are suffering sorrow. Blessed are those who mourn, for they can become more sensitive, more open to God s love and more caring people. We mourn for so many and for so much. Blessed are those who mourn for children of broken homes. Blessed are those who mourn for the homeless. Blessed are those who mourn our ignorance, despite our institutions of higher learning. Blessed are those who mourn for those whose hearts are hardened to sin. Blessed are those who mourn for the churches that have not dealt with the very issues that are causing their demise. If you mourn, there is hope for you. It shows that you care about something bigger and beyond yourself. In the end it s not the mourners who are to be pitied, but those who do not mourn. Those who look at the suffering of humanity and are not moved to weep, need Christ more than anyone. Only then will they understand: Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Amen