Invitation
Have you ever had the experience where there’s an event happening, say a party or something, and you really wanted to go, but didn’t get invited, or weren’t allowed for some reason. Or perhaps you’ve been for an interview, for a job or college, and missed out. Maybe you’ve entered a competition of some kind, and lost out…
It’s not fun, is it? I once received an invitation to something, I forget what, but it said on it: “You’re more than welcome – you’re invited!”. I felt warm and fuzzy.
In the opening words of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, we find the Beatitudes. These words are a series of blessings pronounced by Jesus. This is his invitation to the crowds of followers and potential followers to listen. It’s his introduction. That’s very important in a message. The introduction should draw people in, make them listen, feel that this is for them…
Poor in spirit
So, according to Jesus, who is blessed? Let’s remind ourselves. There’s “the poor in spirit” (Matthew 5:3). This is a hard phrase to understand. I guess it might mean those who don’t have much invested in the bank of God. Those who haven’t lived lives particularly pleasing to God. They might be reckoned to have little standing before God. The spiritually unclean, those considered distant from God. It may mean those who are simply honest before God, who humbly admit their shortcomings.
One of the things to bear in mind here is that Jesus was saying these words to Jews in the first century. And at that time, there were different groups among the Jews. They all believed in God’s kingdom, that God was going to bring a new order, put things right, and so on. But how this would happen was up for debate. Some, like the nationalist zealots, thought that they had to fight the Romans to make God king. The Pharisees, who were obsessive about God’s law, believed that God’s kingdom would come when the Jews perfectly observed the law. And so, for them, these people who were poor in spirit, who weren’t up to scratch, they were messing things up, stopping God’s kingdom from coming… So they thought.
But Jesus says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven…” (Matthew 5:3). Far from stopping it, it’s theirs.
Those who mourn
And then there’s “those who mourn” (Matthew 5:4). They’re blessed too, says Jesus. Why? Because “they will be comforted”. This isn’t a new idea. Isaiah 61:2 says that God’s anointed will comfort those who mourn. And that’s Jesus, he’s God’s anointed. He comforts those who mourn. The interesting thing about this word ‘comfort’ is that it really means to call forward, to beckon, to invite someone close. It’s like God calls those who mourn to come forward, come close, so he can hold them… So those who mourn are blessed, because God calls them to himself, to hold them tight…
The meek
Who else is blessed? The “meek, for they will inherit the earth” (Matthew 5:5). It’s in the film, The Life of Brianwhere they say, “I’m glad they’re getting something, they have a hell of a time.” That’s the thing about the meek. They never put themselves forward, they don’t grab for things. And sadly, in this world, that often means they miss out. They’re humble, unassuming. And here, says Jesus, they will inherit the earth.
‘Earth’ could also be translated, ‘the land’. It could be a reference to the promised land. In the Old Testament, God’s promises and blessings largely centred around the promised land. This was seen as the barometer of blessedness: when the people were in the promised land, or on the way there, things were good, they were enjoying God’s blessing – his favour. When they were out of the promised land, things were not good.
The meek, in the end, will be the ones in the promised land. Again, this isn’t entirely new. Jesus is quoting here from Psalm 37:11. Psalm 37:10-11 say this:
“A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.”
So, the wicked will be turfed out of the land, and the meek will inherit it. They’ll be blessed.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness
Who else is blessed? Those “who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:6). This might mean those who are just desperate to be righteous, to be seen as good enough by God. But I think that’s unlikely. I think more likely it might mean those who are passionate for justice, like those who campaign on behalf of others. Or it could mean those who are denied justice, and are desperate for fair treatment. Well, these people, whichever group it is – maybe all of them – are blessed, because they will get righteousness. They’ll get justice. They’ll get satisfaction. That’s what it means to be filled. Satisfied means filled.
The merciful
Who else is blessed? The “merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). This one makes sense, right? What goes around comes around. Or does it? How many people in the world show mercy? How many forgive? Look at Jesus’ parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:23-35). The first servant is forgiven by the king. He then refuses to forgive the second servant. And that’s sadly the way things often go. Mercy is a scarce commodity. Forgiveness is the real F-word that we don’t use. Look at the money that claims management firms make, with their adverts like “Have you had an accident at work? We can get you compensation…” It’s a sign of the times. Maybe of all times. Don’t get mad, get even. Revenge is a dish best served cold. An eye for an eye… It seems that showing mercy today is a sign of weakness, to be exploited, which it will be.
But the merciful will be shown mercy. That’s God’s way. And they are blessed.
The pure in heart
Who else is blessed? The “pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8). Who’s pure in heart? Anyone? Maybe Jesus has children in mind here. The innocent. Again, this phrase echoes the Old Testament, Psalm 24:3-6,
“Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Those who have clean hands and a pure heart, who do not put their trust in an idol or swear by a false god. They will receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God their Saviour. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.”
As Jesus says, the pure in heart will see God. They get to stand in his holy place, to ascend the mountain of the Lord. The innocent. The children, perhaps. And those who don’t know or understand sin. God welcomes them into his presence… They’re blessed. In my previous life, I worked in a school for children with quite profound and complex additional needs, and I worked with some of the happiest kids you could meet. And one of them invited me to his first communion – well, his mother invited me, and some of the other staff. The Catholic priest officiating spoke about the boy’s ‘sacred innocence…’ He was pure in heart. He was blessed.
Peacemakers
Who else? The “peacemakers”, they’re blessed, because “they will be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). This may actually be heavy irony. The title “Son of God” was associated in the first century with the Roman Emperor Augustus, who died in 14 AD, and later with Emperor Domitian, who ruled at the likely time that Matthew’s gospel was written. Now, Rome was seen as the enemy of Israel, and many Jews wanted to take up arms against Rome. Indeed, these so-called “Sons of God,” the Roman Emperors, were anything but peacemakers. But here, Jesus links peace-making with the true children of God. You don’t get to be called children of God by violence and aggression. You earn that title by actively working for peace. Those who take up peace instead of war and violence and anger, and who promote peace, they’re blessed. The real children of God are not like Rome, or like the nationalists who want to take up arms against Rome.
Peace-making can be difficult, dangerous, even. Standing between (figuratively or literally) opposing parties risks injury. Peace-making is not the same as peace-loving (that’s most of us, isn’t it?), or peace-keeping (that can lead to unjust compromise – remember the Policy of Appeasement in the 1930s?). Peace-making is pro-active, it is an intentional effort to create peace, not just preserve peace already there, or hope that it might happen.
The real children of God are those who make peace. They’re blessed.
Persecuted
The final couple of blessings are for those who are persecuted (Matthew 5:10-12). And this, for me, is probably the point at which we really start to wonder about it all. How are the persecuted blessed? Who ever said, when they were being persecuted, ‘I’m so blessed…’? And what is the purpose of these beatitudes, anyway? Why does Jesus say all this?
For a while, I thought these were character traits to be emulated. I thought we’re meant to try to be these things. Then we’ll be blessed, we’ll be favoured by God. But that’s not quite it. Because that would just be another set of things to try and do to earn God’s favour. There’s nothing wrong with making peace – in fact, it’s a good thing to do. But that’s not what this is about. We don’t earn the blessing. Jesus is talking here about certain people and saying they are blessed. He doesn’t say they will be blessed, he says they already are. So they’re not earning the blessing, they’re blessed simply by their position. Even though it doesn’t look like it. The mourning, the broken, those of little account in society. They’re blessed. God has his eye on them.
The thing is, the beatitudes isn’t a set of entry requirements for God’s kingdom. It’s a guest list. All these people, like everyone else – but especially these people, says Jesus – are blessed. These people don’t look blessed. They don’t look like the In Crowd, but as far as God’s concerned, they are. These people have a part in God’s kingdom. They’re more than welcome. They’re invited.
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