Rev. Debbie Cato
Matthew
5:1-12
Fairfield Community Church
January 29,2023,
Januruay 29, 2023
Worship at PCAL 5th Sunday
Gracious
God, as we turn to your Word for us, may the Spirit of God rest upon us. Help
us to be unwavering in our hearing, in our speaking, in our believing, and in
our living. Amen.
Jesus Teaches the Crowds
So far in Matthew, Jesus
has prepared for his ministry. He has been baptized. We skipped over other things in his
preparation. Jesus has been tempted by
Satan. He has called his first four disciples. He has taught in the synagogues,
proclaimed the good news, and cured diseases and sickness. Jesus is ready
for business.
Now, he turns to
teaching his disciples, the first time they are called such in the Gospel,
presumably only the four that have so far been called—Andrew, Simon Peter,
James, and John. The crowds serve as a sort of backdrop to this sermon. He has already done some
teaching and word has spread – there is something special about Jesus. People are drawn to follow Jesus and listen to
what he has to say. He is much more than just a great teacher.
In Matthew, the Sermon on the
Mount includes chapters five, six, and seven.
Three chapters of a collection of of Jesus’ main teachings, and they include
the Beatitudes which we read this morning.
These ‘blessings,’ the ‘wonderful
news’ that he’s announcing , are not saying ‘try hard to live like this.’ They are saying that people that are already
like this are in good
shape. They should be happy and celebrate.[1]
Jesus is not suggesting that
these are simply timeless truths about the way the world is nor is it about
human behavior. We know that mourners
often go uncomforted, the meek do not inherit the earth, those who long for
justice frequently take that longing to their grave. Jesus is proposing an upside-down world and
he is saying that with his work, it is starting to come true. It will come true. This is an
announcement. It is something that is
and will continue to happen as we live out the gospel; the good news that Jesus
teaches.[2]
Jesus called his first disciples
by saying, “Follow me,” because through him, God was doing a new thing and this
list of beatitudes is part of the invitation, part of his summons, part of his
way of saying that God is at work in a fresh way and that this is what it looks
like.[3] We live in a world where everything about it teaches
us that our goals in life should be success, wealth, long life, and victory in
battle. But Jesus turns it all
upside-down. He offers wonderful news
for the humble, the poor, the mourners, and the peacemakers.
“Blessed are the poor in
spirit, for they know they need God.” I think the poor in spirit as those who
lack, who are materially bereft and therefore worn down by the plight of
poverty. They are those whom society has left behind, who break their backs to
make ends meet, whose struggle for basic survival crushes their spirits. They
know they need God. They can’t do it
on their own. Jesus says theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven,
for there will be no poor in spirit there. God will set things right.[4]
“Blessed are those who
mourn.” Grief comes for all of us. No
matter who we are, we will grieve. We will regret. We all suffer great loss. But mortality rates were especially high in
the ancient world. Parents simply could not expect their children to survive
infancy, let alone make it to adulthood. War, food and housing insecurity, and
infectious diseases could cut a life short. Jesus’ audience was living under Roman
occupation, and they had lost their land. And the audience of the Gospel, encountered
this story after Rome’s destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 CE, were deeply
grieved the violation of their land and sacred space. The Promised Land was
occupied by foreign powers. Yet, to those who mourn, Jesus proclaims a coming
comfort.[5]
“Blessed are the meek.”
This is a reference to Psalm 37:
Don’t
worry about the wicked
or envy those who do wrong.
2 For like grass, they soon fade away.
Like spring flowers, they soon wither.
3 Trust in the Lord and do good.
Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.
4 Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires.
And verses 10 and 11:
Soon the wicked will disappear.
Though you look for them, they will be gone.
11 The lowly will possess the land
and will live in peace and
prosperity.
“Meek” refers to those
who are abused by the wicked who seem only to prosper. God reassures the meek
that they will inherit the land or the earth. Jesus tells the disciples and the
crowd that those who are abused by the wicked will inherit the land or the earth—a
land currently claimed and exploited by Rome for the benefit of a few. God’s
rule will reverse this.
“Blessed are those who
hunger and thirst for righteousness.” Righteousness
in the Hebrew Bible refers to a total societal restructuring that includes the
equitable distribution of resources. Those who hunger and thirst for
righteousness, then, are those that Rome’s unjust distribution keeps at the
margins of subsistence. In a reimagined society, everyone will have enough. Everyone.
And Jesus says that in God’s kingdom, these folks will be filled.[6]
“Blessed are the
merciful.” Jesus says that those who practice mercy, those who give of their
resources and care for the outcast, will receive mercy. In God’s Kingdom all
will be welcome, and all will have plenty.
“Blessed are the pure in
heart.” The pure in heart are those who follow the will of God in their
thinking and in their doing. Jesus will talk a lot about a person’s
heart throughout his ministry. He will
teach that it is the heart that matters.
For those that totally commit to God they will encounter God.
“Blessed are the
peacemakers.” Rome claimed to be the bearers of peace, but Rome’s peace only came
through domination. In Matthew, peace is not the absence of conflict; Jesus is
well aware that his message will cause division. However, Jesus never coerced
or forced anyone into becoming a disciple. Rome forced people under their rule
through threat and violence; but entry into God’s kingdom is voluntary.
Peacemakers proclaim not the empire’s will but God’s merciful reign, living
toward this wholeness and well-being and against any power that hinders or
resists it.[7]
Finally, Jesus says
“blessed are those who are persecuted for justice’s sake … when people revile
you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my
account.” The life of a disciple of Jesus runs counter to the values of the
world. Perhaps we don’t experience persecution in our modern American context
in the way that early Jesus followers did—no one is looking to kill us simply
because we confess Christ. But do not be deceived. When we live a life for
justice for the oppressed and marginalized, when we extend mercy to the
outcast, when we live the values outlined in the beatitudes, there will be resistance.
Jesus’ teachings tell us that we must persevere if we are to be blessed.
If you listened closely,
you heard how these still apply today. They
remain relevant for us today, in our time and our place in the world more than
2,000 years later. There are still
people worn down by the plight of poverty.
There are still those who mourn that need comforting. There are still those who are abused and
exploited by the more powerful. There
remain those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for an equal distribution
of resources. There remains those who
show mercy and care for others, the pure in heart, the peacemakers. There remains persecution for those who speak
against the mainstream values and try to live this upside-down way of living that
Jesus’ teaches.
I think the question is how
do we choose to be? Will we choose to
try to live as Jesus teaches? Or will we
choose to live as the world wants us to live?
Will we try to live counter to our culture and live an upside-down way
of being or will we go with the flow and be like everyone else. I think that’s a good thing to decide. A good thing to reflect on. How will you
choose to live in this new year? Amen.
[1] Matthew For Everyone.
Part I. N.T. Wright. Westminster John Knox Press. 2002/2004.
P. 36.
[2]
Matthew For Everyone. Part I.
N.T. Wright. Westminster John
Knox Press. 2002/2004. P. 36.
[3] Ibid.
[4]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-9
[5]
[5] https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-9
[6]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-9
[7]
https://www.workingpreacher.org/commentaries/revised-common-lectionary/fourth-sunday-after-epiphany/commentary-on-matthew-51-12-9
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