THE BEATITUDES

We come now to the Sermon on the Mount and its famous beginning in the Beatitudes. Remember Matthew was writing first to the Jews, so to make Jesus attractive to them, perhaps he compared Jesus to Moses. As Moses led Israel from Egypt, so Jesus fled to and returned from Egypt to escape Herod. As Moses went up Mt Sinai to receive the law, so Jesus went up a Mount to teach. Some have compared the Beatitudes to the Ten Commandments, but that's harder to sustain, because they are not commands, but character traits. The beatitudes are character traits for citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven. They are characteristics of Christians. They are the traits, or fruits that the Spirit is developing in our lives.

Check several translations and you will find beatitudes, congratulations, blessings, and some others. Blessing may be the closest, and it means God blesses those who have these traits and/or act in this fashion. Note the the reward matches the characteristic.

God blesses those who are poor in spirit, humble, or teachable. A man in one of my classes was a shift supervisor at a paper mill. I asked him what happened when he got a trainee who already thought he knew it all. “He doesn't last,” was his curt answer. Many consider pride as the worst sin, because it usurps the place of God. Humility is the position from which you can worship God and receive blessings from Him. Indeed the reward is the Kingdom of Heaven! (The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God are the same. Jews to this day are reluctant to pronounce the name God, and they often substitute the word Lord in its place.) The one who is humble is open to receive the King, and wherever He rules, there is the Kingdom!

The second recipients are those that mourn. This can refer to two groups of people. First, to the obvious group of those who are grieving personal loss. I wonder if Paul perhaps had this verse in mind when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be God and the Father of all mercies, who comforts us in every affliction, so that we in turn may comfort others who are afflicted. (Paul wrote before Matthew, but he may have had access to some of Jesus's sayings.) The Lord gives us gifts to share with others! We are comforted to comfort others. What else have you received you can share?

A second group of mourners may include the deeply repentant. The OT frequently refers to sackcloth and ashes. The comfort that comes to the repentant is forgiveness, freedom from guilt. We no longer have to live in the past, shackled to what we have done, but are free to live in the present and qualifie to serve.

Blessed are the meek. Who are the meek? One translation has “gentle,” another “kind.” I prefer “power under control” or “self-control.” The same Greek word, praus” is used elsewhere in Greek writings to refer to circus animals, such as lions and elephants that have been tamed. It's also referred to wild horses, broken to ride. Thus I prefer to think of the meek as the self-controlled, or better Spirit-controlled, broken to the yoke of the Carpenter of Nazareth.

Hunger and thirst after righteousness? I doubt many readers have ever been hungry. I've griped at having to hold my coffee for a fasting blood test, or until some relatively minor surgery. I've fasted a day or two. But hungry? Not like the people of Jesus's day when droughts and famines were common, and most of the people were poor. Hunger and thirst, the ones Jesus was speaking of, are severe.

And even then – do you realize this means a disciple intensely wants to be a GOOD person, you know, the one we call “goody two-shoes,” or maybe “teacher's pet.” Couple this with 6:33 and emphasize “seek ye FIRST the Kingdom...” Most of us really need to re-arrange our priorities here.

Ever since I read an article a few years ago by a South American Bible translator, I pause everytime I find the English word righteousness. You see, this guy pointed out that Spanish translations read both the Hebrew and Greek words as “justice” way more than English. So I wonder which Jesus had in mind here. Are we to hunger after behaving ourselves or after justice for others? In our political turmoil today, we often see conflict over where lies justice. Pope Frances unhesitatingly sides with the poor and the victims of injustice. So perhaps the term cuts both ways. What do you think? The promise is you will get what you seek...

The merciful. I already mentioned the opening of 2 Corinthians. And coming after my last paragraph, I should think one seeking justice should indeed be merciful. Mercy is related to love and grace. It includes compassion, but more than mere feeling. The two guys passing the man in the ditch may have felt pity for him, but they passed by. The Samaritan stopped and did something, and so defined mercy.

The reward is mercy for himself, presumably from God. Also if we act mercifully, we create an environment of mercy, which will expand and endure, so that one day we too may benefit therefrom.

Pure in heart – a Danish theologian wrote a book whose title defines this beatitude: Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing. The Greek word behind “pure” is the root of our word “catharsis,” most frequently used to mean the emptying of emotion by “spilling one's guts after a horrible experience or situation.” The purity of heart Jesus means here is the heart that is empty of anything that would crowd out these virtues mentioned here. As with thirst for righteousness, this one's heart seeks the Kingdom with full passion. Such seeking leads to a vision of God. A wise man once pointed out that only to the pure of heart would seeing God be a reward!

Peacemakers: Jimmy Carter, a former president much praised as the most successful ex-president and much excoriated as one of the worst presidents takes pride himself in that the US fought NO wars during his four years. And in addition his non-profit foundation, in addition to his well known Habitat projects, has put considerable emphasis on quelling disturbances/wars around the world. Most of us can't operate at that level, but how often could we quiet lesser disputes around us. And by-the-way, “peace” in Hebrew is “shalom” and means much more than absence of strife. Peace is health and well-being, even spiritual health. Thus a soul-winner is a form of peacemaker! Their reward is to be called children of God, reflecting His image, for our Savior is the Prince of Peace!

Persecuted because of righteousness (justice?): Lots of folks feel persecuted. Lots of folks ARE persecuted. But the key here is for righteousness or justice's sake. I've heard many speak of “their cross to bear,” but they speak only of a common life's burden. A true cross is one you would not carry were you not following Christ. And, btw, you who read this are not at all likely to be persecuted. There are in fact more Christians persecuted today than ever before in history. These are in totalitarian countries, Islamic, totalitarian, communist, and the like. We are NOT being persecuted in America, despite local squabbles over what's appropriate in schools. And again, read the law. Student-initiated worship, prayer, Bible study,etc is usually ok. The point is that the government (school system) should not appear to favor one religion over another. For example, I was upset forty years ago when I heard Catholic nuns were teaching in South Louisiana public schools while wearing full black and white regalia. More to the point, do you change your behavior in the presence of non-Christians to get their acceptance. Does your language change? Your stories? What you drink? And the amount?

Pausing here so you can get something. May or may not have time to add about salt and light today or tomorrow.

THE BEATITUDES

We come now to the Sermon on the Mount and its famous beginning in the Beatitudes. Remember Matthew was writing first to the Jews, so to make Jesus attractive to them, perhaps he compared Jesus to Moses. As Moses led Israel from Egypt, so Jesus fled to and returned from Egypt to escape Herod. As Moses went up Mt Sinai to receive the law, so Jesus went up a Mount to teach. Some have compared the Beatitudes to the Ten Commandments, but that's harder to sustain, because they are not commands, but character traits. The beatitudes are character traits for citizens in the Kingdom of Heaven. They are characteristics of Christians. They are the traits, or fruits that the Spirit is developing in our lives.

Check several translations and you will find beatitudes, congratulations, blessings, and some others. Blessing may be the closest, and it means God blesses those who have these traits and/or act in this fashion. Note the the reward matches the characteristic.

God blesses those who are poor in spirit, humble, or teachable. A man in one of my classes was a shift supervisor at a paper mill. I asked him what happened when he got a trainee who already thought he knew it all. “He doesn't last,” was his curt answer. Many consider pride as the worst sin, because it usurps the place of God. Humility is the position from which you can worship God and receive blessings from Him. Indeed the reward is the Kingdom of Heaven! (The Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God are the same. Jews to this day are reluctant to pronounce the name God, and they often substitute the word Lord in its place.) The one who is humble is open to receive the King, and wherever He rules, there is the Kingdom!

The second recipients are those that mourn. This can refer to two groups of people. First, to the obvious group of those who are grieving personal loss. I wonder if Paul perhaps had this verse in mind when he wrote in 2 Corinthians 1:3 Blessed be God and the Father of all mercies, who comforts us in every affliction, so that we in turn may comfort others who are afflicted. (Paul wrote before Matthew, but he may have had access to some of Jesus's sayings.) The Lord gives us gifts to share with others! We are comforted to comfort others. What else have you received you can share?

A second group of mourners may include the deeply repentant. The OT frequently refers to sackcloth and ashes. The comfort that comes to the repentant is forgiveness, freedom from guilt. We no longer have to live in the past, shackled to what we have done, but are free to live in the present and qualifie to serve.

Blessed are the meek. Who are the meek? One translation has “gentle,” another “kind.” I prefer “power under control” or “self-control.” The same Greek word, praus” is used elsewhere in Greek writings to refer to circus animals, such as lions and elephants that have been tamed. It's also referred to wild horses, broken to ride. Thus I prefer to think of the meek as the self-controlled, or better Spirit-controlled, broken to the yoke of the Carpenter of Nazareth.

Hunger and thirst after righteousness? I doubt many readers have ever been hungry. I've griped at having to hold my coffee for a fasting blood test, or until some relatively minor surgery. I've fasted a day or two. But hungry? Not like the people of Jesus's day when droughts and famines were common, and most of the people were poor. Hunger and thirst, the ones Jesus was speaking of, are severe.

And even then – do you realize this means a disciple intensely wants to be a GOOD person, you know, the one we call “goody two-shoes,” or maybe “teacher's pet.” Couple this with 6:33 and emphasize “seek ye FIRST the Kingdom...” Most of us really need to re-arrange our priorities here.

Ever since I read an article a few years ago by a South American Bible translator, I pause everytime I find the English word righteousness. You see, this guy pointed out that Spanish translations read both the Hebrew and Greek words as “justice” way more than English. So I wonder which Jesus had in mind here. Are we to hunger after behaving ourselves or after justice for others? In our political turmoil today, we often see conflict over where lies justice. Pope Frances unhesitatingly sides with the poor and the victims of injustice. So perhaps the term cuts both ways. What do you think? The promise is you will get what you seek...

The merciful. I already mentioned the opening of 2 Corinthians. And coming after my last paragraph, I should think one seeking justice should indeed be merciful. Mercy is related to love and grace. It includes compassion, but more than mere feeling. The two guys passing the man in the ditch may have felt pity for him, but they passed by. The Samaritan stopped and did something, and so defined mercy.

The reward is mercy for himself, presumably from God. Also if we act mercifully, we create an environment of mercy, which will expand and endure, so that one day we too may benefit therefrom.

Pure in heart – a Danish theologian wrote a book whose title defines this beatitude: Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing. The Greek word behind “pure” is the root of our word “catharsis,” most frequently used to mean the emptying of emotion by “spilling one's guts after a horrible experience or situation.” The purity of heart Jesus means here is the heart that is empty of anything that would crowd out these virtues mentioned here. As with thirst for righteousness, this one's heart seeks the Kingdom with full passion. Such seeking leads to a vision of God. A wise man once pointed out that only to the pure of heart would seeing God be a reward!

Peacemakers: Jimmy Carter, a former president much praised as the most successful ex-president and much excoriated as one of the worst presidents takes pride himself in that the US fought NO wars during his four years. And in addition his non-profit foundation, in addition to his well known Habitat projects, has put considerable emphasis on quelling disturbances/wars around the world. Most of us can't operate at that level, but how often could we quiet lesser disputes around us. And by-the-way, “peace” in Hebrew is “shalom” and means much more than absence of strife. Peace is health and well-being, even spiritual health. Thus a soul-winner is a form of peacemaker! Their reward is to be called children of God, reflecting His image, for our Savior is the Prince of Peace!

Persecuted because of righteousness (justice?): Lots of folks feel persecuted. Lots of folks ARE persecuted. But the key here is for righteousness or justice's sake. I've heard many speak of “their cross to bear,” but they speak only of a common life's burden. A true cross is one you would not carry were you not following Christ. And, btw, you who read this are not at all likely to be persecuted. There are in fact more Christians persecuted today than ever before in history. These are in totalitarian countries, Islamic, totalitarian, communist, and the like. We are NOT being persecuted in America, despite local squabbles over what's appropriate in schools. And again, read the law. Student-initiated worship, prayer, Bible study,etc is usually ok. The point is that the government (school system) should not appear to favor one religion over another. For example, I was upset forty years ago when I heard Catholic nuns were teaching in South Louisiana public schools while wearing full black and white regalia. More to the point, do you change your behavior in the presence of non-Christians to get their acceptance. Does your language change? Your stories? What you drink? And the amount?

Pausing here so you can get something. May or may not have time to add about salt and light today or tomorrow.