Matthew 5:1-11

The Beatitudes

The Beatitudes are a beautiful, poetic passage of scripture that present a clear and radical view of how we should live as Christians. The contrasts in the poetry are real contradictions in values between our sinful nature and God's nature, and Jesus is clear on which values we should choose.

Don't let the beauty and familiarity of this passage disguise the terrifying demands of this scripture. We can't pick and choose among which of these to follow; we can't choose varying degrees of these qualities; and we have to abandon the easy, worldly measures of success and reasonable behavior to live in the way Christ commands us.

Each of these nine couplets discusses a facet of a God-filled life that contradicts the sinful view of how life works. The centuries and language translations may mislead us to see some of these as mere words of comfort from the Gentle Shepherd, but that was not Jesus' primary intent.

Poor in Spirit: Only those who have emptied themselves of their own pride and sense of self can be filled with the Holy Spirit. Poverty in worldly possessions is not a virtue, but poverty of ego is.

Mourn: In this context, Jesus identifies those who choose to mourn, just as Jesus mourned for Jerusalem in Luke 13:34; those who see the evil and brokenness in the world that God sees are those prepared to bring God's healing to the world. Mourning because of what happens to us is not a virtue, but mourning the sin in the world is.

Meek:The first beatitude held the ideas of contrition and humility, the second sorrow and patience. There is a natural progression to the idea of meekness in the third beatitude. These states of mind indicate weakness to the worldly; who see strength as dominance over others. But there is nothing weak about the meek or gentle. The idea of meekness is very close to that of self-control. We associate self-control with "being strong" --that is, strong in character. Among the "fruits of the Spirit" (Gal 5:22-23) Paul puts "meekness" and "self-control" right next to each other, and not without reason. The meek and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God 1Pe 3:4 is the spirit held in check by the strength which God provides "through his Spirit in the inner man"(Eph 3:16).

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness: It isn't enough just to desire God's presence in the world; we must have a primal urge that puts God's Way above all our other desires. Don't be deceived that we are to long only for earthly justice and good, for God's Righteousness and Justice will not be complete where there is sin, and the facade of human justice is a decrepit imitation of God's Goodness. Being hungry is not a virtue, but longing with all our being for God is.

Merciful: What we do when we are "right" is a critical measure of how much we allow God to live in us. When we pass judgment, when we use our moral ground to berate others, when we relish in our goodness, we reject God's presence in our lives! When we let God live in us, we show mercy at every opportunity. God doesn't count how many times wrong-doers do right, God only considers whether we sinners have accepted God's grace. Condescending to those who aren't as good as we are is not a virtue, sharing mercy from our merciful God is.

Pure in Heart: If we have somehow justified to ourselves how we have met the previous five beatitudes, we have to admit our failure at this command. We all have sinned; we all have failed this test. Only in God's Grace can our hearts and minds be cleaned, over and over as we slip and fall, to give us a pure heart to see God.

Peacemakers: When we have an intimate relationship with God, brought about by the cleansing power of God's Grace, we are compelled to draw people away from human conflict and direct them to God. The peacemaker doesn't seek to negotiate an end to conflict, but knows the song is right, that "Jesus is the Answer" for any conflict. A peacemaker is a dangerous job, and God commands us to act without fear to lead everyone to God's Peace. Wanting peace is not a virtue, neither is dictating and enforcing peace, but living out God's Peace is.

Persecuted for Righteousness: When we are slaves to God's righteousness, we will be attacked by those whose evil ways are threatened. However, do not be deceived that being attacked by evil-doers means we are following God's Righteousness! It may mean we are following our own righteousness, and may even deserve to be attacked for our arrogance. Suffering because we are right is not a virtue, living for God no matter what happens to us is.

When men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake: Standing up for a just cause is easier than standing up against personal attacks, and Jesus warned us that when we live for God, we would be slandered and discredited. Since our Message is infallible, the Evil One will attack the messengers. Standing up to slander with righteous indignation is not a virtue, answering evil with good is.