“Hey, what are you saying? Do you really mean this?

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Monday, May 9, 2022

Matthew 5:1-10 (Forward, p. 11) CEV p. 985

Today’s passage is one of those Scripture passages that is like an old coat, so worn, comfortable and familiar, as to be virtually unrecognizable. Old hat, you might say. It is, of course, Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes.

I say all these things about them because, for all their ‘comfort’ and familiarity, I wonder at times just how much we embrace them, how much we take them to heart. In them, Jesus pronounces blessings upon a number of things, and while we are quite happy and willing to accept blessings in general, I really wonder whether we want the particular things that evoke and bring about these particular ones.

Let me show you what I mean by looking at these eight beatitudes:

a) Blessed are the poor in spirit/ the spiritually poor/ those that depend only on Him:

On the surface, this may sound fine and good, but then, do we really want to admit that we are spiritually poor, that we have no righteousness in and of our selves and that we desperately need His help? Have we really gotten to the point where we depend solely, only upon Him? Or, do we still have that stubborn streak that seems to infest so many of us, such that we only call upon Him when the going gets rough, when we are in a state of desperation? I dare say that many of us are like that—which means that we lose out on His blessing

b) Blessed are those who grieve/ those who mourn:

Those who grieve or mourn? Well, none of us ever willingly want to be in that place or that space. Yes, it means that we will be comforted, which means, literally ‘surrounded by strength’, but who wants it at that cost?

c) Blessed are those who are meek/ humble:

Being meek or humble: well, that is not the approved or established way of getting ahead in our world. In fact, it is just the opposite. We are told to assert ourselves, to laud and extol our abilities and positive attributes. The Trump or Putin model is often the one that gets the attention in our world and in our society and flouts the power and influence. It is they who seem to inherit the earth, not the humble or the meek.

d) Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness/ those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires/ who want to obey Him more than to eat or drink:

Putting God first, making Him our number one priority, in fact, our only priority: that’s what that our famous verse, Matthew 6:33 says, “Seek first [that is, only] God’s kingdom, and all these things shall be added unto you.” Yes, we will be given all that we want if God reigns supreme in our lives. But, are we really willing to let that happen?

e) Blessed are the merciful/ who are merciful to others:

Showing mercy to others, that is fine and good, until something really terrible happens to us. Then we want to lash out and make them smart a bit, make them feel what it is like to be on the receiving end for a change. Mercy be damned: we want them to hurt like we hurt. Mercy, compassion and long-suffering all seem to fly out the window.

f) Blessed are the pure in heart/ whose hearts are pure:

Here we have a word, the word ‘pure’, that has lost something of the richness of its meaning. Often we think of purity in sexual terms, but that is only the start. So, with the word ‘pure’ we often think of something that is unsullied, unmarred by anything (as in pure, freshly fallen snow), but there is more to it than just that. It also has the sense of being uncorrupted, undivided, uncompromised, seeking one thing and one thing only, and that are the things of God. Such people, we are told, will see God—but at what cost, we think to ourselves. Do we ever want to be so wholly given over to God?

g) Blessed are the peacemakers, who make peace or work for peace:

Here again, I harken back to the kind of scenario envisioned up above under the heading of ‘mercy.’ It is one thing to work for peace when everything is fine and good, but when we are hurting and upset and angry, that can often be a far different thing. Where were the peacemakers among the Black Lives Matter or the Ottawa Convoy or the January 6 crowds? Yes, they had different grievances and different agendas, but nevertheless, they were totally absorbed with ‘making their point’, no matter what! Peacemaking, building of bridges with those they disagreed with, was not their plan.

h) Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake/ for doing right, doing what God requires:

Doing what is right, what God requires: that is quite fine, just as long as we aren’t hassled for it, just as long as it doesn’t get us into trouble. Persecution simply isn’t our ‘cup of tea.’ No, like the Eleven in the Garden of Gethsemane, we are inclined to immediately turn tail at the very prospect. But, to be faithful in doing what God wants is to be counted among His own dear children. So, are we up to it?

So, to come back to my original premise: are these the things what we want to put first and foremost in our lives? And, are they more than just words? Do we really mean it?

For myself, I’m of the mind that perhaps we’ve got it backwards so far. Maybe the point is not to try to do any of things or be any of these things, just in order to reap these particular blessings. Maybe the point is simply to try to know Christ, follow Christ, and be like Christ, and all these things (mercy, humility, purity and all the rest) will just follow in their stead. Maybe they are just the by-product, the fallout of this behaviour. Amen.

Forward notes: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled” (verse 6).

“Hungering and thirsting for righteousness indicates that the satisfaction will not last, that righteousness is a temporary condition. John baptized for the forgiveness of sins. However, when Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness, the voice from heaven proclaimed, ‘This is my son, the beloved.’ This is a relationship, not a condition.

“The lone cowboy is a popular image. The reality is that most cattle work is done in teams: one cowboy blocks, and the other catches or sorts. One restrains while the other checks a temperature, removes a grass awn from the eye, or injects medicine. Each person pays close attention to what the other is doing and how the cow is responding. The ability of one cowboy to do their job and adjust to what the other is doing has a profound effect on the success of the venture.

“Righteousness is not so much about being right as about working with others so that all succeed.”

Moving Forward: “How does this understanding of righteousness make you think about the beatitude from Matthew in a new way?”