Blessed are They: A Meditation on Matthew 5

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness:

for they shall be filled.

 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake:

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you,

and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven:

for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

In Matthew chapter five, Jesus begins teaching those who gather around Him with a series of declarations about those who are blessed; i.e., those who have upon them the blessing, grace, and loving disposition of God.  The blessed ones are marked with the virtues of poverty of spirit (humility before God), mourning, meekness, hungering for righteousness, mercy, purity, makers of peace, and sufferers of unjust persecution for Jesus’ sake.  At a first superficial reading, this list of blessed ones and their defining virtues paints a beautiful picture of the people who abide in the love of God, and can usher in a warm sentimentality about how nice it is that God would bless such folks… particularly since the world doesn’t hold such people in high regard.  When we turn on the TV, cruise the internet, or watch blockbuster movies, where else do we see people of purity, meekness, humility, and mercy held up as our paragons of virtue?  Our culture prefers to celebrate the villain, the rebel, the proud, the violent, and the debauched, and nothing proves our sick fascination better than ticket sales and the revenue streams which produce billions of dollars to perpetuate the genres.  Isn’t it aw-shucks nice that God is looking out for the inconsequential people we really don’t care about, and often directly or indirectly take advantage of, mock, and ridicule?  But of course, Jesus means to tell us more than that God is just nice.

Beyond this shallow reading lay deeper and more disturbing truths.  What we see at first as Jesus’ lovely portrait of God’s blessing, quickly turns into a revealing mirror.  Just how humble am I before God, showing forth my poverty of spirit?  Do I really mourn over true injustices done to me, to others, to creation, and to the dignity of God?  Just how meek am I, when I try to measure myself against my peers for competitive rewards, promotions, or just my own private pride?  Do I really yearn for righteousness like a starving man hungers and thirsts for food and water?  Do I prefer mercy when people take advantage of me, or do I more naturally seek vengeance and reparation?  Can I actually look at my heart and see it as pure, when so many dark and disturbing desires arise from it every day?  Am I really so inclined to make peace between warring factions, or do I sit in thrall to watch one group become victor over another, in every sphere from politics, to religion, to family, and community?  Am I really persecuted unjustly for righteousness’ sake, for the Name and Word of Jesus, or do I actively try to water down my association with these things so that the world will hold me in higher regard and less derision?

Oh, what a deadly beautiful mirror of the Law Jesus holds up for his disciples to look upon.  Which of them, and which of us, after having seen our depravity in that brilliantly polished mirror, can really say that we deserve from God to be blessed with the kingdom of heaven, comfort, inheriting the earth, satisfaction, receivers of mercy, visions of God, to called children of God, or to receive in heaven a reward like unto that which was given to the prophets who came before us?  Like the Law given to Moses on Mount Sinai, this Law which Jesus preaches shows the wondrous beauty and goodness of God, but that light also reveals the vast disparity between His goodness and our wickedness.  Just as all stood in fear and trembling before the revelation of God’s holiness at Sinai, so too would all who truly took Jesus’ Word to heart from the mount upon which He preached.  This beautiful Law of pure love becomes for sinful and fallen people our judgment, our knowledge that we are not blessed, that we are undeserving of God’s love and gifts, and that rather our just reward is that of hell’s eternal condemnation where all evil and wickedness shall forever be imprisoned, never again able to abuse and torment the righteous saints.

While Jesus was the greatest preacher of the Law there ever was or ever will be (He is, after all, the very Word of God made flesh) He is also the greatest preacher of the Gospel.  Knowing the depravity and hopelessness of the mankind gathered around Him, He fulfilled His great work of mercy by taking all our sins and wickedness to His Cross, so that the penalty of sin might be paid.  Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus became the propitiation for our sins, so that before God, no longer do we stand condemned for our own sake, but justified for Jesus’ sake.  Jesus in His very Person is the entirety of the Gospel of salvation which makes us blessed before God—not by our own works which could never achieve such blessing, but rather by His omnipotent Work of Atonement by which He pours out His blessing upon all who repent and believe in Him.  There, in the blood of Jesus, the faithful stand by grace as the beneficiaries of every good and lovely gift which God promised to His people.

There also, we find another mysterious truth made plain:  Jesus continues to work through each and every one of His blessed people.  Not only is Jesus our humility, mourning, meekness, mercy, righteousness, purity, and all other good things,  but He works to make us reflect all these things as well, as He raises us up to new lives conformed to His image through the power of His Word and Spirit.  Thus this beautiful Law no longer remains for us a deadly terror, but by Jesus’ Gospel of forgiveness and grace, it becomes a blessed hope and aspiration by which we daily strive in His love and power to become ever more like our Savior.  Daily we are called to drown our sinfulness in the waters of our Baptism, to hear Jesus’ Absolution for our sins, and rise up again in newness of life.  Daily our Lord breathes His Word and Spirit upon His people, bringing about their faith and repentance which receives His grace of forgiveness, life, and salvation.  Daily He reminds us that we are not holy or blessed for our own sake, but we are forever holy and blessed for His sake alone.  Daily, and for every day that shall ever be unto ages of ages without end, Jesus is for His people their blessedness.

Hear the Word of the Lord reach into your heart this day, that it may slay your old nature so given to evil and vice, and raise you up by grace through faith in Him to a new life which is blessed forevermore.  Let your wickedness die there before His Holy Law, that He may raise you up again by His Holy Gospel unto eternal life, giving to you every good and wonderful gift which God has desired for you from before the foundation of the world.  Hear Him, repent, believe and live, that you may find your place among all those blessed saints who live forever in the loving communion of God our Savior.  Amen.