Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Our text for today’s meditation is the Gospel of Matthew Chapter 5:1-12

"Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. ² And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ⁵ "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. ⁶ "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. ⁷ "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. ⁸ "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ⁹ "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ¹⁰ "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." (Mat 5:1-12 ESV)

Picture this; Jesus is walking up a mountain away from the crowd with His disciples so He can talk with them. Some of the crowd was still within ear shot but the discussion was meant for Jesus’ new disciples. Imagine being a new follower of this Jesus everyone is talking about. He’s done amazing things; He healed people with all manner of diseases, He cast out demons, He cured epileptics and paralytics. This Jesus is an amazing person and now He wants to talk to me and the others he called to be His disciples. So, Jesus hits them with the beatitudes where He keeps saying "blessed." There are several ways to apply the word blessed in the beatitudes. What "blessed" is not saying is that those that do one thing are blessed because they will receive a reward; such as if you are meek then you will inherit the earth. What they are saying, is that the beatitudes are describing the authentic spirituality and joy of those that have been given or will be given something. Picture this; Blessed is Joe the happy son of the farmer, Mr. Jones because Joe will inherit the Jones’s farm. Joe is already the happy son of Mr. Jones. He is not working to earn the farm. The key element in a happy and secure life is that Joe and the community around him know that the farm will one day be his. The fact that Joe is the happy son of Mr. Jones affirms a happy state that already exists. The fact that Joe will inherit the farm affirms a future that allows Joe to live a happy life even now. Picture it another way; the beatitudes are not a prescription for a Christian way of life but instead describe those who received Christ’s gift of being saved from God’s wrath, known as salvation, and made it the core and basis of living life. The Beatitudes are Jesus’ teaching about what a faith that is alive looks like, or, perhaps better said, what a follower of Christ looks like.

So, what do they mean? What does poor in spirit mean? Picture this; the poor in spirit are those that truly acknowledge their brokenness, spiritual poverty, sinfulness, and unworthiness before God. They know that they can do nothing that is good before God. These are empty vessels ready to be filled. They know they are rich before God through faith in Christ Jesus. They know that it is through His perfect obedience to all the commandments and His sacrificial death on the cross for their sins that accomplished what they could never accomplish on their own. Poor in spirit does not refer to poverty in material things. The kingdom of heaven belongs to both rich and poor who are poor in spirit.

What about mourning? Picture this; someone who mourns is someone who is expressing sorrow over their sin and expressing grief over the consequences of sin in this world. The consequence of sin is both temporal and eternal death, and there can be no greater sorrow than this. As Christians we do not mourn without hope because God gave us hope. He promises to provide comfort and strength in all our struggles and eternal life. Those that mourn because of their own pain and are insensitive to the pain of others are not among the Blessed. But those who are aware of their failure to meet God’s law to love God and neighbor experience comfort.

Who are the meek? Picture this; the meek are not boisterous, demanding, inconsiderate but instead

gentle, patient, they leave vengeance to God, they "go the extra mile", they have inner strength that the "macho" only wish they had. These people will inherit the earth, the new heavens, and the new earth.

What about being hungry and thirsty for righteousness? Picture this; In Jesus time it was very common for many people to be hungry and thirsty in the barren land. Imagine being so thirsty that eating anything feels like sandpaper rubbing together as it goes down your throat. Imagine the focused effort to find water and food if they have neither. When you are starving and without water there is no other priority than to find both. This is the passion and drive that Jesus is describing for striving for righteousness. These are people that faithfully use the means of grace, the Gospel of Christ in the word, Baptism, and Holy Communion. The word of God is a part of their daily routine, they assemble regularly, do not pass up opportunities to partake of the Lord’s Supper, and they live with an appreciation for blessing of their baptism and they will be filled.

What is mercy? Picture this; someone that lives like the Samaritan who stopped and bound the wounds of the half dead Jew along the road even though Jews and Samaritans despised each other. Mercy is seeing and filling the need of the less fortunate without expecting anything in return. In return for mercy the beatitude claims they shall obtain mercy, from whom? They will receive the mercy of God even though the mercy of their fellow man may be in short supply.

Who are the pure in heart? Picture this; with the pure in heart, "what you see is what you get" with one motive for what they do and no hidden agendas. The pure in heart speak and act without ulterior motives or concealed selfish interests. Even though our hearts are naturally sinful we call upon the Holy Spirit to "create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me." Those with pure hearts will know God, John 1:18 says, "No one has ever seen God," But the knowledge of God and a vision of Him are the privileges granted to the angels – and the pure in heart.

Now we come to the peacemakers, notice it does not say the peacekeepers. We are not talking about the peacekeeping forces around the world. They are also not the "peaceful" not the "pacifists." Picture this; peacemakers foster and have loving relationships in their family, community, and nation. They actively strive to make peace where there is hostility and anger. They offer themselves as mediators between quarreling relatives and neighbors. Peace also includes good health. The peace described here is the peace of God, which includes all of these things and it passes all human understanding. We know that peace with God is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ. You can see why peacemakers are called "the children of God" by Jesus.

Persecution, what an archaic sounding word. We in America have not experienced persecution for accepting God and maintaining a lifestyle that is in a relationship with God. But we can endure suffering for the sake of God’s truth and justice. Persecution for righteousness’ sake is not fleeing from these truths and God’s justice especially when it makes you uncomfortable. The prime concern should be the advancement of Christ’s kingdom. Those who remain faithful to God’s truths are richly rewarded in heaven.

Picture this; the beatitudes are the ethics of Christ’s life. He led the way, walking the walk and talking the talk and therefore gives us an example so we to can walk the walk and talk the talk as followers of Christ. Do you see yourself as having one or a couple of the beatitudes? Do you think they are attributed to different people? The different beatitudes do not describe different people but the life of Christ and those who have received Christ’s gift of salvation and made it the driving force in their life. All these beatitudes will naturally flow if our focus is on the gift that is already ours. We may not do each of them perfectly, and the knowledge of our imperfectness drives us to the cross and Jesus’ saving act of forgiveness. You are God’s child, and you are loved. Live in the peace that comes from knowing this in your heart. We are blessed or happy just like Joe because we will inherit not just a farm but the whole new heaven and new earth. But like Joe we can live now as blessed knowing our inheritance is secure.

Amen