The Gospel in the bulletin is from the Message Bible, but I’m including this translation because I wanted you to read it both ways. The NRSVUE is a more accurate translation; the Message Bible seeks to express the meaning of the passage in more easily accessible language. – Pastor Pam
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.NRSVUE
The refrain of an old song goes like this: “Count your blessings. Count them one by one. Count your blessings see what God has done.”
Count your blessings. It is a good thing to do – because we have been blessed. Often when we think about blessings, we think about the good things that we have received such as: the people we love, health, meaningful work, a home, freedom, and, last but not least, our community in Christ.
But in the “The Beatitudes,” the name commonly given our Gospel for today, Jesus doesn’t mention any of those things. Instead, Jesus blesses those who have conditions that we try to avoid – being “poor in spirit” – or as it says in the Message Bible – those who are at the end of their rope; those who have lost loved ones, those who are meek; those who are persecuted.
Jesus is not saying we should seek to become these things – but rather he is looking out at the people that he sees and blessing them. It is not because of what they have done. Instead, Jesus proclaims for them a different present and future than the one that they could reasonably expect. After all, these were people who were living under constant threat from the Roman Empire – death and destruction were common. So why is Jesus proclaiming blessings?
We are in the Gospel of Matthew this year. Matthew, more than any other Gospel, connects the Jesus story to the Hebrew scriptures. The very first verse of the first chapter declares Jesus as the Messiah, the anointed, the son of David and the son of Abraham. When Jesus is born of the virgin Mary, Matthew calls this the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy of the coming of Emmanuel, God is with us.
Matthew’s Gospel also connects Jesus with the prophet Moses. Jesus’ family flees to Egypt and then, like Moses, he comes out of Egypt. After calling disciples, healing and preaching, Jesus, like Moses, goes up on a mountain. But while Moses comes down from the mountain with 10 commandments, Jesus goes up on the mountain but then sits down and begins to teach. It’s a long sermon. We will be reading the Sermon on the Mount for four Sundays. Jesus has a lot to teach. And just as the Bible begins with God creating the earth and proclaiming blessing each day, Jesus begins his teaching by proclaiming blessing.
There is one blessing that stood out to me – Blessed are those who mourn. Or as the Message Bible puts it, “You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you.” It doesn’t feel much at all like blessing when you lose someone or some thing that you love dearly. It feels terrible. But what struck me is that grief or loss is the one experience that Jesus mentions in his blessings that anyone and everyone who loves some one or some thing will experience at some time. We may not all be meek or pure of heart or persecuted for Jesus’ sake. And yet, we will all mourn. And when you do, Jesus offers blessing and comfort to you.
The other night I was at Faith-Practices, Neighboring Practices meeting and we were asked to think about and write down moments in our lives in which we felt God’s presence and were blessed because of it.
Arts and crafts projects are not my forte, but there were only colored pencils on the table so I felt compelled to try to draw a timeline of my life with high points and challenging points along the way. As I drove a curvy line across and around the paper, I noticed that God was present through it all. But I also noticed the blessings that came out of the low points in my life including those times in which I mourned the loss of those that I loved dearly – my father when I was only 17, a dear friend, and then my mother, not so long ago.
When we got into groups of three to share those times that we felt God’s presence, it was interesting that the others in my group also remarked upon God’s presence with them in challenging times. The blessings often came later in the gift of compassion for others when they mourned.
Of course, challenging times are not the only times in which we experience God’s presence and feel God’s blessings. On the mountain, Jesus blesses all kinds of people – especially those who do not fit any society’s list of the successful. Jesus blesses the meek and humble; peacemakers; and those persecuted for his sake. And Jesus blesses you. Jesus doesn’t bless you because you fit into some category or because of anything you do. Jesus says you are blessed – and because Jesus, who is God with Us, says it – you are blessed.
Lutheran pastor and author Nadia Bolz-Weber began noticing modern day examples of Jesus’ blessings in her congregation:
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are they who doubt. Those who aren’t sure can still be surprised.
Blessed are they who not so certain about everything that they can take in new information.
Blessed are those who mourn –
Blessed are they who have loved enough to know what loss feels like.
Blessed are the mothers of the miscarried.
Blessed are they who don’t have the luxury of taking things for granted any more.
Blessed are the motherless, the alone, the ones from whom so much has been taken.
Blessed are those who “still aren’t over it yet.”
Blessed are they who laughed again when for so long they thought they never would.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
Blessed are the pre-schoolers who cut in line at communion for they will be filled.
I would add to her list:
Blessed are those who feel isolated. They are open to community.
Blessed are those who are seeking. God is seeking you.
Friends in Christ - as you “Count your blessings. Count them one by one” do not forget those blessings that came in the hard times, in the challenging times of your life. For God, Emmanuel, was with you then too. And still is. So, go ahead. Count your blessings. See what God has done. For of this I am certain: Jesus is blessing you. Amen.