Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 04 January 2015 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 29 September 2019 and 04 January 2023 by
Captain Michael Ramsay
I remember being
taught a card game once involving spoons. I am not entirely sure of all the
rules now because I only have played it once many years ago. The basic idea is
that there are a number of spoons put in the middle of a circle of people
playing cards, one less spoon than the number of people playing. You then pass
cards around the circle to each other until someone notices they have
four-of-kind. Once someone has four-of-kind, one subtly grabs a spoon. Then
everyone, once they notice the spoons are disappearing, tries to grab a spoon.
The last one to notice that the spoons are going, the last one to grab a spoon
loses. You play this game, eliminating one person each time, until only one
person is left. (S)he is the winner. Of course it is easiest if you are the one
who has the four-of-kind because then you can grab the first spoon and thus not
be eliminated.
The one time I
played, I was blessed to be one of the last two people in the game. We need one
person to have four-of-kind so that we could try to grab the last spoon. It got
to the point where I knew that Sheldon had picked up 3 Aces and he knew I had
one Ace. That is when Sheldon spoke up and announced that we can never have a
winner to this game because, "Michael is holding onto one Ace and will not want to part
with it because as soon as he does, I will have four Aces, grab the spoon and win." It is then that I pass him a card and I grab the last spoon. Someone in the
crowd of spectators who was obviously looking at my hand says to me, “Hey! You
can’t do that you don’t have four-of-kind.” To which I reply, “Sheldon does”,
which of course he did. I gave Sheldon the last Ace but by the time he realized
it and reached for the spoon I, of course, had already taken it and won the
game. The strategy changed here when there are only two people. Instead of trying to
get the last card yourself, you give it to someone else. In order to win this
game you need to interact with the world in a new way. This is not unlike the
God’s Kingdom as expressed by Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount. Jesus is saying
that as we belong to His Kingdom, we need to interact with this world in a new
way. Citizens of Heaven will act according to the ways of Heaven even while we
are living and working in Canada or wherever we happen to be.
Jesus’ opening to
the Sermon on the Mount speaks about the blessings of serving God and it is
often referred to as the beatitudes: the word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin
word for blessing.[1] These
blessings -and indeed this whole sermon- speak about what it is like to be a
citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven. Now by ‘Kingdom of Heaven’, we don’t mean
what it will be like ‘when you go to heaven’ because this passage speaks very
clearly that these blessing occur here on earth. It says the meek will inherit
the earth (v. 5) and further on in this sermon Jesus speaks about marriage,
adultery, an end to divorce… and –of course- Matthew tells us, as recorded in
Chapter 22 of this Gospel, that there is no marriage, let alone divorce,
remarriage and adultery in heaven (Matthew 22:23-30, Mark 12:24-26, Luke
20:34-36). This whole sermon speaks to what life is like when we are citizens
of God’s Kingdom living here on the equivalent of a divine work visa so to
speak or more accurately, as a fifth column or an advance guard preparing the
way for Jesus’ return. This sermon is about what life is like when you are a
Christian in this place, in this time, and this is quite something.[2]
It opens with some
wonderful words of comfort so let’s take a look at
Matthew 5:1-16 this morning. The first two verses of this chapter are nicely
setting the stage for Jesus’ sermon. Matthew often draws parallels for his
readers between Jesus and Moses who has been called ‘the Great Law Giver.’
Moses of course received the Decalogue, the Ten Commandments, the Law from the
LORD atop a Mountain. This Law articulated what had demarcated the people of
God (vv.17-18) and now that it is
fulfilled, Jesus is sharing with us what life looks like for the people of God
living in His proleptic kingdom.
This is
interesting: we said that the word ‘beatitude’ comes from the Latin word for
blessed. The Greek equivalent of this word is makarism and makarism
refers to people in a privileged circumstance: those who are ‘fortunate’,
‘happy’, ‘well off’, ‘blessed’. It relates to the Hebrew world Shalom
which means ‘peace’ and ‘well-being’ and this closely relates to the German
word Heil. Those of us who have grown up in and around The Salvation
Army, do you know what Heil means? Whereas we wear S’s on our uniforms
the German Salvationists wear H’s on theirs. Heil means ‘Salvation’.[3]
When our scriptures today say, ‘blessed is so and so because of this and that’,
it is saying that we blessed people are saved and we are at peace. ‘Blessed are
the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven’ means ‘saved and
peaceful are the poor in spirit as they live in the Kingdom of Heaven.’
So then who are
these poor in spirit and why are they blessed, saved, and peaceful as they
inherit the kingdom of heaven? ‘Poor in spirit’ in a unique phrase. It is not
as straightforward as Luke’s ‘blessed are the poor’; it does include those who
are monetarily poor but it also includes those who are otherwise not
self-reliant. It may refer to anyone who realises that they cannot make it by
themselves; those who inherit the kingdom of heaven as the ‘poor in spirit’
would be the opposite of the ‘me generation’; the poor in spirit are those who
realize that they are not independent financially, socially, emotionally… Jesus
is saying that those of us who do not buy into the cult of the individual but rather lean on Him, we are the ones who are blessed, saved, and peaceful as
we inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.
The next group
Jesus’ says are blessed, peaceful, and saved are those who mourn. Jesus says we
will be comforted. This is speaking about all those who are suffering in our
world today and there are many.[4]
That Christianity is about comfort shouldn’t be a surprise to us. Of Course, Ray was Promoted to Glory on Friday morning and I was blessed to be able to be with Cathy and his family offering whatever comfort I could. And I am often
reminded around Christmas time of the power of God to comfort those who mourn.
I often receive Christmas cards, emails, and comments from people whose relatives’
funerals I have officiated telling me how much they have appreciated the comfort
received during the memorial and how they draw on the Lord’s comfort now at
Christmas time, in the absence of their loved ones. Of course this is a blessing
from the Lord, for there is no comfort that I can possibly offer apart from
Him. In the Kingdom, blessed, peaceful, and saved are those who mourn for they
are comforted.
Blessed, peaceful
and saved also are the meek for they will inherit the earth. Meek is very much
a synonym for the ‘poor in spirit’; meek people are gentle. We who inherit
eternal life will also inherit this earth as Christ’s proleptic kingdom grows
its foothold here. Blessed, peaceful and saved are the meek for they will
inherit the earth.
Blessed, peaceful
and saved are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be
filled. The word righteousness in this context includes the concept of justice.
It speaks to those who long for wrongs to be made right and for those who cry
out for salvation from the injustices of our current socio-economic-political
structures. All last year I was studying Restorative Justice through Simon
Fraser University. Did you know that in the US, our closest neighbour in more
ways than just geography, one in three African American men has been
disenfranchised; 1/3 of all African American males have been locked in jail at
least once? This is just one symptom of the myriad racial injustices south of
the line. No wonder there have been race riots for months now. We also have
injustices here, racial, other and especially economic discrimination. Jesus
says that those of us who stand against injustice and those of us who stand for
His righteousness will be filled. We will be satisfied. As Jesus’ reign takes
hold in our life and our world, those of us who intercede for those in need
will be satisfied. Blessed, peaceful and saved are those who hunger and thirst
for justice and righteousness for they will be filled.[5]
Always
accompanying true justice is mercy (cf. 5:38-48, 6:14-157:1-5,12). You really
cannot have one without the other; therefore blessed, peaceful and saved are
the merciful for they will be shown mercy. Jesus says in this sermon, ‘do unto
others as you would have them do unto you’ (7:12). In God’s Kingdom - which is
within and amongst those of us who are really the Church - in the Kingdom of
Heaven, we need not fear retribution from one another as we confess our sins
and as we love our enemies because we will forgive and be forgiven; blessed,
peaceful and saved are the merciful for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed, peaceful
and saved are the pure of heart for they will see God. Pure of heart “denotes one who loves God with all his
heart (Deut. 6:5), with an undivided loyalty, and whose inward nature
corresponds with his outward profession” (cf. Isa. 29:13).[6] Those of us who love God with all of our
heart will see Him and experience Him in our life. This is what it is like to
be a Christian.
Blessed, saved,
and peaceful too are those who make peace for they will be called children of God.
We who belong to the Kingdom of Heaven will defuse conflict rather than
contribute to it. This is corporate as much as individual.[7]
I still remember the day that Canada’s armed forces turned from an army of
peacekeepers to an army of war-makers. I had a contract at CFB Esquimalt when
Canada invaded Yugoslavia. I spoke with some of our service people headed
overseas who until that point had spent their whole military careers standing
between warring factions, protecting civilians; now they were ordered to be
prepared to kill civilians as collateral damage if necessary in an illegal,
internationally condemned war. It tore at the minds and hearts of many of these
soldiers.
On the other side
of this here is The Salvation Army we facilitate peace through restorative
justice in our community by – among other things – the Alternative Measures
program. In this program, we are able to provide an opportunity for a victim to
face their aggressor, share their story, and forgive them; the offender has the
opportunity to hear their story, learn how their actions have affected real
people, and be forgiven. We all have the opportunity to heal harms and grow in
strength and peace. It is no wonder that our rates of recidivism are negligible
amongst our participants – here we see victim, offender, and the community at
large healed as peace is made in their lives and our community. We who are
saved will contribute to peace in the world. Blessed, saved, and peaceful are
those who make peace for they are the ones who will be called children of God.
Now as we come to
our last beatitude, I have a question for us. Those of us who are Christians
will experience the blessings we’ve talked about today. These blessings come
with serving God in His Kingdom. My question is, what is the opposite of a
blessing? (A curse.) If we choose not to live in God’s blessing then we are
choosing to live a life that is cursed and that is the choice before us today.
We know how horrible the world can be around us. We know there is misery. We
have been looking today in our scriptures at blessings that come during some
very real trials, tribulations, and problems in our world. Christians are
surrounded by all of this. We are not spared any more than anyone else but if
we belong to the Kingdom of Heaven then we have access to all of these blessings in the
middle of everything we are going through and that is Good News. That is the
Good News. Jesus was born, lived, died, and raised again so that we can all
live out our salvation forever and for now. We can experience God’s Salvation
in the midst of all that is surrounding us.
This brings us to
our last beatitude, Matthew 5:10-16:
“blessed,
[peaceful and saved] are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake for
theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven; blessed, [peaceful and saved] 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 the
Kingdom of Heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were
before you. You [as you stand up under persecution] are the salt of the earth
but if salt has lost its taste, how can its saltiness be restored? It is no
longer good for anything, but is to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You
[as you stand up under persecution] are the light of the world, a city built on
a hill [that] cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the
bushel basket, but on a lamp stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In
the same way, let your light shine before others [even as you are persecuted],
so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in Heaven.
These wonderful
beatitudes conclude with the good news that when we really are Christians we
will probably be persecuted (vv. 10-12). And, Jesus says, even though we may
lose our lives, our jobs, our family and our friends; we are encouraged to keep
strong for the Good News of Jesus Christ’s Kingdom is so good, so important and
so valuable that it must be shared at whatever the cost. If – as Christians - we do not share the
Good News of Jesus Christ, we are as useless as a nightlight hidden under a cup (vv.13-16). If we don’t share
the Good News then we are no more this useful than adding tasteless flavouring
to God’s recipe of eternal salvation. But as we share the Good News of Jesus
and as we invite other people to experience the blessings of God even in the
midst of all of the troubles of our world today, as we invite people to enjoy
the salvation that is found in Christ then they and we will be truly blessed,
peaceful and saved for ours will be citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven; then
no matter what else happens, it will all be okay. We will be okay. I promise.
Let us pray.
---
To view the most recent version, 29 January 2023, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2015/01/matthew-51-16-spoonful-of-blessings.html
To view the shorter 2019 version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/09/matthew-51-16-blessing-of-salvation.html
[1] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’ (NIB VIII: Nashville, Tennessee:
Abingdon Press, 1995),175.
[2] NT Wright, ‘Matthew for Everyone Part 1Chapters 1-15’ (NT for
Everyone: Louisville Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004), 37.
[3] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’ (NIB VIII: Nashville, Tennessee:
Abingdon Press, 1995), 176.
[4] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary.
Downers Grove, Ill. : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries 1), S. 115.
[5] Cf. D. A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis
CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/II. The Gospel of the Kingdom
(3:1-7:29)/B. First Discourse: The Sermon on the Mount (5:1-7:29)/2. The
kingdom of heaven: its norms and witness (5:3-16)/a. The norms of the kingdom
(5:3-12)/(1) The Beatitudes (5:3-10), Book Version: 4.0.2
[6] R. T. France, Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary.
Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament
Commentaries 1), S. 116
[7] Douglas R.A. Hare, Matthew (Interpretation: Louisville,
Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 42.
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