Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army,
03 January 2015 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 29 September 2019 by Captain
Michael Ramsay
To read the slightly longer 2015 version,
click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2015/01/matthew-51-16-spoonful-of-blessings.html
Jesus in his Sermon on the Mount 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’ introduction to the Sermon on the
Mount speaks about the blessings of serving God: this 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, 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 in the first sixteen verses so let’s take a look at Matthew 1:5:-16
this morning. The first two verses of this chapter nicely set 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 not only them: 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. I am often
reminded around Christmas time of the power of God to comfort those who mourn.
I receive Christmas cards, emails, and comments from people whose relatives’
funerals I have officiated telling me how much they have appreciated comfort
received during the memorial and how they draw on the Lord’s comfort at
Christmas, in the absence of their loved ones. Of course this is a blessing
from the Lord, for there is no comfort 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. I studied 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 will 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 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 in 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, be forgiven and 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 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. If – as Christians - we do not share the Good News of Jesus Christ, we
are as useless as a nightlight hidden under a cup or a tasteless flavouring
added to a bland recipe (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.
---
[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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