The Beatitudes - Sermon given January 29th, 2017

Matthew 5:1-12  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
The Beatitudes
5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then he began to speak, 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 will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
a) Matthew 5:1 Gk he
b) Matthew 5:11 Other ancient authorities lack falsely

Manuscript of Sermon given 1/29/2017, The Beatitudes:

This week the Lectionary points our Gospel reading to Matthew's Gospel, specifically, and as you just heard me read out-loud, that part of the Sermon on the Mount called the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes get their name from the Latin word for Blessings, no terribly big surprise there I am certain.

We normally think of a “blessing” as receiving something favorable, good, enjoyable or enriching, it's not always something comfortable or desired as enrichment or enlightenment can come at a painful cost.  I have even heard individuals with disabilities describe their infirmity as a 'blessing'.  We can't always know in advance what outcome may come from any situation.

The beatitudes are often though of as being statements, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
Though in fact they are not statements, they are exclamations. BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL, FOR THEY WILL RECEIVE MERCY!!

Blessed, the word translated here as “blessed” is the Greek word "MAKARIOS".  In Greek mythology the Makarios referred to the gods, the blessed ones were the gods.  It is generally translated from Greek in the New Testament as fortunate, or happy, it is sometimes also referred to as meaning honored or sacred.  Truly the Greek gods were fortunate, though when reading Greek mythology one can wonder how happy they were at times, they were certainly honored with temples and worshipers and they were of course considered sacred.  When we say something is sacred, we are saying that it is set apart and regarded with reverence, generally it is associated with God.

Let's look again at the Beatitudes with a bit of a twist this time:

3 “Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Fortunate are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Honored are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Sacred are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Happy are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Fortunate are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Honored are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Sacred are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Happy are you when people 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 in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Did that start to change things a bit for how you look at these verses?   Did you see anything differently, or perhaps a tiny bit more clearly?

Let's look at Makarios just a little bit more, it comes from the root word Makar which means happy and it is found 50 times in the writing of the New Testament.  It is found 13 times in Matthew, 14 times in Luke, 2 times in the Gospel of John and not at all in Mark's Gospel.  The rest of the usages are scattered sparsely through Acts, Paul's letters, the general epistles and then finally 7 times in the Book of Revelation.

But translating Makarios as happy, or even fortunate, or honored... just does not do it the proper justice.  The idea embodied within this word is satisfaction from experiencing the fullness of something. You are "blessed... the state of one who has become a partaker of God; to experience the fullness of God." 

Let's read through the Beatitudes one more time with even a bit more of a twist...

3 “Happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
4 “Fortunate are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
5 “Honored are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
6 “Sacred are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
7 “Happy are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
8 “Fortunate are the pure in heart, for they will see God. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
9 “Honored are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
10 “Sacred are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And they shall experience the fullness of God.
11 “Happy are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. For you shall experience the fullness of God. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

To be blessed does not mean that you'll receive riches, or status, or even that you'll never be ill or injured.  To be blessed is to be happy that you are fortunate enough to be honored by God as being sacred... and therefore you have partaken in His glory and experienced the fullness of God.

Each of you are precious to our all loving, all caring and all gracious God.  All of us gathered here today are truly blessed, for we are children of God and recipients of His love, grace and renewal....

And all of God's people said.........

AMEN!!!