Rev. Deacon Allen Batchelder

Trinity Church
Waltham, Massachusetts
February 2, 2014 – Epiphany IV

Micah 6:1-8, Psalm 15, 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, Matthew 5:1-12

From the Prophet Micah:
He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

From St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians:
He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom, our righteousness and sanctification and redemption; therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord.”

And from the Gospel of St. Matthew:
Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Let us pray:
May the words of my mouth and the meditations of all our hearts be acceptable in thy sight, O God, our Rock and our Redeemer, our Strength and our Salvation.
Amen!

What does it mean to be happy? To be fortunate? To be blessed? Who are the ones we as people regard as the lucky ones; the fortunate; the blessed ones? What do we think of? We tend to think of those with money; people who have acquired the material things of this world. They never have to worry about paying their bills. We think of those who can afford a nice home, a nice car. When they travel they fly in first class. It could also be people who are attractive; the beautiful people. How about people who have power or access to privilege and status? They are the rich, beautiful, powerful people: The fortunate ones, the lucky ones, the blessed ones. People like pop stars, movie stars, sports stars, and yes, even some politicians.

Why do we desire these things? Perhaps we think that if we had these things, it would make us happy, fortunate and blessed. But are these the things that bring true happiness? Are these the things that bring lasting, eternal, happiness? And most importantly, are these the things that Jesus regards as the true hallmarks of happiness?
We only have to look at the downward spiral of Justin Bieber lately, where he keeps getting in trouble with the law, to see that money and fame, does not bring happiness. It can actually bring destruction.

Today’s gospel reading is on the Sermon on the Mount which is commonly known as the Beatitudes. This is one of the most misunderstood messages that Jesus ever gave. One group says it is God’s plan of salvation, that if we hope to go to heaven we must obey these rules. Another group calls it a “charter for world peace” and begs the nations of the earth to accept it. Still a third group tells us that the Sermon on the Mount does not apply to today, but that it will apply at some future time, perhaps during the Tribulation or the millennial kingdom.

What is the one word that is repeated verse after verse? It is the word “blessed.” Jesus describes those who are happy or blessed. And He turns our idea of happiness and fortunate on its head.

We think happiness is to be rich. Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We say happiness is one who is not sad. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” We say it is the powerful that are happy. Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.” “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.” “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” We say those who are able to indulge in whatever vice they want and get away with it that are happy. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

We think we are happy when we are popular and everyone thinks we are wonderful and everyone looks up to us. Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.” “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.”

Wow, what a difference. What sort of happiness is this? What sort of blessedness is this that welcomes persecution, poverty and humility?

If we look at Matthew 5:20, it might give us the key to this important sermon: “For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The main theme is true righteousness. The religious leaders had an artificial, external righteousness based on Law. But the righteousness Jesus described is a true and vital righteousness that begins internally, in the heart. The Pharisees were concerned about the minute details of conduct, but they neglected the major matter of character. Conduct flows out of character.

Being a master Teacher, our Lord did not begin this important sermon with a negative criticism of the scribes and Pharisees. He began with a positive emphasis on righteous character and the blessings that it brings to the life of the believer. The Pharisees taught that righteousness was an external thing, a matter of obeying rules and regulations. Righteousness could be measured by praying, giving, fasting, etc. In the Beatitudes and the pictures of the believer, Jesus described Christian character that flowed from within.

Imagine how the crowd’s attention was riveted on Jesus when He uttered His first word: “Blessed.” This was a powerful word to those who heard Jesus that day. To them it meant “divine joy and perfect happiness.” The word was not used for humans; it described the kind of joy experienced only by the gods or the dead. “Blessed” implied an inner satisfaction and sufficiency that did not depend on outward circumstances for happiness. This is what the Lord offers those who trust Him!

So, Jesus came to fulfill all righteousness, to do away with sin. And so He came to usher in God’s rule, His kingdom. When Jesus died on the cross and rose again, He defeated Satan and sin and death and inaugurated His kingdom. However when Jesus came the first time, He only inaugurated His kingdom and we, at this point in time in history, still await the time when Jesus will return again, sometime in the future, when we will live directly under God’s perfect rule. In that time there will be no sin, no disease, no sickness, no injustice, we will be living fully in the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

But in the meantime, in this time period that we are in now, we live in the time when God has inaugurated His Kingdom in Christ, but we still wait for the full outworking of Christ’s rule. But when we come to God by repenting of our sins and trusting in Christ for our salvation, the Holy Spirit comes and lives in us, and we experience in part the Kingdom of God in our own lives right now as a foretaste of the fullness of the kingdom which is coming.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the people He is looking for, who count as nothing the things of this world. The people who do not strive after the earthly things, man-made kingdoms, but instead have their eyes set on the coming reign of God.

The person who is attuned to God’s purpose will realize that the root cause behind the world’s problems is our sin. But in the Kingdom of Heaven, when a person submits to God’s rule in their life, and in a fuller sense, when Christ returns and establishes His Kingdom in all its totality, there will be no more oppression, injustice, poverty, disease and death, because there will be no sin.

What will this Kingdom of Heaven look like? When Christ returns and ultimately sets up His eternal kingdom, it is not just a kingdom in the clouds, but as Revelation 21:1 reminds us: “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.” That is God’s future kingdom is not just heavenly, but is a totally renewed creation – heaven and earth.

What does it mean to hunger and thirst for righteousness? It means that when you sin, it creates a hunger and thirst in you that you won’t sin again. Think for a moment what it’s like when you don’t eat or drink for a while. Perhaps you were busy and went right past lunch. Or perhaps you had to fast because of some medical test.
At a certain point, having something to eat is all that matters. You hunger and thirst for food. Do you have that hunger for righteousness?

When we become Christians, and when we allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and change us, we change. And one way we change is that we despise our own sin. So that when we do sin, we know something is wrong, we feel it. Have you ever experienced that? Perhaps you shouted at your spouse in anger? You exaggerated your deductions on your tax return. You yelled an obscenity at a driver who cut you off. How do you feel after you’ve sinned? Do you shrug it off, or does it bother you that you sinned? Do you think, well, everyone does it, so what’s the big deal? Or do you have a hunger not to sin; to do God’s Will. That’s what it is to hunger and thirst for righteousness. And in the Kingdom of God, as we come under Christ’s rule now, we will sin less. And when Christ’s kingdom comes in its fullness, we will sin no more. Our hunger for righteousness will be satisfied!

Let’s review for a moment some of the characteristics that Jesus considers blessed:
Poor in spirit mourning meek merciful pure in heart
Hungering and thirsting for righteousness peacemakers

Are these the things the world values? Are these the things that characterize the beautiful people in our society, those we tend to look up to? No they aren’t. If anything, they are the opposite. It is not easy to be a dedicated Christian. Our society is not a friend to God or to God’s people. Whether we like it or not, there is conflict between us and the world. Why? Because we are different from the world and we have different attitudes and values.

As we read the Beatitudes, we find that they represent an outlook radically different from that of the world. The world praises pride, not humility. The world endorses sin, especially if you “get away with it.” The world is at war with God, while God is seeking to reconcile His enemies and make them His children. We must expect to be persecuted if we are living as God wants us to live. But we must be sure that our suffering is not due to our own foolishness or disobedience.

How does the Sermon on the Mount, the beatitudes apply to our life today? Jesus introduces a whole different way of viewing the world. Who does the world regard as happy, fortunate, and blessed? Is it the rich, beautiful, strong, famous, and powerful? But who does Jesus say? If you look at each of these beatitudes, Jesus is looking for people who are the opposite of what the world is looking for.

He is looking for the poor in spirit – for those dependent not on themselves, but on God for everything.

He is looking for those who mourn – for those who aren’t happy with the world the way it is and mourn at those who are lost in sin.

He is looking for those who are meek – those who are humble and don’t think of themselves as more important than others.
He is looking for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness – those who are intensively dissatisfied with their own sin and long for the day when they will be perfected in righteousness and no longer sin.

He is looking for those who are merciful – taking pity on those who are in need, and willing to forgive those who sin against us.

He is looking for those who are pure in heart – those who are pure on the inside, not just on the outside.

He is looking for the peacemakers – those who will bring the message of peace to others.

And He is looking for those who will endure persecution and reviling and slander on account of His name. He is looking for those who will die to self, and who will shun temporary happiness in this world, in order to receive eternal happiness in His coming eternal kingdom. What are your values of happiness, of blessedness? Are they the values of this world – which will only last a short time? Or are they God’s values – which will last for eternity?

Let us pray:
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen!