Matthew 5:1-12 All of us want God’s blessing
on our lives. We know and believe that
there is a God who is mighty and powerful, wise and good. We are his children and we want his blessing
to rest upon us and those we love. But
what does that mean to us, that we want God’s blessing? Don’t most of us think about material things
first?
Not that there is anything
wrong with desiring God’s material blessings.
Our Lord Jesus Christ directs us to pray for our daily bread—in other
words, to ask our heavenly Father to bless us with the gifts necessary to
sustain this body and life.
But I think that most of us
realize that the blessings we desire from God really go beyond the food and
clothing and shelter that the Bible says we ought to be content with.
In fact, there is a distorted
view of Christianity out there right now that says we have every right to
expect that God will make us rich and healthy and successful in all we
undertake. These false prophets of
health and wealth say that this is what it means to be blessed by God.
But truth be told, the vast
majority of Christians on earth right now—to say nothing of our fellow
Christians who have come before—were not, and are not, rich and healthy and
successful. They are poor. They suffer persecution. They are anything but powerful.
And so then, are they not
blessed—these saints who have come before us and our fellow saints who endure
hardship and suffering? Is their faith
somehow insufficient or deficient? Do
they just need to pray harder and trust more?
Or is the real problem a mistaken view of what it means to be blessed by
God? And so, where can we learn the
truth? The Bible says that:
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went
up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them...
All of us
have our own ideas about what it means to be blessed by God. All of us know the kind of blessings we
want. The question for us today is, are
we willing to put all of those presuppositions aside and let ourselves be
taught by Jesus? Are we willing to set
aside our preferences and our expectations and let Jesus teach us what a life
of God’s blessing is like?
We should,
for Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. He loves us so much that he has given his
life in exchange for ours. And he knows
God and speaks with his Father’s authority and in accordance with his Father’s
will. If there is anybody that we should
listen to when it comes to our life here on earth and the blessings we can
expect from God it is Jesus.
So what
does Jesus teach about a life that is blessed by God. What does that kind of life look like? Jesus says a life of God’s blessing is
a life where our spiritual needs for forgiveness and salvation are met; a life
of purpose in which we are called to live as God’s children; a life lived in
such close fellowship with Jesus that we too will bear a cross. Jesus said:
“Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall
be comforted. “Blessed
are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they
shall be satisfied.
Everyone in
the world understands the necessity of food and drink and clothing and shelter
to support this earthly life. Everyone
wants material blessings. But for so many people that is as far as their
understanding of what life is all about goes.
They are blind to their need
for a life with God. They are deaf to
his call to come to him and be saved.
And so they live their life as if this life is all there is, never
really understanding that there is a chasm of sin and guilt and shame that
separates them from the only One who can give their life meaning and purpose.
That is why it is such a
blessing from God to know—as painful as it is—what our real condition is—that
far from being God’s children by nature we are instead God’s enemies. In this knowledge of our own spiritual
poverty and grief over our lost condition- there is the beginning of a new life
blessed by God.
That is why Jesus teaches us that
those who are poor in spirit and those who mourn and those who hunger and
thirst for righteousness are blessed by God—because it is there in mourning and
poverty and hungering that our spiritual needs are abundantly met by Jesus
Christ.
He is the One who pours out upon our
poverty the riches of his grace; who satisfies our hunger and thirst for
righteousness with his own holy life and reconciling death; who changes our
mourning into rejoicing as he forgives our sins and brings us back into God’s
family.
We have nothing to fear by
valuing spiritual blessings above material blessings or in putting his kingdom
above the kingdom of this world because Jesus promises that those who are meek
and humble will not only have their earthly needs met—they will inherit the earth.
It is this promise, that
there can be no loss for the child of God—that frees us to live our lives for
him, walking in his steps, and making him manifest to others. Jesus said:
“Blessed are the merciful,
for they shall receive mercy. “Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called
sons of God.
The Bible
says that through faith in Jesus Christ we are children and heirs of God—that
in Holy Baptism we have been buried and raised with Christ—that we have been
transformed by the renewing of our minds.
We have been purified by the cleansing blood of Jesus.
This is the change that the
Holy Spirit has worked in by bringing us to faith in Christ and that is the
work that the Holy Spirit is doing in us right now by conforming us into his
image so that we are salt and light in this dark and decaying world.
Our life as God’s children
and disciples of Jesus Christ is not about a list of “do’s and don’ts” –it’s
not about fear of punishment if we get something wrong because Jesus has
already suffered that for us on the cross.
Instead, we are blessed by God to make Jesus known by how we live our
lives.
We are merciful to others
because Christ has been merciful to us.
That word mercy has to do with the powerful acting with kindness. Now you may not think that you are in a
position of power—but you are.
That person who waits on you
in a restaurant or bags your groceries—that person who works for you—that
student in your class—that person who is much younger than you or much older
than you or much poorer than you—that child in your home or your wife--all of
them are in some way less powerful than you as a consumer and a boss and a
parent and a teacher and a husband.
In the same way that Jesus
used his power to help us—so are we to mercifully serve others. In these relationships and in all our
interactions with others we are to be people of peace.
That we have a life with
God—that we stand under his blessing-- is only because Jesus Christ has made
peace between us and him by his blood shed on the cross and in the same way we
are to be people of peace who extend his peace to others.
In all this we are called by
the Spirit to live out Christ’s life in our own life in such a meaningful way
that those around us can come to know something of Jesus through us. That is the high calling and great purpose of
our Christian lives but as we endeavor to walk in the steps of Jesus we should
also understand the hardships that come with living a life like his. Jesus says:
“Blessed
are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. “Blessed are you when others
revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on
my account.
Jesus was
merciful towards all. He was holy and
righteous. He came to restore peace
between God and man. You would think
that the world would have welcomed him with open arms. And of course many have. Today we remember and give thanks for all
those saints who have confessed Jesus as Lord and Savior.
But for every one of those who
have loved and served Jesus there have been countless more who have rejected him. We cannot forget that Jesus’ holy, righteous,
merciful life of love and service led to the cross. That was the direction of his life and it
will be the direction of all those who walk in his ways.
That is why Jesus says that
those who are persecuted and reviled for his sake are actually blessed because
these hardships and sufferings reveal (in a way that nothing else can) the
truth of their confession: that they are
actually God’s people and Jesus’ disciples—saints of God.
And so when we go through
some hardship because of our faith—when we are rejected by others because we
hold fast to the truth—when others speak ill of us on account of our love for
Jesus—we can count these troubles as blessings from God—divine testimonies that
we are truly his people, destined for heaven. Jesus said:
Rejoice and be glad, for your
reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before
you.
It may seem odd to many
people in the world today—and even those in the church who have bought into the
false gospel of health and wealth—to hear Jesus teach that mourning and
hungering and thirsting and persecution are occasions for rejoicing and
gladness but it is only because they do not understand that a life of God’s
blessing is (finally and in the end) a life that is connected to Jesus
Christ.
And because the servant is
not above his Master, how can our lives as Christian people be any different
than his? Both in the hardships and
difficulties-- but also in the joys!
Jesus’ rejection by his own
people and the betrayal of fiends and his death on the cross was not the end of
his story and hardship and persecution will not be the end of our story. Yes, Jesus died but he was also raised from
the dead and ascended into heaven to take his place with God in glory and
beauty and joy that has no end.
So it will be for us! We can be glad for earthy blessings but our hope
for the future ought to be directed to what is still to come when we go to be
with God and the saints in heaven—a place where there is no suffering or sorrow
or separation—a place where we will dwell in joy and peace and the glory of God
forever.
We don’t have to worry that
in following Jesus as Lord and Savior we are somehow missing out or that it is
not worth it. We don’t have to worry
when we go through hard times that somehow the blessings of God have left
us.
Instead, the hardships of
being a disciple of Jesus Christ are a sure sign that we are on the right
track—that narrow road that leads to heaven.
Those false prophets in the
church who say that a life blessed by God is nothing but health and wealth and
earthly success simply cannot account for the millions and millions of
Christians who were martyred for their faith—Christian who had to endure a
lifetime of suffering—Christians who were weak and despised by the powers of
this dark and dying world.
Instead, Jesus tells us that
God’s blessing rests upon his saints even when they suffer because they are
forgiven by his blood and walk in his ways.
What a blessing on All Saints
Days to be reminded that a life that is truly blessed by God is a life where
our spiritual needs are met; a life filled with the holy purpose of making
Christ know to others by how we live; a life that is so close to Jesus that we
too are called to carry our cross. Amen.
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