Our text for today is one of the most important passages in the New Testament. In a real sense, if we understand the Beatitudes, we will understand the message and ministry of Jesus as well as our own calling as his disciples. But we have several obstacles to overcome if we are to let these words speak to us in their own right. And perhaps the chief obstacle is an approach to the Beatitudes which is popular today because in the words of my seminary friend Marvin, “It will preach.” The popular interpretation of the Beatitudes I am referring to sees the Beatitudes as the “Be Happy Attitudes.” If you want to be happy and get ahead in life, then follow this advice. Of course, the assumption behind this approach is that Jesus is giving us advice on how to be happy in this world. If you want peace in your heart, money in your pocket, popularity among your peers, a life of ease, happiness and fulfillment, do these things and the world is yours on a silver platter. And the American public who wants to be happy and wants a life of ease and fulfillment as well as a proliferation of material blessings shouts, “Amen. Preach on, brother. You’re singing our song!”
The only problem is that it is not Jesus’ song. This morning I want to try to rescue the Beatitudes from this self-serving and shallow interpretation as we become serious about the Word of God. And to do so, we must do our homework.
We must first realize that Jesus did not invent the form of the beatitude. Beatitudes with the formula “Blessed are the…” are found in the Old Testament as well as in Jewish and pagan literature. What is important is to see what Jesus did with them. The customary use of beatitudes was to express how blessed people were in their current situation. Beatitudes were ways of sanctioning conventional wisdom and the status quo. Common beatitudes were sayings like “Blessed is the man who has a loving wife, obedient children, prosperity, good health, long life, and the respect of others.” In other words, beatitudes were used to describe the fortune of those who were enjoying the good things of life with the idea that their blessings came from God.
Jesus used the form of the beatitude, but turned its message upside down. He took a conventional way of speaking, changed it, and dropped a bomb into the consciousness of his disciples.
Jesus used the form of the beatitude, but turned its message upside down. He took a conventional way of speaking, changed it, and dropped a bomb into the consciousness of his disciples.
Conventional wisdom would never have said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” or “those who mourn” or “those who are meek” or “those who hunger and thirst.” It was obvious from the circumstances of these people that they were not blessed. In Jesus’ words we see the radical reversal of conventional wisdom so characteristic of his teachings – the radical reversal that got him crucified.
If you were among Jesus’ disciples you would wonder how Jesus could say these things. His pronouncements of blessing need some justification. And Jesus in the second half of each beatitude gives the reasons for such blessing. Beatitudes in the Old Testament and among Jewish and pagan writings did not usually include the reason for the blessing. In other words, they did not say, “Blessed are the rich because….” There was no reason to explain the blessing. It was apparent for all to see. But why are the poor and the meek and those who are mourning and the hungry blessed? That demands an explanation. And so, with each beatitude, Jesus offers an explanation: Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness because they shall be satisfied. The reason why all these are blessed is because God is coming. God’s Righteous Reign is coming. God’s justice and mercy are coming. God’s will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.
They are radical reversals of this world’s value system.
So, we see that Jesus’ beatitudes are not prescriptions for how to get ahead in this world. They are not the secrets to success, happiness, and material blessings. They are radical reversals of this world’s value system. They are judgments on the status quo. Rather than helping us to cope with the world and its ways, the beatitudes are rejections of the ways of this world as they anticipate God’s righteous will.
The bottom line is this: the beatitudes are not the “Be Happy Attitudes” of the New Testament. They are not secrets to a successful and happy life or the habits of highly successful people who have learned how to play the games of this greedy, violent and shallow world. The beatitudes are God’s blessings on those who are willing to offer their lives in simple trust in God and God’s ways. Those who realize their humble dependence on God will possess God’s Kingdom. Those who mourn the injustice of this world will be comforted because they will see justice delivered by the hands of God. Those who bend their wills to God’s will and who understand what it means to serve a God who stoops to wash the dirty feet of proud men will inherit the earth because they are the only ones who can be trusted with God’s creation. Those who hunger and thirst to see the right prevail will be satisfied with the banquet of God’s peaceable realm. Those who are persecuted for seeking justice and for speaking truth to power will join the prophets of old as coconspirators with God in making a new world. (The two beatitudes about persecution should provide incontrovertible proof that the Beatitudes are not the “Be Happy Attitudes” promoted by some shallow and false prophets in our day.) The beatitudes are God’s blessings on those willing to live as though God’s ways are more real than the ways of this world – on those willing to believe that God is coming even now to shake the foundations of this world and to replace our petty agendas with a reign of peace, justice, and compassion.
It’s far easier to see the Beatitudes as the Be Happy attitudes – as Jesus’ nine ways of getting ahead in this world. As Marvin says, “That’ll preach!” People will eat it up. It’s far more difficult to see the Beatitudes as God’s blessings on people who are willing to follow Jesus in bearing witness to God’s Upside-Down Realm and to pay the price for that witness. But wait a minute. Isn’t that what being a disciple is all about?
(The perceptive reader of this article may raise a critical question about the above interpretation of the Beatitudes: “If these blessings are based on the assumption that God is coming into history to reverse the ways and expectations of the world, then why are there still human beings who are poor, grieving, hungry, and persecuted? The world seems little changed since the time of Jesus when Caesar, Herod, Pilate, the High Priest, and other scoundrels perpetuated greed, violence, and oppression. Are these words of Jesus just a pipedream? Was he naïve or mistaken?” My next article attempts to deal with this question.)
Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV)
When Jesus 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.
