Today's Sermon: Blessed are...Who?

For the past several weeks Robb (Pastor Shoaf) has been speaking on the Beatitudes, also called the Sermon on the Mount, that we find in the gospel of Matthew. Containing some of Jesus’ best known teachings, the short passage contained in Matthew speaks of the blessings that await for Christ’s disciples. Since it’s been several weeks since we last heard them, let’s refresh our memories. In Matthew, chapter 5 verses 1 through 12, Jesus offers this message:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be fulfilled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

This passage provides promises for those who live in a right way here on earth, and also provides instruction on how one should conduct themselves. We are to be meek, pure of heart, and show mercy to others. Also, we should expect to be misunderstood and even mistreated as a result of our lifestyles and faith. Almost every one of these blessings are of a spiritual nature, although some of them are realized through physical acts, such as showing mercy through acts of charity, or acting to bring about peace. This passage is often seen as instructions on how one should act and live their life as a follower of Christ.

A much shorter version of what we call the Beatitudes also occurs in Luke’s gospel, in chapter 6 verses 20 through 23, but these are dramatically different from those in Matthew. See if you can pick up on the difference.

“Then he, Jesus, looked up at his disciples and said:
Blessed are you who are poor, for yours if the kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled.

Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.

Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets.” (NRSV)

Did you hear the difference? Does that difference make you a little uncomfortable? It should. Jesus says, blessed are the poor. And I wonder how many of us in this room, in this county, can honestly admit that we are poor. Not poor in spirit…poor. Morris county is the seventh richest county in the United States (Forbes.com). The seventh. According to the U.S. Census, the median income from 2008, just two years ago, was $99,268. That is almost six figures. Compare that to the fact that around the world, about 1.4billion people live on less than one dollar and 25 cents a day*. That’s only $456.25 a year. Blessed are the poor; blessed are those who are barely making minimum wage and are working two or three jobs to keep a roof over their head. Blessings upon them, the kindom of God belongs to them.

Blessed are those who hunger. Every 10 seconds a child somewhere in the world dies because of hunger*.That’s about 8,000 children a day. Over one billion people go hungry each day*. Not hungry as in, they didn’t have a snack after school, hungry as in, there was no food today. Or maybe yesterday too. And probably tomorrow. Our society is so wrapped up in food; it is everywhere around us. On television, in ads, magazines, books, blogs, the list goes on. It is no secret that obesity, especially childhood obesity, is climbing at alarming rates, and that average Americans throw away 25% of their food. We have more food than we know what to do with, while children in Africa might get one meal a day, a meal that probably consists of gruel. They are hungry. We are full to overflowing. Who does Jesus bless?

Blessed are you who weep now; are we weeping, friends? Are we weeping for our brothers and sisters who have no food, no clothes, no shelter? Did we weep when oil was leaking into the Gulf Coast, threatening not only our own water and ecosystem, but in actuality the world’s? Are we weeping as war takes the lives of not only our own soldiers, but in every country where violence occurs? Are we weeping as people’s civil rights and liberties are denied and governments do nothing about it? Blessed are you who weep, for God will wipe away your tears and your tears shall turn to laughter and your mourning into dancing.

Where do we fit into Luke’s Beatitudes? We can relate with Matthew’s, they are more…inclusive. Anyone can be poor in spirit, anyone can hunger and thirst for righteousness. We are all searching for something in our lives; love, beauty, tolerance, forgiveness. There is hope for us in Matthew’s Beatitudes. In Luke’s, however, as privileged middle and upper class Americans, there seems to be no place for us.

Or is there?

Before you get too disheartened, let me remind you of another passage that is found in Matthew. Twenty chapters after the Beatitudes, after the famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus speaks another powerful message.

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angel with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me…truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are member of my family, you did it to me.” (Matt. 25:31-36, 40b, NRSV).

Every time you do this to the least, you do this for Christ. Did you hear what Jesus said about those on the right? You that are blessed, he said. You shall inherit the kindom, and I might take the liberty of adding, along with those who are poor, hungry, and weeping. Rejoice and be glad! Yours is the kindom…

As people who have been blessed in this life, here on this earth in this community, we have a duty to be Jesus’ hands and feet to others, and to see the face of Christ in their faces. In today’s gospel lesson from Luke, Jesus tells the Pharisee who had invited him to dinner a parable, and then some advice. Don’t invite those who are your equals, or your betters, he says, because they are capable of repaying you by inviting you to a feast. Rather, you should invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind; by opening your table to them, you will be blessed, “because they cannot repay you, for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” Who can we invite to our tables? Who can we feed, and clothe, and offer shelter and support to? Who can we bless, and be blessed ourselves in our giving? We too have been invited to a table we are unworthy of, and that is the table Christ himself prepared for us and we celebrate every time we take part in holy communion. We are blessed to be a blessing to others; we are called to be Christ to the world, and to bring the kindom of God here and now (!) so that those who are hungry now, will be full. Those who are poor, will be no more. That those who are weeping, shall laugh and dance. We are called- let it be so. Amen.

*statistics from World Vision