We Are There

The Beatitudes. Jesus’ opening words in Matthew’s account of the Sermon on the Mount. Certainly one of the most familiar passages in all of Holy Scripture. As familiar as this passage is, though, I wonder how many of you could recite it from memory. I couldn’t do the whole thing. Bits and pieces, maybe, but it’s hard to keep track of the specific blessings and rewards. It doesn’t help that the version in Luke’s Gospel is different. Nonetheless, these are comforting words to cling to… blessed, blessed, blessed, Jesus says.

Lists of beatitudes were not uncommon in early Greek and Hebrew literature; and even in the Bible, they are not unique to the New Testament. Listen to this wonderful set of beatitudes taken from the Book of Ecclesiasticus. Written by Sirach about 200 years before Jesus’ life and ministry, the Book of Ecclesiasticus is part of the apocrypha, those intertestamental, semi-authoritative books you find in some Bibles, but not others. In the Episcopal Church we do not grant the apocryphal books quite the full status of the official canon, but we read them for instruction and as sources of inspiration.

You can decide for yourself how much authority to grant to these beatitudes of Sirach from the Book of Ecclesiasticus (25:7-11):

"I can think of nine whom I would call blessed, and a tenth my tongue proclaims: a man who can rejoice in his children; a man who lives to see the downfall of his foes. Happy the man who lives with a sensible wife, and the one who does not plow with ox and ass together. Happy is the one who does not sin with the tongue, and the one who has not served an inferior. Happy is the one who finds a friend, and the one who speaks to attentive listeners. How great is the one who finds wisdom! But none is superior to the one who fears the Lord. Fear of the Lord surpasses everything; to whom can we compare the one who has it?"

Quite a different tone from Jesus’ beatitudes, isn’t it? The final reminder that fear of the Lord brings the greatest blessing seems a good one. But the rest of them sound more like a litany of human happiness or success. If you have managed to acquire a sensible spouse, a good-paying job with considerable independence… if you have achieved security or status, then you will be blessed. Blessing is earned by achievement. This perspective is found elsewhere in Scripture, but it is not Jesus’ teaching in the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus’ beatitudes stand out as new and unique in several ways. Jesus’ words are all the more striking when we know something of the historical tradition of beatitude sayings that preceded Jesus. Jesus departs significantly from the past patterns. His words would have drawn attention in his day because they were a startling contrast to what was then the "way we’ve always done it." He does not follow the beatitude formula that would have been familiar to his listeners.

One profound difference is that Jesus’ beatitudes are not conditional. Before Jesus, the granting of a blessing was contingent upon certain behavior. Remember Sirach. You will receive God’s blessing if you accomplish this, or if you do that, or if you live in a certain way. And only those who fulfill the conditions will be blessed. A limited, conditional blessing. In startling contrast, Jesus gives blessings to people just because of who they are, not as a reward for something they have done. Universal and unconditional. All the poor, all the meek, all who mourn, all who yearn for peace, all who hunger and thirst. The only precondition is a yearning, a need. Everyone who feels some emptiness within, some lack of fulfillment, on all Jesus pours God’s blessing.

Another very significant difference between Jesus’ beatitudes and earlier ones is grammatical. And although this may seem trivial, it is very, very important. One of the differences between Matthew’s and Luke’s versions of the Beatitudes is the person in which Jesus speaks. In Matthew, as we just heard, Jesus speaks in the third person: "Blessed are the meek." Matthew follows the historical pattern. Blessed is the man who… blessings upon the one who… Someone out there in the third person is blessed. In Luke, Jesus speaks in the second person, "Blessed are you meek." You. Second person. Direct address. Biblical scholars almost unanimously agree that Jesus’ intention, however he may have said it, was the second person. Blessed are you, Jesus said. You. Jesus blessed the people to whom he was speaking. Not some other people in some other place or time. Not some abstract, third-person category of people. Jesus blessed the people who were there. The people who heard him speak. Blessed are you. Right now. God’s blessing is yours. In the hearing of Jesus’ words, in the sharing of Jesus’ presence, God’s blessing is given to you. Now.

And that "now" is another unique feature of Jesus’ beatitudes. They are not a prophet’s speculations on future rewards that God will bestow. They do not promise, as the quip goes, pie in the sky by and by. When Jesus speaks the blessing, it is given. Blessing, salvation, fulfillment. In the moment. In the present. Now.

The great Biblical scholar Eduard Schweizer summarizes the Beatitudes: "By [Jesus] pronouncing the Beatitudes… God’s own action will bring the Kingdom, comfort, inheritance, satisfaction. Jesus speaks with the authority of God and promises joys on this very day to whoever can hear his words in inward application. All depends on a particular event: Jesus promise must be heard. Not simply those who seek God, but rather those who need God can hear this and are made happy in the promise of Jesus."

It all depends upon an event. An encounter with Jesus. Being there. Hearing Jesus speak the blessing. And hearing Jesus’ words with "inward application." Hearing the words and knowing they apply to me. We must sincerely acknowledge our need for God’s blessing, God’s fulfillment. It all depends upon the particular event of people in need of God hearing Jesus speak the promise of God’s blessing.

In that event on that day on the mount in Galilee, the joy and comfort of God’s blessing, the peace and fulfillment of God’s Kingdom, the hope of God’s salvation… these were given to the people who heard Jesus speak. Right then. In that event.

You remember the wonderful spiritual, "Were you there when they crucified my Lord?" It’s a compelling hymn, not just for the resonant ache of its melody and words, but also for its theological profundity. Because the answer is "Yes." Yes, I was there at that event. I was there when the crucified the Lord. And I am there. Whenever I sin and kill God in my heart I am there as they nail him to the tree.

So, by analogy, this morning we might say, "Were you there at the Sermon on the Mount?" Were you there when Jesus’ words poured blessing on everyone who had an empty place inside? Were you there? And the answer is, Yes. Yes, I was there on that hillside. And I am there. Every time I acknowledge, every time I recognize—in Jesus presence—my need for God, I am there. I am there to hear Jesus’ words of blessing, to receive Jesus’ promise of fulfillment. Every time I bring a poor heart or a hungry soul to Jesus I hear his words, "Blessed are you." Blessed are you. Now.

We are there at the Sermon on the Mount.

So in a way it doesn’t matter too much whether or not we can recite from memory the exact words of Jesus’ beatitudes—either Matthew’s or Luke’s version. (Although most Episcopalians could stand to improve their biblical literacy.) What matters is whether we hear them now, today, in our own lives with "inward application." To everyone who comes to God in need, Jesus speaks to you.

Blessed are you.

Blessed are you when night’s darkness seems to grow stronger and stronger in your heart and you need the light of Christ. Jesus speaks to you. Blessed are you.

Blessed are you when, even amid a chock full life with a full calendar, a packed agenda, you still cannot seem to find your way and you need God’s guidance. Blessed are you.

Blessed are you when you fear death’s hollow face looking around the corner and you need comfort. Jesus speaks to you. Blessed are you.

And blessed are you when wonder or joy overwhelms you and you need God to thank. Blessed are you.

Blessed are you when loss has left you with an empty heart that only God can fill. Blessed are you.

Blessed are you when you are just trying to live a Godly life day by day and you come here because you need the sustenance offered at the Lord’s table. Blessed are you.

Blessed are you in those times when the walls come tumbling down and there is no one but God to help. Jesus speaks to you. Blessed are you.

Blessed are you when you discover that gaining everything you have worked for is not enough and you turn to God needing purpose. Blessed are you.

To everyone who comes to God in need:  Hear Jesus speak. He speaks to you. You are there at the Sermon on the Mount. Blessed are you. You. Now.

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