Sermon on the Mount Week 1

Welcome!

Welcome to our online Bible Study of the Sermon on the Mount! We’ll continue this through the first Sunday in March. I’ll post my comments on Tuesday, and I invite you to comment and ask questions anytime after that.

This first study is on the Beatitudes, those famous “blessed are” statements. If you’d like a musical introduction, click on this link to singers at Glenstal Abbey in Ireland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFFxd8us0iA.

Bible Passage: Matthew 4:23-25; 5:1-12

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. So his fame spread throughout all Syria, and they brought to him all the sick, those who were afflicted with various diseases and pains, demoniacs, epileptics, and paralytics, and he cured them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
“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 filled.
“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.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Two Basic Interpretations

There are a couple of ways we can interpret these beatitudes. The first is cause and effect: If you can manage to be poor in spirit, or to mourn, or to be meek, etc., then you will be blessed. The second is more along the lines of God’s kingdom being upside-down from our earthly understanding: In our day-to-day lives we tend to see people who are poor in spirit, meek, in mourning, etc., as being unfortunate, even cursed. But in God’s kingdom, Jesus says, those people are blessed.

The problem with the first understanding is that it sets us up with ways of behaving that will “earn” us blessings. And that’s not the way God’s kingdom works. Blessedness is not something that can be pursued; it can only be given as a gift.

The Kingdom of Heaven

A lot of folks in the church have trouble with the phrase “Kingdom of Heaven” or “Kingdom of God.” Living in the U.S., we don’t have much experience with kingdoms, except for what we read in history books or fairy tales. Here’s what professor Amy Oden (Saint Paul School of Theology, Oklahoma City) has to say about the problem:

For me, the central theological objection is that “kingdom” language misleads about the very nature of the … life of God. Most of us have never lived in a “kingdom,” that is, under a monarchy, so the word “kingdom” removes us from our everyday, concrete lives into the fairytale world of kings and knights, princesses and castles. “Kingdom” makes God’s life sound far away and long ago.

The words “kingdom of heaven” further remove God’s life to something “up there,” ethereal and disconnected from making breakfast or taking the bus to work. At worst, “kingdom” is a static, motionless state waiting our arrival. At best, a happy place we visit occasionally, like Disneyland. “Kingdom” language rarely points us to the disruptive, abundant life Jesus promises.[1]

Personally, I’m happy to keep using the “kingdom” phrases, but I do think we need to recognize that the Bible isn’t talking about some land “up there,” a “static, motionless state waiting our arrival.” When we read “kingdom of God” in the Bible, we need to hear something more like “God’s way of life.” Because the kingdom is not just about someday; it’s about now.

 Μακαριοσ   Makarios: What Does It Mean to Be Blessed?

The Greek word that is translated as blessed in the Beatitudes is “makarios,” which can also be translated happy or fortunate. I think it’s pretty clear that people who are poor in spirit or mourning or being persecuted or reviled—those people aren’t happy or fortunate. So they must be blessed … but what does that mean?

David Lose, a scholar from the Reformed tradition who teaches at Luther Seminary (St. Paul, MN), has this to say about the meaning(s) of “blessed”:

[Blessed] has several meanings. It can indicate special favor, unique standing, permission, empowerment, endowment, and more. So maybe the question isn’t what it means, but rather what it feels like. What does it feel like when you’re blessed?

Ooh, what a good question! What does it feel like when you’re blessed? Dr. Lose continues:

… by asking the question this way, I begin to get a sense of Jesus’ promise. To be blessed feels like you have someone’s unconditional regard. It feels like you are not and will not be alone, like you will be accompanied wherever you go. Being blessed feels like you have the capacity to rise above present circumstances, like you are more than the sum of your parts or past experiences. Being blessed feels like you have worth—not because of something you did or might do, but simply because of who you are, simply because you deserve it.[2]

If I were preaching this out loud, I’d read that again so people would really hear it. What does it feel like when you’re blessed? It feels like you have someone’s unconditional regard …

Go ahead: read it again. And then turn to the Beatitudes themselves with these understandings.

·         The poor in spirit—the depressed, the anxious, the lonely—in God’s way of life they feel like they are not alone.

·         Those who mourn will be comforted; in God’s way of life they feel like someone is with them wherever they go.

·         The meek and the scared and the timid—in God’s way of life they feel like they have worth.

·         The people for whom righteousness—a right relationship with God and justice for everyone—is important? In God’s way of life they feel like they have God’s unconditional regard.

And so on through all these verses.

Questions for You

Answer as many of these as you care to. Let’s see how the discussion goes!

1. Do you like David Lose’s ways of understanding what it feels like to be blessed? Why or why not?

2.   In what ways are the beatitudes blessings for you?

3.   What questions do you have about this passage?

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[1] Amy Oden, “Commentary on Matthew 5:1-12” in Working Preacher (Feb. 2, 2014). http://www.workingpreacher.org/preaching.aspx?commentary_id=1937

[2] David Lose, “On Beatitudes and Blessing” in Working Preacher (January 26, 2014) http://www.workingpreacher.org/craft.aspx?post=3020