The Sermon on the Mount; The Beatitudes
5 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain; and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him. 2 And He opened His mouth and began to teach 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 satisfied.
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 sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in this same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
In our modern Christian culture, this passage has come to be known as “The Beatitudes”. Outside of Christian culture, the word “beatitude” doesn’t exist. Within this passage the word “beatitude” doesn’t exist. So where did the word come from? It’s Latin root, “beatus” means to be happy or furtunate which also is one of the ways the word “blessed” can be interpreted. Since each statement begins with the word “blessed” they were given a category or their own known as “beatitudes”. I wonder also if the term started with a double meaning because they are about an “attitude” of “being”.
When we first read the beatitudes we recoil and think, it doesn’t sound like how I picture what being blessed looks like. Poor in spirit? Meek? Mourning? That sounds like what I pray not to be. But as I examine the core thread that ties these together it is that these qualities describe someone who is not grasping at life trying to get ahead. They describe someone that is in a state of flow. Someone with no agenda for status, power or wealth. Jesus says that if you are like this, you are blessed. In other words you are in a better place to find eternal life than those who are not like this.
So for example
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth”
What I believe Jesus is revealing to us is that if you are not striving for power and living life in a way that you are not going out and taking what you can get and storing up for yourself, but rather, you will be given all that you need, all that the earth provides. You will inherit it, you won’t have to earn it, it will be given to you. Not only will it be given to you, it will be rightfully yours handed over to you, possibly by those who strove for it!
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called Sons of God”
Again this is an attitude towards not striving for self promotion. There is no selfish agenda in being a peacemaker. While others may choose sides because they believe the side they are choosing is right and will win and they will fight for it, peacemakers aren’t choosing sides. Peacemakers invest nothing in one side or the other. They are not relying on one side to win, one side to be right in order to live a blessed life. They are wanting both sides to come together, both sides to win, to them, that is their reward
I’m sure Jesus is aware that who he is describing is someone who we all do not want to become. But it is not for shock value that He says these things. He is revealing a hard truth. He is saying if you are like this, you are blessed because you are well on your way to the path of eternal life. You are already shaped in the way of love. So if you are meek and poor in spirit and mourn, then you really are blessed because you have a lot less dying to do in order to inherit eternal life. Those not naturally like this – and we are all not naturally like this – have so much work to do to let go of all the stuff we are holding on to become like this.
This is the life we find when we are willing to lose the life we have. A life of no agenda. A life of no striving. A life oriented in love for neighbor. A life shaped by love as seen in the life of Christ. It is not a life that this world values or holds in high esteem. It is not understood and often ridiculed. A life of Being rather than Doing. A life of love requires us to do but we don’t do love well if we are not allowing ourselves to be what love calls us to be. This is a hard teaching. Living a life of no agenda, no striving, no dog in the fight. A life of staying in the moment and experiencing the presence of God.