Power, pleasure, prestige, position, possessions - Matt 5:1-12a
The Sermon on the Mount. The Beatitudes. We have heard them so often, seen them on posters, Facebook art, Instagram, even our daily planners… maybe we forget how revolutionary these words of Jesus are.
Jesus signals to the crowd that this is serious and official by sitting down. When rabbis sat down to teach, it meant that their words were official and doctrinal (we still refer to this tradition when we refer to the “Chair of Peter”, from which we receive official statements of the Church). Another signal we might miss because of the translation is the phrase “he began to teach them”; literally translated, this would say “he opened his mouth,” a phrase indicating an official declaration in the ancient world. St. Matthew tells us that Jesus went up the mountain – from whence the Law was given – and then sat down and opened his mouth; all this is to help us understand that Jesus is teaching something in a rather solemn way, from his Heart.Each statement Jesus gives us in the Beatitudes is intended to overturn our very natural way of thinking, to proclaim that God’s ways are not our ways, and that the Kingdom is established deep within every human heart and not necessarily obvious to worldly eyes. Unlike the rich and powerful of this world, who maintain their position by violence and treachery and self-will, citizens of the Kingdom of God are often oppressed and yet blessed. They are poor, mourning the present state of life, meek and insignificant to the world, yearning to live rightly according to the righteousness of God, merciful to others, pure of heart, sowing peace in the world. These words of Jesus turn worldly wisdom on its head. In our own world, we might read them as “Blessed are you if you are not driven by the desire for power, pleasure, prestige, position, possessions, good feelings, etc…Blessed are you if you are kind and merciful like the Father.”
Jesus says something else that is revolutionary: he links his teaching to himself. He does not say, “Here are some good rules, and you will be blessed even when you are persecuted for following them.” Rather, he says, “Blessed are you when they insult and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of ME. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” The connection between what Jesus says and his very PERSON is unique in all of history; we must not simply accept his teaching, we must adhere to HIM. To the Jews, these were very strange words. They should not be strange to us! We must know Christ, adhere to Christ, and be transformed in Christ so that we can be “other Christs” and bring God’s love and mercy to others.
This is what the Gospel is all about.