Sermon Matthew 5: 1-12 Blessed by God

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon Matthew 5: 1-12 Blessed by God

February 2, 2014

On this fourth Sunday in the season of Epiphany we will focus on the beginning of Jesus' teaching ministry. We have seen so far the his ministry on earth began with his baptism and ended with his command to the church to make disciples and baptize others. We have also seen that Jesus public ministry began with the arrest of John the Baptist and will end with Jesus' own arrest. And today we will see that Jesus' teaching ministry will begin with a proclamation that people will be blessed in the coming kingdom of heaven. And later in Matthew's gospel we will see that Jesus' teaching ministry will end with a proclamation that teachers will be cursed if they fail to teach what Jesus has been teaching. We will get to the blessings we can expect to receive in the kingdom of heaven. But first, let's pray.

“Blessed God, I yearn to see your vision of justice, love, and peace made real for me this day. Open my eyes to the way of love that I may see your brilliant light shining into the hidden places of my heart and the darkened corners of the world. Amen.”¹

Matthew 5:1-2 “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up to the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak and taught them.”

Jesus' disciples have assembled the people of Capernaum on the side of a hill near the town. This hill is concave and is a natural amphitheater so a speaker standing at the top can be heard by everyone below. The people are the poor of the area working boats and farms to produce food for the vast Roman empire. They have suffered as occupied people for hundreds of years. And Jesus has come to proclaim the good news that a new kingdom is coming. And the new king is their God. So Jesus climbed to the top of the mountain just as Moses, the prophet, did before him and he sat down as a distinguished teacher. Here is what he told them.

Matthew 5:3-5 “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.

In the Roman empire, people suffered at the hands of the rich and powerful. Life was cheap and the powerful thought nothing of killing someone who didn't cooperate with the system. People were expected to submit to authority or risk the consequences. And so the people were condemned to poverty, mourned for loved ones who have been killed unjustly, and learned to be submissive to authority.

But Jesus had come to proclaim a radical message. The oppressive life they had lived for so long was coming to an end. A new kingdom was coming. The kingdom of heaven was coming to earth. And in this new kingdom the poor, the sad and the powerless would be blessed. No longer would they suffer under oppressive regimes. No longer would mourn the death of loved ones who died unjustly. No longer would they be beaten into submission. In the kingdom of heaven, God would be their king. God would comfort them. And God would be in charge of the whole world.

Jesus promised that in this kingdom of heaven those who desired justice, mercy and pure faith would find what they longed for. Listen to what he said.

Matthew 5:6-9 “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.”

And so, in the kingdom of heaven, the people of God are to strongly desire that everyone be treated fairly, and that the poor be cared for. People of God are to forgive and live in harmony. And people of God are to follow only one authority, God. As the people of God do these things God's presence will be made known, they will experience God's forgiveness, and God's justice will rule on earth.

Jesus promised that in this new kingdom those who desire peace, and an end to oppression and persecution and violence would be satisfied. Listen again to his teaching.

Matthew 5: 9-11 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed of 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.

As the advance guard of the kingdom of heaven we are called, as children of God, to be peacemakers. We are to do whatever we can to stop war and violence. The Romans claimed that the peace of the empire was ensured by the legions, but in reality the empire was filled with war and violence. In the kingdom of heaven there would be no army to enforce the peace. Rather the people of God through their desire for justice and mercy would be the peacemakers. They would work, nonviolently, to bring about peace on earth.

And so we have seen from Jesus' teaching that the poor, those who mourn and the oppressed will all be blessed with the coming of the kingdom of heaven. We have seen that those who desire justice, mercy and faith will be satisfied in the kingdom of heaven. And we have seen that those who are persecuted, oppressed and victims of war will be blessed in the kingdom of heaven.

So, how will we be blessed in this new kingdom? My guess is that today you will feel really blessed if your team wins the Superbowl. And the game today will make at least some of you really happy. But this happiness won't last very long. By Monday morning you will be back at the old grind not feeling particularly blessed. So I suggest that you might find greater happiness if you help someone. Deliver food to the Samaritan Shelter. Visit someone who recently lost a spouse. Forgive someone who did you wrong. Do these things and you will feel truly blessed.

I would like conclude today with a story about a man who embodied these teachings of Jesus. His name was Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador. On February 17, 1980 he wrote a letter to President Carter asking that the United States not send military arms to El Salvador. He feared that these weapons would be used to oppress his people. On March 23^rd, five weeks later, Bishop Romero delivered a radio sermon to the people of El Salvador saying, “Soldiers, do not obey your superiors when they order you to kill. You are killing your brothers and sisters. In the name of God, in name of these suffering people whose laments rise to heaven, each day more tumultuous, I beg of you, I ask of you, I order you, in the name of God, stop the repression!”² The bishop was denounced at a traitor.

The next day Bishop Romero was conducting a funeral mass for the wife of a dear friend in the chapel of the cancer ward in a local hospital. As he held the bread and wine and began to pray, shots rang out. The bishop was standing at the communion table facing the people and fell at the base of a large crucifix. As he died he mumbled words of forgiveness.

Bishop Romero served the pour, comforted the mourning, and defended the oppressed. He hungered and thirsted for righteousness. He was a peacemaker. And in the kingdom of heaven he is surely blessed. Let us pray.

We humbly ask, O God, that you work though us to bless the poor, the sad and the persecuted. Fill us with the desire for justice and righteousness. Make us into peacemakers. This we pray in you son's name. Amen.

1Kimberly Long, Feasting On the Word Worship Companion (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2013), 60.

2http://day1.org/915-oscar_romero_beatitude_made_flesh