Sermon Matthew 5:1-4 Happiness

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon Matthew 5:1-4 Happiness

Pittsgrove Presbyterian Church

January 5, 2020

Tomorrow, January 6, is the Feast of Epiphany.  Epiphany is wedged between our celebration of Christmas and our Lenten preparation for Easter.  Epiphany literally means an event when God appears on earth.  This is an extraordinary time when we focus on the incarnation of God as a human being, Jesus.  This Epiphany we will be looking at some of the teachings of Jesus as recorded by Matthew in what is commonly called the Sermon on the Mount.  This month we will be looking at Jesus’ teaching about happiness called the Beatitudes.

We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.  Lord Jesus, teach us today how to be happy.  Help us to follow you our true source of happiness.  And help us to find the happiness you have promised.  We pray this in the name of our Lord incarnate, Amen.

Matthew 5:1-4  NRS Matthew 5:1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him.  2 Then he began to speak, and taught 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.

“Blessed” is an unusual word.  In ordinary English, we don’t use it very much.  It seems to be one of those religious terms that are used mainly in church.  For this reason, modern translators have often substituted the word “happiness”.  And happiness is what we all want.  A recent study of 3000 women and men indicates that those who are happy have lower levels of Cortisol, a stress hormone, leading them to healthier lives.  So happiness leads to healthiness.  The researchers, however, could not explain what makes us happy in the first place.  For that, we need to look in the Bible.

In our western culture, we usually think of happiness as essentially the same thing as good fortune.  If you are fortunate enough, you might find a Lexus in the driveway on Christmas morning with a bright red bow on top.   Or you might get the job of your dreams, or even a beautiful wife.  You might even win the lottery.  We often say to each other, “Good luck!” when we greet each other.  And we expect to find happiness in Atlantic City casinos, of all places.

So when we hear Jesus tell us that the poor are happy or that those who mourn are blessed we are confused.  This just does not make any sense given our western world view.  How could someone who is desperately poor, living paycheck to paycheck, one divorce, one firing, or one addiction, away from being thrown out on the streets be happy?  How could someone mourning the loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or the loss of health be happy?  From our perspective, Jesus’ teaching makes little sense.

Some Christian writers have tried to explain Jesus’ teaching by saying that it refers not to the here and now but to another place and another time.  The poor will be happy, they argue, in heaven.  Under this interpretation, Jesus is dangling a promise of future happiness for those whose lives are miserable today.   The poor may be miserable now, they say, but one day the poor will enjoy all the happiness and good fortune now enjoyed by the rich. 

Others argue that in the incarnation of Jesus Christ the Kingdom of Heaven is present now.  In light of the coming of Jesus, everyone has access to happiness through God’s blessing.  But, they say, to earn God’s blessings you have to pray hard enough, you have to avoid sin, and you have to do good things for others.  They argue that living a virtuous life will lead you to a happy life filled with God’s blessings.  But we all know of people who lead virtuous lives of service to others who are still poor and grieve over the loss of loved ones.  How are they happy?

Does our western worldview equating happiness with good fortune really bring us happiness?  Does a Lexus in the driveway really make us blessed?  Consider the case of one of our beautiful Hollywood celebrities, Britney Spears.  By all accounts, Ms. Spears has been as fortunate as anyone in our county.  She is not only beautiful, but she has had a stunning career singing and dancing since she was a teenager becoming a very wealthy young woman.  She can buy anything she wants.  She can have any man she wants.  She can do anything she wants. But is she happy?  After a divorce, loss of her children, and trouble with alcohol, I suspect that she is not very happy at all.  Do nice cars, vacation homes, diplomas on the wall, all symbols of a fortunate life make any of us happier, really?  I think not.

Jesus’ idea of happiness had nothing to do with good fortune.  The Old Testament term for happiness or blessing is "ashar" which means becoming happy by going the right way, pursuing the right goal.  Happiness, "ashar", is reserved for those who follow God, sing God’s praises, visit God’s house, observe God’s laws, keep God’s Sabbath, and take refuge in God’s strength.  Advancing on the pathway to God is, according to "ashar", our true source of happiness.

The desperately poor are happy, according to Jesus, because they are completely dependent on God.  They approach God with open hands because they have no Lexus in the driveway to divert their attention.  Those mourning over the death of a loved one, the loss of a job, the inability to pay the rent, a bad diagnosis, are happy because God is their only refuge and strength.  Only when you lose those things that fortune has provided you do you finally realize that true happiness comes from total dependence on God.

While in seminary, I was working at Faith United Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles.  Every other Friday we distributed food to poor families in the Highland Park neighborhood.  One day a homeless man named Nathan walked in for some food.  We invited Nathan to return that evening for dinner at a community outreach program Grace and I had started called Connections.  When Nathan arrived he was a little scared.  He had expected a homeless soup kitchen.  Instead, he discovered that he had been invited for a time of fellowship and worship with some international students and members of the church.  Nathan was reluctant to sit down and eat with us.  But when worship started he went into the other room with us and sat down.  When the music started Nathan started to dance.  We found out that it was his birthday and sang “Happy Birthday” to him.  Nathan had found friends and became very happy.  That evening I drove Nathan home to the parking lot behind a Bank of America.

Nathan left Vietnam forty years ago as a boy in a small boat.  He went many days without water and began having seizures.  He eventually arrived in Malaysia and a year later came to America.  But his frequent seizures kept him from working regularly and he found himself alternating between being a hospital patient and homeless person.  Nathan had nothing.  He was completely dependent on others to take care of him.  And he was completely dependent on God.  When he was offered the friendship of other Christians and an opportunity to worship God Nathan found happiness.  So it is true what Jesus says, that the desperately poor find their happiness in God.

The reason the desperately poor find happiness in God is that they are prepared for it.  Monika Hellwig has written of ten advantages to being poor.  

1.  The poor know they need redemption.  

2.  The poor realize that they are dependent on God, others more powerful than themselves and each other. 

3. The poor find security in people, not things. 

4. The poor have no exaggerated sense of their own importance.  

5.  The poor expect more from cooperation than competition.  

6.  The poor can tell the difference between necessities and luxuries.  

7. The poor have developed patience.  

8.  The fears of the poor are more realistic than the fears of the rich.  

9.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ sounds like good news to the poor.  

10.  The poor can respond to the gospel because they have little to lose.  

These ten advantages put the poor into a position of neediness and dependence that allows them to receive the grace of God. 

So the Beatitudes make sense if you are totally dependent on God’s grace.  The rich find this difficult to understand.  But the poor hear Jesus’ teachings as good news.  The strong and the proud don’t understand Jesus at all.  But ultimately we can’t depend on riches and strength.  The day will come when we are humbled and approach the throne of grace with empty hands.  

As we gather around this table today for communion we are coming with empty hands.  It doesn’t matter how fortunate you have been in your lives.  Some of us have been more fortunate than others.  But today, here at the Lord’s Supper, we are all dependent on the grace of God.  Our salvation depends not on what we do or have but on the grace we have received from God.  So, as you receive the bread and wine, remember that you are approaching the real source of your happiness, a God who loves you so much that he sent his son to save you.  Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we are so grateful for all that you have done for us.  You are our strength and source of happiness.  We know that we can depend on you.  Bless us and comfort us in our needs and concerns.  And bring us into true happiness of your grace. Amen.