January 30, 2011
Bless You
- Matthew 5:1-12
- Dr. Teri Thomas
Bless you. We say that to one another- usually in response to a sneeze. Or we say- Bless his heart- to make up for saying awful things about someone. He is uglier than a mud fence, bless his heart. We don’t talk a lot about being blessed. We talk about being blessed WITH something- Blessed with a good job, a loving partner, a new opportunity, good kids. But we are not just blessed.
I have a very good friend who I worked with for seven years in Detroit. Whenever Warren spoke of himself he said he was a blessed child. In every generation the Grandmother chose a blessed child from among her grandchildren. Sometimes it was the oldest, sometimes the youngest. Sometimes there was no rhyme or reason, except to Grandma. As the blessed child Warren was given more opportunities than the other children. He was given more grace and forgiveness and was punished less than the other children. He got things he did not deserve and was treated with respect and reverence by all.
He knew he did not earn this special treatment and he knew it wasn’t fair to the other siblings
But that was the way it was in his family. To this day if you ask Warren, “How are you?” His answer will be, “I am blessed.” And the amazing things is that he answered that way even when he was going through a divorce, even when his son was giving him fits, even when he was having chemo for colon cancer, no matter what is happening in his life, he knows he is blessed.
In this morning’s Gospel reading Jesus wants to let some folks know that they too are blessed.
The word he uses is makaros, which translates as “blessed.” Some translations say, “happy,” but that’s not it. The opposite of happy would be unhappy. But the opposite of blessed is cursed. This isn’t about an internal emotional state. Makaros is more like “honored”; it’s like saying “we salute you.”
To be blessed is to be given a gift everyone would want to receive. It is not about how we feel,
but it is about what God has done for us. To be blessed is to be privileged, fortunate, given divine favor. It means you are welcomed and valued in the Kingdom
And if that is the case, then we know how we would expect these beatitudes to read if they were written today-
Blessed are the pure of breath, clear of skin, and white of tooth, for they will have dates on Valentine’s Day.
Blessed are the consumers; the diamonds they give are forever.
Blessed are those low in body fat; their six-pack abs will win them love.
Blessed are those with high credit limits; what they have is priceless.
Blessed are the rich, for they are our major donors.
Blessed are the achievers, for we hope we’ll become what we envy.
Blessed are the winners, for they can reward our loyalty.
Blessed are the strong, for they can determine their own destiny.
(adapted from http://www.sarahlaughed.net/sermons/epiphany/)
That might be the way Madison Avenue would write them, but that is not what Jesus said.
In Monty Python’s movie The Life of Brian Jesus is standing on the top of the hill speaking to the crowds. There is a group at the bottom of the hill having trouble hearing. They begin quarreling and someone asks what Jesus said-
“I think it was blessed are the cheesemakers
What's so special about the cheesemakers?”
“It's not meant to be taken literally, it refers to any manufacturer of dairy products.”
Then someone hears- Blessed are the meek. And a woman responds, “The meek, oh isn’t that nice? I am glad they are getting something, they have such a hard time.”
Even in comedy folks can’t make sense of what Jesus is saying. Within a minute of the words leaving his mouth he is misunderstood, misinterpreted, and misquoted.
But we have to try to make some sense of these teachings. These beatitudes strike against conventional wisdom. Perhaps that is why Jesus shares them with us. Here is a world- a way of life. a set of values, we would not know if Jesus did not teach us. These do not come from our world and they do not fit easily into our world. These are teachings that are meant to lead us into a whole new place, a world where the meaning of life is defined by God.
In an article in 2004, the late Hoosier Kurt Vonnegut wrote-
For some reason, the most vocal Christians among us never mention the Beatitudes. But, often with tears in their eyes, they demand that the Ten Commandments be posted in public buildings. And of course that's Moses, not Jesus. I haven't heard one of them demand that the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, be posted anywhere.
"Blessed are the merciful" in a courtroom?
"Blessed are the peacemakers" in the Pentagon?
Give me a break!
We find the poetry beautiful, the teaching impractical.
We admire the instruction, and we fear the implication.
We can’t let these teaching of Jesus frighten us or discourage us. They are not instructions for how we should strive to live, but rather they are descriptions of who we can be.
The beatitudes are written in the present tense.
Blessed ARE- not blessed WILL BE
The kingdom of God IS made up of these kinds of folks
And the Kingdom is for these kinds of believers.
These are statements about what is true in God’s new reality.
They simply state what already is.
They state that the people of God are blessed, not that we will be blessed, not that we can be blessed if we do certain things, but that we are blessed, right here and right now. And if that's the case, they also tell us something quite shocking: that we are the poor in spirit. We are the meek. We are the peacemakers. We are the ones who hunger and thirst for what is right. See, the issue is not about whether we are these things or not. The issue is whether we realize that we are. And that is the heart of the revolutionary message of Jesus, the heart of its message, and also its greatest challenge.
Let’s listen to Jesus words one more time
This time according to The Message, a paraphrase by Eugene Peterson
""You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope.
With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you.
Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are--no more, no less.
That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God.
He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
"You're blessed when you care.
At the moment of being "carefull,' you find yourselves cared for.
"You're blessed when you get your inside world--your mind and heart--put right.
Then you can see God in the outside world.
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight.
That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution.
The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom." -
And you're blessed when people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. It wasn't any different for the prophets, and it won't be any different for you.
So be glad when that happens – give a cheer!
All heaven applauds because you are so blessed.
Amen.