January 29, 2023, The Beatitudes Have Always Been, Matthew 5:1-13 – Mtr. Kathryn Boswell

saintphilipsnorwood ♦ January 29, 2023 ♦ Leave a comment

To listen to this sermon, click the link above. An outline of the sermon is given below.

1. Today’s gospel begins: Jesus went up on the mountain; his disciples came to him, and he opened his mouth and taught them. Matthew wants us to hear echoes from Mt. Sinai, when God called Moses up on the mountain and gave him the tablets of the law 3 mos. after he brought them out of Egypt – thunder, lightning and smoke – barriers at the foot of the mountain. Ex 19 or paraphrase

Matthew wants to be sure that we recognize that here, on a hill near Capernaum, overlooking the Sea of Galilee, this is the One God, speaking to his people once again, as he did at Sinai 1500 yrs ago

This isn’t a new God and a new teaching – not the “Gentle” God of the NT replacing the “Wrathful” God of the OT – it is the Son coming to make the Father’s heart known to his children. Jesus says it himself, “I didn’t come to abolish the Law, but to fulfill it.”

2. The Beatitudes, in fact, have deep roots in the Psalms and the Prophets:

Poor in Spirit – theirs is the kingdom: Is 66:2 “This is the one to whom I will look, says the Lord, he who is humble and contrite in spirit, the one who trembles at my word.”

Those who mourn – shall be comforted: Is 61:2-3 “The Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; to bind up the brokenhearted; to comfort all who mourn; to give them the oil of gladness”

The meek – inherit the earth: Ps 37:10-11 “In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; but the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace”

Hunger and thirst for righteousness – be satisfied: Ps 94:3-7 “O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? They kill the widow and the stranger and murder the fatherless; and they say,’the Lord does not see.’ – the Lord will not abandon his people or forsake his own; for judgment will again be just.”

Merciful – shown mercy: Micah 6:8 “What does the Lord require of you? To do justice and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

Pure in heart – see God: Ps 24:3-5 “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the Lord.”

Peacemaker – children of God: Ps 34:12-14 “What man is there who desires life and loves many days, that he may see good? Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”

3. But, of course, this IS a very different scene from the giving of the law from Mt. Sinai. Here there is no thunder and lightning and smoke. Here there are no barriers to protect people from the fearful holiness of God. Here on this Galilean hill is Emmanuel, God WITH his people, God in flesh and blood, God that can be seen and heard and touched – Jesus of Nazareth.

And the law Jesus hands down is not carved on stone tablets. This is the new covenant that Jeremiah foretold: Jer 31:31-34

These beatitudes define what life as citizens of God’s kingdom is all about – not life without pain or difficulty, but a life with promise and assurance and hope for the future.

4. But Jesus is clear – living the Good Life of the kingdom will put us at odds with the world – sometimes with the secular world – but sometimes even with the church. We’ve seen this with Pope Francis who has extended grace and raised hackles over and over again. We saw it with Bishop Desmond Tutu (gov/apartheid, church/homosexuality), Martin Luther King Jr., (Jim Crow south/civil rights, church/active protests) and first of all with Jesus himself.

If we’re living the beatitude life – of humility, mercy, and peacemaking, grieving the brokenness of the world and longing for its healing, we will find ourselves in conflict with the world in some form sooner or later – maybe even by the people closest to us. Make no mistake, the beatitudes are rules for the road now, not ideals for some utopian future. But the promise is that we will find blessing, that it is, even now, the Good Life, the abundant life of the Kingdom.