Blessings

What do Presidential motorcades, celebrity sightings, and court-storming fans have to do with Jesus?

This sermon is based on these texts:
Revelation 7:9-17Psalm 34:1-10, 221 John 3:1-3Matthew 5:1-12

I have never personally witnessed a presidential motorcade; however, I have watched enough West Wing and House of Cards to know what happens when the commander-in-chief rolls into one’s city. I have never been present for a massive celebrity sighting; however, I have paid attention enough to the publications in the checkout line at the grocery store to know what happens they venture out into public. I have never attended a game when the underdog pulled such an upset, still I have watched enough sports of TV to know what happens when the clock strikes zero and Goliath has been slain. In each of these cases the response of those surrounding the leader, the star, or the game-winner is the same, namely pandemonium—blocked off streets, people fainting, and fans rushing the ones in the spotlight. So, of course, this was the response when Jesus began his ministry long ago too, right? Hmm…

You may have noticed that we are not where we last left Jesus. It may feel like we have whiplash, as we shift from the culminating moments of Matthew’s Gospel account during Holy Week back to the start when Jesus strolled onto the scene. Before we dive into this almost-too-familiar text that we commonly call the Beatitudes, it would do us some good to explore the build-up that Matthew provides us in the opening chapters of his telling of the Good News.

If this were a movie the narrator would give away a crucial detail about the story even before the opening credits finish rolling. Matthew begins his story by telling us that Jesus is the Messiah. This may not seem weird to us, but imagine being a hearer of this story long ago. On the one hand this seems anticlimactic especially since what follows is a dull genealogy tracing Jesus back to King David. However, on the other hand this crucial detail begins to build up the anticipation around Jesus.

Building upon this proclamation Matthew points out the universal nature of Jesus’ kingly status by describing the journey of the Magi from the East to see the newborn king of the Jews. In the early moments of the tale, the gospel writer also tells of angelic visitors coming to Joseph, the holy family escaping to Egypt, and King Herod viciously murdering the first-born-sons of Bethlehem. If the dreary listing of whom begat who lulled the original audience to sleep these dramatic twists and turns surely would woke them from their slumber. Eventually Joseph brings his family to Nazareth where Jesus grows up. By the time he matures into an adult John the Baptist is venturing out into the wilderness to send the hype surrounding Jesus to atmospheric levels. Soon though it is not only human voices that shine a light on the majesty of Jesus, but God’s own voice also.

God announces at Jesus’ baptism that he is God’s Son, the Beloved, with whom God is well pleased. Instead of dwelling on this proclamation Matthew seizes on this moment to describe Jesus’ flight to the desert and his fight with the Devil there. By the time Jesus calls his first disciple there is so much excitement surrounding him that it puts presidential motorcades, paparazzi, and field-storming fans to shame!

With all this attention, all this build-up, and even the voice of God inaugurating Jesus as God’s beloved Son what might we expect from Jesus’ first public statements? What will be his first teaching? Probably big pyrotechnics through a miracle of some sort, right? Or if not that words that rile up the crowd to get them to change the world. Or, if the crowd got its way some words about overthrowing the occupying Roman forces! Right?! Surely, his words will be about the power that has surrounded the hype of his ministry. Well, none of these things happened. In fact, after the crescendo that built throughout the first four chapters of this Gospel account we may feel like Jesus made his initial public offering through a whimper.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” While this first statement sounds counter-cultural to us, it would have been even more shocking to those who first heard it. Jesus then offers eight other statements about what blessing looks like—not according to the world that props up kings and queens, high priests and governors, gladiators and celebrities, but according to God’s beloved Son.

“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“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.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
“Blessed are 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. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

So what does Jesus mean by blessed? Someone who was blessed was one who was spoken well of, fortunate, or even happy. In what world are the mournful happy? How are those who are meek fortunate? Are you really telling me Jesus that someone who is persecuted is spoken well of? This is all a little shocking—it is all a little disorienting—but this is the direction of Jesus’ ministry. Think back over the last few weeks’ Gospel lessons.

At the end of this same Gospel account Jesus focuses his teaching energy upon those who were in power—the presidents, the stars, and the celebrities of the day. Jesus challenged them and he challenges us to see things not through the eyes of the world’s elite, but through the eyes of God—who by the way is quite often viewing things from the outsider perspective of the tax collector, prostitute, or poor beggar.

On some level I hope this is not too shocking to us, I mean this is Jesus. Plus, we have heard Matthew’s upside-down telling of the story since last December. And yet, if we are still not hearing Jesus’ words as outlandish, appalling, and counter-cultural, then your clergy are not doing their jobs the right way. Jesus called his followers and still calls us into a way of life that sees blessings where we ought to see tragedy.

God’s way of blessing sees the mournful receiving comfort, the meek inheriting the earth, and the persecuted dwelling in heaven. Today, we remember all those followers of Jesus—the meek, the mournful, the persecuted, and all the rest—who walk along this way past, present, and yet to come. The world says that people with power or privilege, fame or fortune, stardom or celebrity are blessed (sometimes even #blessed). But, Jesus did not inaugurate his ministry by telling those who surrounded him, “Blessed are the 1%ers for they will get even richer, blessed are the movie stars for they will garner even more fame, and blessed are the politicians for their corrupt way is the right one.” Still, there is one more twist on this audacious way that Jesus walked, the way of all the saints, the way we are invited to walk as well.

A blessing is not something that is earned or achieved, but rather it is something given to us. None of us gain God’s blessings by something we have done. Instead, all are saints by receiving the blessings—as counter-cultural as they may be—from God as complete and total gift. And, no blessing transforms us more than the grace of God’s beloved Son. So on this All Saints’ Sunday may we be saints too, may we receive the blessings of God as hard as they may be, and may we most of all receive and share the unconditional love of God through Christ—for certainly that and not the love of politicians, celebrities, and sports stars is worth celebrating and going crazy over!