Go forward

This week's goodness is on Matthew 5:1-11:

Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.

He said:

“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.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown 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 because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

I've been thinking a lot about these verses this week. Jesus is offering a blessing to people who are either running a deficit or are taking risks to do his work. He's saying "This may seem like a bad business decision, but I will make sure it works out."

The poor in spirit have rights to the kingdom of heaven. But what does that actually mean? If you're poor in money, it means you need money. So someone who is poor in spirit is someone who needs more spirit. They're not "there" yet. You're looking around at all of the other Christians going "How will I ever get that?" Christians who are "rich" in spirit are saying stuff like "I've been a Christian for ten years, so I'm above you. I don't need to listen to what you have to say, because I'm ahead of you." So Jesus is saying "Don't let that stop you. You belong. You have rights here."

Mourners will be comforted. What does that mean? Christ was speaking to a world that more closely resembled the Islamic State than anything we'd recognize. People would be killed for becoming Christians. Nowadays we're all like "I am afraid to introduce my faith tradition to my son Hunter, who we have raised as a vegetarian, because I don't want to prejudice his worldview with my preconceptions." In Jesus' time it was like "If I admit publicly that I am a Christian, people will burn my business to the ground. If I share this truth with my family, they may be killed, but if I don't, they will burn for eternity in Hell." Jesus is saying "People may die or leave you, but mourners will be comforted. It passes. Eternity is longer."

The meek will inherit the earth. Part of loving people is putting their needs before your own. It's hard to do that and not seem like a pushover at times though. You miss out. People were like "If I don't fight for the best deal on groceries, will I go broke?" "If I let people get away with vandalizing my stuff, will it invite more abuse?" "If I don't resort to foul play to get my daughter into a school, will I condemn her to a future of mediocrity?" The world is a brutal place. If you don't play its game, you can lose out. But Jesus says that those kind of meek people don't just break even, they inherit the earth. Why niggle over some small thing like that when God's full resources are behind us. Let it go. God has something better for you.

People who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be filled with it. Righteousness is something some people in the church mock. But in its core it means something that is the right way to do things, like the way God likes best and has intended. Who wouldn't want that? We see how far we are from it and we are starved for it. Nobody is hungry or thirsty and thinks "This is good enough. I could stay like this." Jesus is saying "Keep at it and you'll get it. You won't feel like this forever."

The merciful will be shown mercy. Being merciful sucks. Somebody insults you, or steals your stuff, or hurts someone you care about, and you're supposed to do nothing? That costs! In business, you don't just forgive when someone doesn't pay you for goods or services. You're essentially paying people to hurt you and cheat you. But Jesus sees it and credits it to you. Who among us doesn't need mercy? What if you got part of your credit card bill paid down every time someone cut you off in traffic or stole your lunch out of the fridge at work or gossiped behind you behind your back? Mercy is awesome!

The pure in heart will see God. Being pure in heart is great, until you start paying the price. You're not working extra hours at work. You're not pursuing hobbies. Output suffers. Your focus is on God. Your friends start to shun you because you don't do a lot of the things you used to do with them. You invest in God, but all of these other areas of your life suffer. Jesus is telling us that our focus on God pays off. It's not a liability.

The peacemakers will be called God's children. People are told not to break up fights nowadays because there's a risk of you or one of the combatants being injured. We're supposed to call the police and wait with our cell phone camera recording. When we see two people in a heated argument, both will yell at us if we try to intervene and see what's up. The role of peacemaker isn't very highly valued in our world, but it is in God's kingdom. How many of us have been on the cusp of fighting with someone only to be reconciled with them? How sweet that experience is! But why make peace? Why make the problem "our problem?" What do we gain? Warm fuzzies? A broken jaw? A lawsuit and a reputation as a nosy meddler? Jesus says that peacemakers will be called his children. We're resembling him when we make peace.

The kingdom of heaven belongs to people who are persecuted because of doing things the way God wants them. I've seen wonderful people slandered and shunned because they were "churchy," or dressed or talked like religious folks. I've seen people mocked for refusing to go along when people wanted to shoplift or vandalize property. In the Middle East, people have been raped, beaten, tortured, and shot for being Christians. What rational person would willfully go into a situation which produces such catastrophic results?

But Jesus is saying that those situations are checkpoints where we're given a choice. We are being asked to choose between two passports in our hand, one for the kingdom of heaven and one for the lost world. Which do we get rid of and which do we keep? When people are persecuted for choosing the kingdom of heaven, they're proving that they belong there. The lost world acknowledges that they do not belong there. It rejects them. But Jesus accepts them fully. He acknowledges "This is home for you."

For people who are considering Christianity seriously in a hostile environment, these verses are comforting and encouraging. No matter what fear or objection we might have, even stuff Jesus didn't list as examples, He still has us covered. We can move forward in our faith without having to second guess ourselves and the hidden consequences of our actions. In God there is freedom, even in the most dangerous of situations.

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