Worship Sun 2 Feb: 'Blessed are...' pt1 on The Beatitudes

This morning, the first of a two part mini-series exploring
the opening section of the Sermon on the Mount, known as 'The Beatitudes'.
This week, it's a case of 'who' - who are the blessed?
Next week, we reflect on the how - 'be' attitudes that help us to not only
live in to the gift of being blessed, but also, to cultivate a culture and
community of being a blessing to the lives of others and the life of the world.

READINGS/
1 Cor 1:18-31; Matt 5:1-12

SERMON/ ‘Blessed are...?’ Beatitudes, pt 1
Let’s pray: May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of all our hearts,
be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our rock and our redeemer. Amen

Every now and then, on a friend’s twitter feed, a photo of a coffee mug will randomly appear.
And a very handsome coffee mug it is, too –
lot’s of lovely multi-coloured stripes makes it positively cheerful,
but it’s the logo on the mug that always makes me laugh – it says:
‘too blessed to be stressed’
What a great attitude, tho, over time, I’ve noticed that the mug most often appears
when her life is at its most hectic...
I’m minded of the mug because, today, as you’ve already picked up,
we’re thinking about this idea of blessing –
of being blessed,
and of those who are blessed.

Over the last 6 weeks, we could all be forgiven for being left a little breathless
by the breakneck speed in which we’ve moved from preparing the way for
the promised Messiah, to the celebration of his birth in the manger at Bethlehem,
to his baptism, and then the call of those first disciples.
And in our gospel passage this morning, here at last, we meet Jesus in teaching mode –
and we’re introduced at last to his understanding of God and of God’s kingdom values
who God values,
and the type of actions that God values.

As people had flocked to see his cousin John, so people are now beginning to flock
to hear Jesus, who has started to inspire,
who has started to capture people’s imaginations.
While throughout his childhood he was largely kept in the shadows –
well, certainly by those who have written down the story of his life –
we see Jesus, now in the spotlight and talking about the blessed, or the happy:
blessed are they
is as easily translated into
happy are they.
And, as we sit alongside the great multitude listening to Jesus,
at the very beginning of what will be later called the Sermon on the Mount,
we start with the Beatitudes,
and we discover the ones in particular who Jesus believes are happy, are blessed.

So, in the framework of the Kingdom of heaven, just who does Jesus say are blessed?
The poor in spirit,
those who mourn,
the meek,
those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
the merciful,
the pure in heart,
the peacemakers.
And then, the list of those who are blessed becomes even more interesting:
blessed are those who are persecuted
because of righteousness,
those who are insulted, who are falsely accused of terrible things because of Jesus...

Let’s think about this wee list of the blessed.
What of those described as ‘poor in spirit’?
Here we have a nod to self worth,
or, more accurately to those who lack a sense of self worth...
On a positive reading, it could be interpreted as those not to bothered by a hungry ego.
On a different slant, perhaps the term could be extended to those particular folk who
find it hard to get their heads around the fact that they could possibly be loved.
Perhaps, these are the folk who have been so beaten down by the challenges of
and in the world, that it’s hard enough to just keep putting one foot in front of the other.
But to these, the kingdom of heaven will be granted:
those who have viewed themselves as
not particularly valuable,
not particularly wanted,
those so weighed down by their harsh inner critical editor that they are not sure if next time
some difficulty happens, that they’ll be able to rise up once more and re-enter the fray.
The kingdom of heaven is given to these,
a demonstration and an offering of love –
these who value themselves so little are especially of value to God;
these who feel their lives amount to little, matter hugely to God.
They are blessed, as are we, as we open up our arms and accept God’s’ love –
a love that can’t be earned, because it’s a love that is freely given.
And, I will keep on saying this until the cows come home:
each and every one of us matters to God,
and is loved, so very much loved by God.
For those who feel worthless,
this opening volley in the Sermon on the Mount reminds them – reminds us that,
our true worth is found in simply accepting that we are God’s beloved –
We are important, for we are God’s.
That is all we need – and knowing that, then, whom shall we fear?
That love of God, is like putting on a great big comfort blanket.
For those of you here who may be feeling a little poor in Spirit remember this:
remember you are loved,
you matter,
and that you are not invisible but that you are seen by the One
who created the whole Universe...
Stop and pause, take a deep, deep breath, and as you breath in, may you feel the warmth
of God’s love for you –
God’s blessing for you.

Who is next on this list of the blessed?
The ones who mourn.
And, my word, even just over the last couple of days since I’ve been back from holiday,
I’m already in the midst of a lot of funerals –
Within our parish, and in the midst of our congregation, there are the folk who are
mourning the loss of friends or family.
And while being bereaved is a hard and hostile place to inhabit, even in the middle of the dark
and lonely space caused by grief, yet, there is hope, there is light –
the hostile land of bereavement doesn’t get the last say:
Jesus does.
Those who mourn are blessed,
for the ones who have chosen to throw in their lot with Jesus
will learn the language of restoration –
and again, there’s comfort –
God knows what the pain of loss and bereavement looks like –
he sent Jesus to live among us,
and eventually to die among us –
and the blessing is found in knowing that it doesn’t stop at death:
we are a resurrection people, after all.
Those who mourn will, in time, discover the comfort of resurrection’s song.

We also have the ones described as ‘meek’
The meek?
The ones who hang back,
who can be heard apologising a lot,
who are very easily trampled over.
At a dance, they’re the quiet ones -
but these ones are blessed
because they will never easily seduced by the siren sounds of power for power’s sake.
They are blessed, for they learn that with God,
they have all that they need, and more.
They are blessed, for they have learned that the path of contentment
is found in the God who supplies all their needs.

And, what of those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
the merciful,
the pure in heart,
the peacemakers...
even those who are persecuted for Jesus’ sake?
They too, are blessed:
they walk the way of the kingdom of heaven,
letting go of the need to justify themselves –
to always be right no matter what...
finding instead that God is the only source of true righteousness;
the merciful have let go of the need for vengeance, trusting in God’s justice;
the pure of heart have let go of the strange human need to do almost the
exact opposite thing which lead to life –
but rather, can lead to self-destruction.
The peacemakers have let go of the habit of war –
spears have been turned to pruning hooks, in the desire to live into truly loving one’s neighbour:
they demonstrate to a world itching for a fight, that there are other ways to live –
to be a community of reconciliation;
...and, then, what of those who are persecuted?
They have let go of their fear of being seen as different for being a person of faith.

These ones, all, are blessed:
these ones, all,
whom are most often overlooked
or despised by others...
show again that sense of God’s upside-down
notions of the kingdom –
where love and honour and respect is extended to all...
a kingdom of blessing,
where all are blessed,
and from the experience of being blessed,
stretch out their hands to bless others.
because there’s plenty enough love in God’s limitless ocean of love for all to be blessed.

The Beatitudes tells of those who are on the margins being
brought into the centre and celebrated...
And in that telling, reminds us that we, too, are blessed –
too blessed to be stressed...
And, as we walk with God, so God walks with us –
just as, in flesh and blood,
Jesus walked with his first disciples,
shared conversation and communion with them,
and then, walked a little way ahead,
to the Cross, and beyond,
showing them, and now, us,
the way to glory and the promise of the resurrection.

Where will we see the beatitudes lived out today –
lives that are blessed and that bless the lives of others?
Where will we bear witness to the alternative kingdom full of those whom Christ calls blessed?
Will we recognise the poor in spirit or those who mourn?
Will we notice the meek and those who hunger for righteousness?
Will we be able to point out the merciful or the pure in heart?
Will we stand alongside the peacemakers and those who are treated unfairly,
close enough to attract some of their harassment?
When we can see and stay close to those whom Christ calls blessed,
we will learn how to live as a community of blessing
Today, and each day, let's live into that promise,
and be blessed,
and be a blessing to all:
as we find our true selves and our true worth, in God.

Let’s pray:
God of life and of truth,
Your Son invites us to see the world 
through your eyes
and we find ourselves disoriented:

You bless the poor
You bless the meek
You bless the pure in heart.
You turn our world and its values upside down.

We have signed on to follow your Son
but this is strange territory.
It doesn’t look anything like
the life we have been taught to yearn for,
to work for,
to believe will bring us happiness.

Yet, You know the despair that besets
so many of our young people
who fear that their future has been mortgaged
by our greed and carelessness.
You hear the cries of those who
have traded their souls for power and money
and now have emptiness as a friend.
You see those who are caught in lives that
lead only to weariness and anxiety.

Set us at Jesus’ feet
so we can learn to judge our lives differently.
Awaken in us that hunger and thirst for you
which will lead us to your will
and your peace.

Open our eyes to see your unexpected blessings.
Open our hearts to welcome you
when you come to us in strange ways.

Then make us into a community of blessedness
that beckons this neighbourhood
into your joy.

We ask these things in the name of Jesus
who blesses us with your living presence
and fills our lives with your life-changing truth. Amen.*
*prayer from 'Roots'