November 5, 2023

Revelation 7:9-17; Matthew 5:1-12

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Sermon on the Mount is a quintessential moment in the ministry of Jesus. There are many other passages from the Bible that spell out his teachings, but this sermon sums up with great succinctness what Jesus was trying to convey.

The “poor in spirit” here can be interpreted many ways, but my preferred version of the term is humility. To be poor in spirit, meaning to be lacking in hubris, to be circumspect about what we say and do. To be open to the notion of learning and to be open to the realization that we might be wrong. 

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

As we gather on All Souls Sunday, we are called upon to remember those we have known and those we have lost. Those throughout our lives and those most recently. And as we remember those people across time, we might realize what it means to be comforted. The loss of someone years ago compared to the loss of someone this year. Old versus fresh grief.

How does grief change in form, in intensity? It changes because we keep on living. It is not that we forget those we have lost, but our world expands as we grow in various ways. It is like a small piece of fabric that is torn and then is added to a larger quilt. The torn fabric is still a part of the greater whole, but it is in a new field of life experiences and memories. It is in a context of living and growing and changing. For that is how life works.

The grief seems smaller even as our souls grow ever larger, as our hearts are filled with that much more living and hopefully loving. We do not ever leave anyone behind, but they are joined together with other people we come to know and to love. That is not a betrayal. That is the nature of living and loving.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

The meek are not known for receiving much in this life. Like the humble, they are often overlooked because of brash and showy folks clamoring for our attention. Look at me, I am doing something outlandish so you will take notice. The squeaky wheel gets the oil and our attention.

I think this promise by Jesus is important as a reminder that we must pay attention to the meek, to the mild, to the humble. Because it is not always in our nature to do so. We look at the child doing cartwheels or coloring on the walls, not the one reading quietly. We look to the celebrity and the demagogue, the surface beauties with shallow souls and selfish minds. We know better than this, but we fall for it far too often. Too often not to need a reminder now and then.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

When I was ordained years ago, I chose a similar reading from the Gospels. It was from Luke, the so-called Sermon on the Plain. In that version, Jesus does not speak about those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. He speaks about those who hunger and thirst literally. They are not looking for some philosophical wholeness. They are looking for their daily bread.

I think religion that speaks only to the spiritual dimension without concern for the world diminishes the intentions of Jesus. Not that he was not concerned with the spirit, but that we can have more than one concern floating around in our brains. And I think a people gathered to God that focuses only on the comfort of those inside its walls without concern for those out the world misses the mark.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

If we build a community in which mercy is prized, we will be more likely to come across mercy when we stumble, when we fall. Mercy is by definition not deserved. The law does not require mercy. Righteousness does not require mercy.

But humility—humility requires mercy. Because how else can we remain humble than to realize that there but for the grace of God goes us, goes you, goes me. We are called upon to be more than accountants of morality, to weigh the deserving natures of others with measured teaspoons. We must be extravagant in our care, concern, and compassion for others. And maybe someday, when we are in need for once, there will be a kind soul there waiting. Maybe.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Why might they see God? Because God is pure of heart? Or because God seeks out those who remain pure of heart? What does this mean? I think it means don’t be filled with anger and hatred, of course, but also to steer clear of greed or envy. Furthermore, I think this line is a warning about being cynical and pessimistic, about always assuming the worst in others and the worst in the future.

Being a pessimist might be a way to protect ourselves from the harsh moments we face in life. But that attitude will also prevent us from experiencing the kindness we might come across in our days, the tenderness we might find in our relationships. If you protect yourself from every moment of discomfort, you will also miss many moments of joy. A closed heart is a cold heart.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

This is a rough reminder in this moment in time. A time filled with wars abroad and conflicts at home. I am repeatedly asked why we cannot all get along. And this is more than occasionally by people who are unable to let go of even minor hurts and misunderstandings. If we are called upon to forgive by God, again and again and again, and yet we catalogue every perceived slight along with actual harm and insult, the likelihood of ever getting to a point of reconciliation becomes more and more remote.

Peace is an activity, not something we stumble across. Not some frozen and fictious moment in time but a goal. A goal we must try to achieve through active pursuit and a willingness to let go. To let go of even the real harm we have suffered.

Each generation has an opportunity not to pass along the terrible suffering it has experienced. To hold onto that harm rather than to pass it on. Because peace means that someone must be the last one injured by the anger of others. Someone must be the last because they would be the one to finally break the chain of retribution. The one who says enough is enough. May it be us.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

This is what Jesus is getting at with his language of righteousness. Not that we have to be right, but that we are willing to defend what we think is right without inflicting that self-appointed righteousness upon others. We are following our sense of what is right without persecuting others, even if we are persecuted.

Perhaps the greatest failure of Christianity has been its success. Jesus was leading a group of misfits and dissidents. The poor and the unimportant, the prostitutes and the tax collectors, the fisherman and farmers, the laborers and the carpenters. And then they became kings and queens, lords and ladies, the rich and the powerful. They stopped being poor in spirit, those in need of comfort, those humble and hungry, those merciful and pure. Those willing to make peace. Those willing to stay their hands.

They stopped being who Jesus asked them to be and who God blesses.

‘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.

When we think about the people we have known in this life, those whose memories we cherish and those whose examples we have followed, we are often thinking about people who embodied these qualities that Jesus was extolling. Those who loved and cared for us. Those who lifted us up and helped lead us along.

Some of them, not all of them of course.

Some were different. Perhaps they were not always humble or peaceful or even pure. They were perhaps complicated people who nonetheless loved us and who we loved in return. We are mindful of them even if our memories are complex. Even if those memories are not always perfect. They may have not always lived up to the blessed adjectives that Jesus was preaching about. And yet our love endures.

And that is okay, because there is still time. There is still time for us. Time for us to be humble about our experiences. Time for us to be merciful with our memories. Time for us to be peacemakers by making peace with the past. Peace that we allow to come into being within our hearts and minds and souls.

How do you forgive someone now that they are gone? By letting go of the anger or the resentment or whatever negative feeling is holding you back. You let go of those because they are still holding on to you. Holding on to you and perhaps holding you back from living fully.

The passage of time helps turn grief into remembrance. The passage of time can also help turn resentment into acceptance and anger into peace. Time helps make that possible. But only we can choose to let go. To let go and to find a little peace.

May peace find its way to those who need it. And may God’s all-abiding love find us all this day and always. Amen.