Matthew 5:1-12
Jesus redefines our understanding of ‘the Good Life’
Introduction
These words in the first 12 verses of Matthew 5 begin the Sermon on the Mount, roughly 2000 words that are some of the most recognisable and universally appealing teachings of Jesus across cultural and religious boundaries.
The sermon as a whole from chapters 5 – 7 takes 20 mins to read, but a lifetime of wisdom to meditate on and practice.
They are words that have changed the world.
Last week we had the beginning of Jesus ministry. Preaching good news and curing sickness and disease.
Jesus had something that people wanted, more than that, needed.
The poor, the in pain, the unspiritual, even spiritually unhealthy, flock to him.
Jesus takes action. Then with our beginning verses lets them know what just happened.
Dallas Willard says, that in these 12 verses, Jesus is giving language for what they have experienced. That their inclusion, their restoration, is bigger than a personal thing for them. It’s symptomatic of what God is doing in the world, through Jesus.
Jesus is redefining their understanding of ‘The Good Life’.
The Good Life starts now… and not yet.
Jesus gives a list of those who are blessed, who are counted as happy, or enviable, and the first and last are bookended with the phrase: for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. We can also translate this as Kingdom of the Skies.
For the biblical authors, heaven is God’s space, up there, in the sky. A place they couldn’t get to.
The Kingdom of Heaven is the way of talking about the place where God’s will is done, where God’s reign and rule of love, mercy and justice governs everything. A place where life will truly be Good.
Clearly, here on Earth, we humans have been used to doing things differently. The Kingdom of Heaven may as well be in the Sky, or as we say, may as well be on the moon or in outer space!
In the famous poem High Flight, by John Gillespie Magee Jr., he describes the joy of flight, frolicking in the sky, ‘slipping the surly bonds of earth’, climbing ‘Up, up the long, delirious, burning blue’.
In his plane, in that place, he says he can do what ordinary people cannot. He can reach out and find intimacy with the divine, ‘touch[ing] the face of God’.
Jesus, in his ministry and in his sermon, is saying that this intimacy, the Kingdom of Heaven, is here, is no longer just found in the sky. It’s no longer far off; it’s as close as the air from the sky you breathe.
Heaven is coming to earth in Jesus
The Good Life, God’s reign and rule, Jesus insists, started on Earth with him and what he was doing. It is not fully here yet, which is why later on in the Sermon on the Mount, in the Lord’s prayer, we as Jesus followers are to pray “your Kingdom come, on the earth as in heaven.” But the intimacy of heaven is here, surrounding us like the sky’s atmosphere of air. The Good Life starts now, even if it’s not experienced in its fullness.
The Good Life is for all… especially those who seem to miss out.
This list of blessed people is non-exhaustive. Sometimes it’s been seen as a list of traits to emulate, which is ok when we talk about peacemakers, but doesn’t make sense when thinking about having an impoverished spirituality, poor in spirit.
They are not a checklist for receiving blessings.
This list appears to be more descriptive of the people that their world says do not experience the Good Life of God’s favour. The type of people who flocked to Jesus.
The Poor in Spirit: In their world, physical poverty was more closely tied with the absence of divine blessing, amounting to spiritual poverty. For us, physical poverty and an impoverished spiritual life do not go hand in hand. But, for both these groups, Jesus says Good News: the Kingdom of Heaven is here.
Those who mourn or grieve: No one wants to experience loss, not just of loved ones, but of circumstances too. Jobs, identities, our sense of place and belonging. In a world that loves control, people who experience the powerlessness of loss don’t have it made. Jesus says the Good Life of God’s reign and rule will bring comfort for God’s people.
The Meek, the unassertive, those who don’t throw their weight around. Human history shows where they end up. “Nice guys finish last” as the saying goes. They always miss out. But not in God’s kingdom. The overlooked and the walked on are heirs, children in this new reality.
Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those who burn with a longing for things to be made right, desperate for transformation in themselves and in the world. Will be filled, ‘stuffed’ full. Jesus says such a transformation is here in the Kingdom.
The Merciful. The merciful’s enemies just live to fight another day. Don’t they? So the merciful don’t make it to the top. Perhaps so. But Jesus says those on the bottom, because they show mercy, also will receive God’s generosity and mercy
The Pure in Heart. Integrity is great, until it gets in the way and bogs us down. Those who stick to their principles are often sidelined. Our call to worship from Psalm 15 is a poem about such a person being welcomed in God’s holy heavenly place. Jesus is saying in him, this reality of dining face to face with God is beginning in him.
The Peacemakers. Whether geopolitical peacemaking or mediating family or workplace tensions, Peacemaking is dangerous because peacemakers are not on either side and so are not trusted by either to look out for their interests and so are kept on the outside. But these peacemakers are like children carrying the likeness of their parents, the divine parent of God. They won’t miss out.
Those Persecuted for righteousness. Doing the right thing doesn’t always pay off. It is often costly. Friendships, position, and reputation can often be at stake. But whatever price doing the right thing has exacted, the promises of God’s reign and rule make them enviable.
When humanity thinks of who has it made in the world, we typically don’t think of people in these categories.
Even in more down-to-earth Aotearoa, there is still the subtle lure of achieving the kiwi dream. The house, car, boat, bach. Good health, financial security, and perhaps influence. Most people miss out on that.
The people gathered around Jesus that day wouldn’t be the type to attract viral social media followings.
Many, many people are used to missing out. But Jesus says, they are primed to be in on the best version of life. They are not excluded. Good news.
Can you recognise yourself or anyone you know in any of these groups?
Jesus says: Blessed. Good news, how enviable! The intimacy of the Good Life with God is here for you.
The Good Life is for all… especially for those who seem to miss out.
God’s way of being in the world is the Good Life… but not easy.
The last Blessed is a bit different. Your Bible may have it formatted differently from the others. Before the formula of the blessings has been ‘blessed are the… or blessed are those…’
Here, it is blessed are you.
Perhaps indicating something about how those who are committed to Jesus’ way of being in the world are often received by those who prefer defining good and bad for themselves.
The Good Life of God’s way of being in the world may be here now; it is available for everyone. But it’s also hard.
It’s hard because we are living according to a future reality that has not yet been fully realised.
In following the way of Jesus, we are living now in a way that will make more sense in God’s promised future, when God’s will is done on earth just like in heaven.
Maybe it’s a bit like being booked to go somewhere tropical for a winter holiday escape. But in the month before you leave, you decide to dispense with your winter woollies, down coat and rain jacket, and wear your shorts and t-shirt, maybe even your togs, before you’ve even left Christchurch.
That would be uncomfortable for obvious reasons. It would probably even look a bit silly.
That would be living in the present in a way that makes sense in the future.
It is upside-down and countercultural. That’s always hard.
It was hard for God’s prophets calling Israel’s leaders and people to a faithful life with God.
The rest of the New Testament story shows us people who chose to shape their life around Jesus and were as Eugene Peterson puts it the Message: “put down, thrown out, lied about, to discredit Jesus.”
Because the way of Jesus, announces that the days are numbered for those who do the putting down, throwing out and character assassination.
Here in Aotearoa, we do enjoy freedom of expression of faith. But it’s still not necessarily easy.
Not easy to advocate for peacemaking when friends or acquaintances seem indifferent to or even supportive of world leaders’ warmongering.
Not easy to sit with grief when bereavement leave is used up and you’re expected to keep calm and carry on.
Not easy for one’s voice to be heard in the maelstrom of ideas and brainstorms where others are vying to be recognised.
Not easy to slow down, sit down on the side of a mountain with Jesus while the world hurries itself to bits, and know that the Kingdom of Heaven, the Good Life, Intimacy with God, is yours, and that is enough.
What have been the difficult things for you as you have lived a life of faith? How have you felt different or misunderstood by others because of your faith?
God’s way of being in the world is the Good Life… but not always easy.
Closing
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus wants to redefine our understanding of the Good Life, of who has it made. He goes on in the sermon to unpack this further.
But he opens with this announcement: the Good Life, starts now, here in this life, and more is yet to come.
That those used to being nobodies, missing out, not making the grade, are in the prime position to experience this Good Life with God. That it’s made available by the gracious work of Jesus.
That we have this Good Life, with God, but there are times that it is difficult and hard. Whatever time and place in history we live in.
That, Blessed are you in Jesus Christ.