[The following was delivered at Ridgecrest Presbyterian Church, Locust, NC, on Sunday, September 19, 2010.]
Old Testament reading:
- The proverbs of Solomon:
A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son grief to his mother.
- Ill-gotten treasures are of no value,
but righteousness delivers from death.
- The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.
- Lazy hands make a man poor,
but diligent hands bring wealth.
- He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.
- Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
- The memory of the righteous will be a blessing,
but the name of the wicked will rot.
- The wise in heart accept commands,
but a chattering fool comes to ruin.
- The man of integrity walks securely,
but he who takes crooked paths will be found out.
- He who winks maliciously causes grief,
and a chattering fool comes to ruin.
- The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,
but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.
- Hatred stirs up dissension,
but love covers over all wrongs.
-- Proverbs 10:1-12 (New International Version)
New Testament reading and Message scripture:
The Beatitudes
- Now when he saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,
- and he began to teach them saying:
- "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 sons 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.
- Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."
-- Matthew 5:1-12 (New International Version)
First we should probably decide just what constitutes a blessing. Would you think it a blessing if you won the mega bucks lottery and received millions of dollars as a prize? Or perhaps some long forgotten relative passed away and left their house to the third child of their fifth second cousin on their mother's side, and end result of that sequence turned out to be you. Would that be a blessing? How about if the Panthers have a winning season? Would that be a blessing? Some might consider that more in the realm of miracles. But would we really consider any of these events blessings?
Going back to our song for a moment, Bing sings about one blessing as, “When my bankroll is getting small, I think of when I had none at all and I fall asleep counting my blessings.” This little piece of advice may be quite applicable today, nearly sixty years after it debuted. In our current economic environment, with so many out of work and struggling to make ends meet, I am sure a lot of folks suffer through sleepless nights, worrying about their shrinking resources. Could putting their troubles in the hands of Jesus and remembering when they had nothing at all help them fall asleep?
One repeated phrase in the song involves thinking of the nursery and counting the curly heads there, slumbering in their beds. Our children are indeed one of our greatest blessings. Sure, there are times when we consider this particular blessing to be of the mixed variety, like when our little angel throws a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store, or when our teenage son calls and says, “Dad, I've wrecked the car. No one's hurt but the car is totaled.”, or our adult daughter comes through the door sobbing, “Mom, he's left me for some other woman!”. Children are a blessing, even if they are not ours. We learn from them, we grow because of them, we do things because of them we would never dream of doing for ourselves. When we pay taxes, we think about building schools to educate future generations. When we step into the voting booth we consider how our cast ballot may affect those who will follow years down the road. We know how dear and precious children are. And so did Jesus, as He showed when He said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”, as recorded by Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
So children are a blessing, but what are some others? I consider each new morning a blessing. We are all blessed to live in this great land of ours, where we are to come in here and worship Jesus Christ as our risen Savior without fear of soldiers rushing through the doors to haul us outside and execute us, like the early Christians suffered. And I see a wonderful blessing in all the beauty in this world God has given us for a home, this beautiful garden we live in. Do we really need color in order to live and see things? Does food need to taste good to nourish our bodies? Do birds have to sing so sweetly just to attract a mate? No, no, and no. These are just a few examples of the beauty all around us, the beauty provided by God's hand, the beauty given to us simply for our enjoyment, the beauty that makes our lives a little easier to live and gives us more meaning. We can turn to our New Testament scripture reading for even more blessings.
When Matthew opens his fifth chapter, Jesus has begun His ministry. Filled with the Holy Spirit at His baptism by His cousin John and having resisted the temptations of Satan, He travels the countryside teaching the people and healing their ills. Crowds follow Him everywhere, forming ahead in hopes of His passing, reaching out for His touch. On this occasion, seeing the crowd awaiting Him, Jesus retreats “up into the hills” and His disciples follow Him. From here He delivers the Sermon on the Mount, recorded only by Matthew. We should look at this as a teaching tool, not a proclamation. In the first section, Christ talks about the citizens of heaven. We call this section The Beatitudes, and it describes the character and the blessings of the citizens of heaven.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Would we consider being poor, whether financially or spiritually, to be a blessing? Jesus does. For when we are poor, in any manner, then we have no other resource to turn to for help but to God. When we turn to Him for our help, then we will receive His blessings. Maybe not in this life, but definitely in the next, when we enter heaven. This is very much like what Paul wrote when talking about his “thorn in the flesh”. He suffered an affliction and asked God to remove it from him. But then he realized when he was weakest, God was strongest. When we have nothing left, nowhere else to turn, God will always be there for us. When we place our dependence on God, He will not let us down.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” When we think of mourning, our thoughts turn to those grieving over the loss of loved ones. In our earlier prayer, we asked for comfort for those suffering that loss today. But we can also mourn the seeming loss of justice in this world ruled over by the Evil One. In Revelation John tells us those who died for the Word of God and their testimony, the martyrs, cry out for judgment and justice. For now, we can expect to be blessed by God's comfort in our losses. When heaven comes to earth, the martyrs will be avenged.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” It is a bit of a misconception in our society when we equate meekness with cowardice and weakness. To be meek really means to be humble and respectful. These are the people who don't try to have their own way in all situations, who tend to care more about others than about themselves, who are not pushy or flashy or pretentious. Indeed, to be meek pretty much requires also being courageous and strong, because you may have to stand against injustice alone, you may be assailed from all sides, you may suffer at the hands of those who consider God their enemy. But know that God is watching and taking note, and your reward will be great.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they will be filled.” Again, it may seem odd to consider hunger and thirst to be blessings. But in this case, just as if our hunger and thirst were for food and water, our needs can drive us to greater lengths to secure what we seek. If we are hungry enough for the Word of God, thirsty enough for the Water of Life, then we will surely be blessed as we seek fulfillment in our Lord and Savior.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy.” Finally, we find a blessing that makes sense. If we show mercy to others, God will show mercy to us. And believe me, being born into sin and living sinful lives, we will need this blessing of mercy. In fact, it is by God's grace alone that we are worthy to enter heaven.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” Is this even possible? Can a human, a fallible, sinful mortal human being ever attain pureness of heart? No, not on our own. But that is where the blessing comes in. God loves us so much, He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall have everlasting life. By the blood Jesus shed on the cross we are washed clean, our hearts made pure, and by His side we will be allowed to see God. This is the greatest blessing of all.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Like meekness, don't mistake making peace to be synonymous with not waging war. Sometimes making and keeping the peace requires first waging war. But it does mean not making unnecessary or unjust war. Seeking personal gain by force is an example of unnecessary war. Keeping that from happening, making peace between the combatants in a case like this, would be a peacemaker. Peacemakers are those who have no selfish ambitions, no hidden agendas. How great and humbling a blessing to be called a son of God, a brother of Jesus.
“Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Being righteous describes being morally upright, and can be defined by living a life dedicated to God. Notice that being sinless is not a requirement. We are all sinners, we cannot help but sin. But given that we confess our sin, repent, seek forgiveness, and strive to not repeat that sin, we can live our lives in such a way as to serve as an example to others, by dedicating ourselves to God. Our blessing, our kingdom, will be in heaven.
“Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.” Now, really... Does this sound like a blessing to you? To be insulted, to be lied about, to suffer persecution are not occurrences we would associate as being good and desirable. In fact, we'd rather avoid such if at all possible. But the last three words give all the rest meaning: “Because of Me”. If because of how we live, if because of the example we set, if because of our testimony or our words we show others what it means to be a Christian and the great hope and promise that our Savior holds for us, if because of this we suffer the injustices listed here, then indeed we will be blessed by God in heaven. The last line in our reading confirms this. “Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Christ is putting us in the same league as the saints and martyrs when we suffer for Him. And promises us just as great a reward.
So even though we might not consider all of the Beatitudes to describe blessings at first glance, we can see that Jesus will bless us with rewards greater than any physical wealth the world can offer. But each of these blessings comes with a certain cost. Living a life dedicated to Jesus may not be easy or popular. It may not even pay the bills. And there is another price that is implied here and demonstrated elsewhere in our wonderful Bible.
In our Old Testament reading, the wise King Solomon said that “Blessings crown the head of the righteous” and that “The memory of the righteous will be a blessing”. (Proverbs 10:6a and 7a (NIV)) One way to interpret this is that a righteous person lives their life in such a way as to serve as an example to others, to be remembered by others as good and upright, and to make others want to live the same type of life. In other words, just thinking about a righteous person can make us want to be better ourselves. And that is a blessing, both to the righteous person and to us as well.
Paul took his role assigned by Christ very seriously. He suffered possibly more than any other Apostle for his service to the Lord. He endured shipwrecks, beatings, imprisonments, illnesses, and finally execution. Yet all the while he rejoiced in being able to do the Lord's bidding. He considered it a blessing to be able to share the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, with others. In hist first letter to the Corinthians, chapter nine verses 19 through 24, and here I am reading from The Message, Paul proclaims, “Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized — whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ — but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Gospel. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! You've all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You're after one that's gold eternally.”
Paul relates that he makes himself to be like a person so he can win that person to Christ, but without becoming as that person is. In a like manner, we do not have to become convicted criminals to be able to go into prison and witness to convicted criminals to bring them to Christ. Paul lives and works within the world, without becoming of the world. He never loses sight of God or of living his life dedicated to God. But just in case you missed it, look again at two sentences near the end. “I did all this because of the Gospel. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it!” He did all this, and suffered all he suffered, because he wanted to share in the blessings the Gospel made evident, the blessings Jesus promises.
John opens his book of Revelation in chapter one verses one through three by teaching us that, “This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him, to show His servants what must soon happen. And Jesus sent His angel to show it to His servant John, who has told everything he has seen. It is the word of God; it is the message from Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of God's message, and blessed are the people who hear this message and do what is written in it. The time is near when all of this will happen.” (New Century Version) More blessings, but they require action on our part. We are blessed if we read the message, but for others to hear the words and be blessed themselves, someone else must repeat the message to them. The message is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The blessing is salvation and eternal life. The messenger is us.
As I said earlier, our greatest blessing is the sacrifice God and Jesus made for us, and the grace of God that gave this blessing to an unworthy world. An unsharpened pencil can describe life without God: it has no point. But when you sharpen that pencil, it can be used for a purpose. God has blessed us, now we need to put that blessing to good use. If we receive a blessing, how can we make use of it but to share it with others? In that regard, winning the lottery could indeed be a blessing from God, if we use the winnings to help others in need. When we receive a blessing, we should use it to bless others.
You have been greatly blessed. You will receive even greater blessings in heaven. Now go from here and be a blessing to others.
Amen.
