Matthew 5: 1-12

Matthew in the Margins…4th S. after the Epiphany…Revised 2017  

(Do read LK’s account of the ‘sermon’ in conjunction with MT’s when preparing.) William Barclay’s comment ad loc., ‘the beatitudes are not pious hopes of what shall be, but congratulations on what is’, still goes to the heart of the matter. It reflects Jesus’ consistent teaching that the Kingdom of God (‘Heaven’ in MT), is now on earth, ‘as it is in Heaven’! Some would go so far as to say, “It’s now or never”! God certainly rules right right now among those singled out by Jesus as ‘blessed’. Barclay gives another insight for our preaching when he sums up these Beatitudes as, ‘Jesus’ teaching distilled’. However we approach this passage, reflecting that the Beatitudes are ‘now’ as well as ‘then’ things will serve us & our hearers well. Why not explore questions like: 

Do we need to unveil our hearts as well as our eyes to today’s blowing-out numbers of those poor in either or both senses before we can join their ranks as blessed through showing compassion on them? (Mind you, I prefer LK’s harder, simply, ‘poor’.)

Maybe we need to become mourners not just at physical deaths, but the death of values that God in Jesus represents? Does the ‘closure’ many seek after a physical death actually exist? What about after ‘spiritual’ death among the physically living?

Regarding the ‘gentleness’ Jesus speaks of & congratulates the ‘gentle’ on, how can we make the earth more worth ‘inheriting’? 

Are we hungry enough to do what’s right in God’s eyes & not simply mourn the lack of right(eous)ness? (Note LK’s alternative form, also Thomas 54 & 69:2.) Could the old, discredited term, ‘God of the Gaps’ take on a new lease of life by our filling gaps, including stomachs? 

What do we need to do to go beyond mere pity to mercy & compassion?

How do we recognise a heart that’s ‘cleansed’ today? Is ‘cleansed’ a term that come to mind about anyone round us, churched or not? Are we ourselves cleansed in heart & able to see God clearly enough to preach about Him?

Can we break the cycle of talking, talking, always talking about peace by actually making it happen?

Let’s make ourselves worth persecuting & reviling by standing for God as revealed in Jesus!