The Blessed Life

What comes to mind for you when you hear the word “blessed” ? It is a word that we hear a lot, and in many different situations. We almost throw it around out of habit. So, for example, what do you say when a person sneezes? “bless you.” It can be used as an expletive. Someone stubs their toe and says, “God bless America.” It can also be used as a cover-up. I once had somebody tell me that you can say whatever you want about a person, as long as you follow it with “bless their heart.”

Now would you believe that such a popular and well used word is difficult to find a joke about? You know that I usually like to have some kind of funny beginning to my sermons, but I could not find any jokes that were appropriate to share. By the way, do you know what you call a bunch of millionaires who get together to the watch the super bowl? The Detroit Lions. Bless their hearts. Yeah. I don’t really like that whole “bless their heart” thing.

So those are some of the ways that we use the word in our day to day lives. But what does it mean to be blessed? This is something that we will also hear a lot. I am so blessed. It is such a blessing to be here, to have a job, to have my family, etc. And indeed to have those things is a blessing. Now I cannot prove this, it is simply a hunch, but I am willing to bet that if we were to look at the items that people listed as blessings and the life situations that they considered blessed, they would pick good and happy ones. Right? That seems to make sense. After all, if you look up the word in the dictionary, you will discover that the word has such meanings as bringing happiness and thankfulness; being blissfully happy or contented.

So if this is the case, then what in the world is going on with Jesus’ words here the fifth chapter of Matthew? I mean if we talk about blessed and blessing as usually being associated with happiness and thankfulness and all that good kind of stuff, the things that Jesus mentions here are not even close. Is he being sarcastic? Is he using hyperbole? Is he losing touch with reality?

Poor in spirit, mourning, meek, hungering and thirsting for righteousness, it seems to me that these are all things that are lacking? How then could Jesus call them blessings? Because, Jesus sees life and world differently from the rest of the world. This is what is being shown to us. This is what we are being called to live. Even though the world may not see it the same way, it is there.

For example, the world may try to tell you that in order to be happy you have to have an iPad, a house you can’t afford, amazing vacations, a snow blower, a whole bunch of letters after your name, a whole bunch of money in your bank account. For us as followers of Jesus we can say, “Yeah. Those things are nice. But in the big picture they are not what life is about.” We may enjoy those things, but we don’t need them. We don’t have to be controlled by them. We can live our lives for something more than these. We can live our lives for something eternal. And that, well that is blessed.

Think about it. Last week we saw Jesus beginning his preaching ministry. Repent. For the Kingdom of God is at hand. We talked about how Jesus brings God’s kingdom with him wherever he goes. And we see this as he forgives sins, heals diseases and drives out demons. Today we hear Jesus talk about what it is to live in that Kingdom. What does life lived in God’s kingdom look like?

In a word, it is a blessed life. Not one that the world would declare so, but one that in reality really is. When life is about us or our stuff, or lack thereof , depending on where you are, well that is not living life as it was meant to be lived. But life lived in relationship with God, life lived in God’s kingdom, because of and for the sake of Jesus, well that is simply better than anything we could ask or imagine. In other words, this is life that the world would not considered to be blessed, but in reality it is because it is life lived in relationship with God. It is life lived in the kingdom of God.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. This means that we are not caught up in or held captive by the world’s treasures, prosperity, success, good times, wealth and power. These things may be nice, but there is more to life than them. We don’t live for them. We aren’t consumed by them. Being poor in spirit means that we understand we are sinners who have nothing in us that is worthy of God’s love or praise. And yet we certainly do have God’s love and grace and mercy and forgiveness in our lives, because and for the sake of Jesus. This is blessed because it allows us to see, focus and reach for those things that really are important, and that really do matter.

Blessed are those who mourn. We mourn when we look at our world and see all the brokenness and suffering and injustice that come from sin. We mourn when we take an honest look at our own lives and our own hearts and see sin there as well. This is blessed because it allows us to look forward to and work for that day when Jesus returns and brings with him restoration of all of creation. It allows us to see and understand that we cannot save ourselves, but we have salvation because of Jesus. This also leads to humility. And not the false kind either, but the good kind.

Blessed are the meek. The meek are the ones who put up with and are lovingly and graciously patient in all situations. They put others before themselves, yielding, listening, always putting the best construction on everything. This is living out Matthew 18. If we have a problem with someone, we go to them and work it out with them. We don’t gossip, we don’t talk to other people about it. Now I know that this can create uncomfortable experiences, but it also creates a safe environment where people trust each other. Being meek is blessed because we realize that this is what our God, in Jesus, has done for us. And when we treat one another this way, well imagine what that does for life in this community and for the witness that we give to our neighbors.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. That is wanting things to be made right in our world. Now, this is not the same thing as having everything be fair. But this is wanting to see the injustices in our world made right. So we seek to live our lives together in a way that shows the things that God values. We hunger and thirst for the coming of his kingdom in all of its glory where things will be as they should be. We hunger and thirst for righteousness in our own lives as well. Not that we can earn righteousness, we have it for the sake of Jesus. But we hunger and thirst that it would be shown in our lives. That our lives would reflect that God is an active part of our lives. So that as people look at the way that we lives our lives they see a difference. We shouldn’t look so much like the world around us that you can’t even tell we are the church.

We have such good and wonderful news that isn’t just good things to hear, but it is actually life changing. It is really and truly awesome. Jesus said that we are like salt and light in the world. Those are good things to have. But we will talk about that soon enough.

Blessed are the merciful. This is very similar to what we just talked about. Being merciful is about being gentle and patient, and gladly forgiving sins when sins are committed. God is merciful with us. His mercy is rich and abundant. We do not deserve it. But we have it. It is who are God is. And we who have been shown much mercy, and continually are shown much mercy, are to have lives that are marked with mercy. We who receive mercy and also to be fully of mercy. This is indeed blessed.

Blessed are the pure in heart. We have been made pure for the sake of Jesus. Our sins washed away. Removed from us as far as the East is from the West. We have been brought together as brothers and sisters to live out this life that God so graciously gives us. We don’t have to live bound to our sin or struggles, but in Jesus we have freedom. This means that we can learn to see things as God sees them. We can love what he loves and values what we values. How do we know what he loves and values? Well a good place to start is by looking at what he calls blessed.

Blessed are the peacemakers. God makes peace with us in Jesus. Therefore we make peace with one another and where possible, among others in our world. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake. While living life for the Gospel is the only way to live, while living this blessed life is the best way we can live, that does not mean it is a life that the world approves of. It is even a life that our own sinful nature wants nothing to do with. And sometimes that brings about strife, struggle or persecution. Yet if that happens, it is because we are making a difference and that is a very good thing.

Living the blessed life is the only way to live. It is life as it was meant to be lived and experienced. It is life in relationship with our God. God blesses us greatly. He gives us life, forgiveness and salvation. He will never leave, abandon or give up on us. But we cannot live the blessed life and live for ourselves. Where our will is most important. By his grace we live in this blessed way and it makes a difference.

This past week someone from the community contacted the office needing food. A family in this congregation, on their own, went out and purchased food for them. No one asked them to. No one forced them to. I was so proud. They were living out this blessed life. They got it. This is what we are to do too. This is how we are to live. Not because we have to, but because we get to.

We get to because of God’s grace, and may that grace always fill and mark your life. Because in Jesus we are certainly blessed. Amen.