"The Blessed Kingdom of Heaven"
Favorite Passages Sermon Series
As we are exploring our Favorite Passage this summer during the Sabbatical, I have found one of the most fun things about this to be the opportunity to explore passages that are not often read in church during the Liturgical Church year. Some of the passages people choose that I will be preaching later in the summer never appear in our Lectionary. The Lectionary is a set of Scripture passages that many churches use to help us live into the church year. It runs in a 3 year cycle--labeled A, B, and C, and begins each year on the First Sunday in Advent. Each Sunday we indicate in the bulletin what that Day's designation is for the Church Year, with Sunday being the Second Sunday After Pentecost, and it's Year C. I believe there is real value in living into this Church year cycle with Scripture in worship, as many Christians from around the world are sharing the same texts on the same weeks. But I also find it good to veer everyone once in a while to explore a text that doesn't appear in the Lectionary, or appears very infrequently.
Our Luke 6 text from last week and this week's Micah and Matthew texts are just such texts to explore closer. Though they do technically appear in the lectionary, none of them have occurred in the rotation since 2007 due to Epiphany changing lengths each year. [1] Easter moves based on the lunar calendar, so therefore the length of the Epiphany season moves as well. The beatitudes are a well-known passage, so it is fun and good to look at them during this special summer.
Matthew's list of Beatitudes includes nine statements that Jesus taught during the Sermon on the Mount. This sermon is the first one mentioned in Matthew and serves as his Inaugural Sermon [2]. Jesus heads up a mountain to teach his disciples. Anyone listening in Jesus' day would have automatically associated this image with Moses when he went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Torah--the Law which makes up the first 5 books of the Old Testament. [3] The Gospel of Matthew was written for a Jewish audience, so these images are familiar from within the Old Testament's law and prophets.
At first glance these statements appear formulaic and repetitive, but upon further investigation, I believe there is value and depth found in the formula for the 9 Beatitudes. They should be studied both individually and as a whole, but have no fear--due to time constraints today, I've chosen to look at them as a whole group ONLY. (If you are interested in reading more about each individual statement, see the footnote for a list of good resources to check out![4]) I believe a key to understanding these comes in the phrases that are repeated over and over.
When we take a look more closely, we see one phrase that is repeated twice. "For theirs is the kingdom of heaven" in verses 3 and 10. The Kingdom of Heaven as Matthew describes, or the Kingdom of God as other Gospels reference, is what Jesus is ushering in through his life and ministry. The Kingdom of Heaven is what God is working to bring about on Earth through God's followers. The Prophets promised it, and Jesus began his life by fulfilling the promises the Prophets had made. But it doesn't stop there. Jesus' ministry was about bringing Heaven to Earth--creating the Kingdom of Heaven in the daily lives of his followers to continue ushering in God's Kingdom.
But it doesn't stop with Jesus either. Through Christ's life, death, and resurrection, we enter into this covenant of Grace, and become Children of God--Children of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God--the Kin-dom of God--the Family of God. As followers of Jesus, we place our citizenship in this family, and we do it together. The Family of God is not an individual pursuit--it is, rather, a communal activity. A place, a community, a family we strive to live in and a Kingdom we live out together. [5]
It's often referred to as the "Already-Not Yet Kingdom of God" because Jesus Christ has "Already" started it-- ushered it in, gave the Inaugural Sermon on a hilltop overlooking the land, held Inaugural Feasts, and the left his followers in charge to continue the game plan. But it's "Not Yet" because it will not be complete until an unknown time in the future when Christ reigns supreme. We recognize this reality and pray for it's completion every time we pray the Lord's Prayer: "Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven." [6] Everything in the Beatitudes list between these "Kingdom of heaven" phrases and even that after too is related to these. The Kingdom of heaven phrase is implicit in each of these 9 phrases. [7]
The other thing we see clearly in each phrase is the opening "Blessed are..." [the poor in spirit, meek, the pure in heart, and so on...]. This is one of those places where English gets in the way of our understanding of the Biblical text because of translation differences that just don't show up well in English. There are two words in both the Greek and Hebrew that get translated as "blessed" in English. The only way to tell a difference in English is by accenting a different syllable, thus having Blessed, and Bless-ed. I'd never thought about why the word is pronounced differently at different times until I began studying this passage. Most often I have heard Bless-ed when the Beatitudes are read, and there is a reason for that. "Bless-ed" --the adjective --is the more accurate translation. It is a state-of being blessed or happy or joyful. Whereas "blessed" is more of an imperative or command verb. We often hear this other meaning in "God bless you" when someone sneezes. Though this passage contains both ideas, most commentators agree that the Beatitudes explain that the people in the kingdom of heaven already possess these things mentioned. They are already meek. They are already peacemakers. They already are pure in heart. But having said that, there is still a sense of the not yet--we can strive to be more meek. We can strive to be better peacemakers. We can strive to be more pure in heart. The quality already exists, but it is not yet fully realized because the kingdom is not yet fully realized. Once the Kingdom of Heaven is fully realized, the children of the Kingdom will be fully and completely bless-ed. [8]
I feel it's probable, having read so many different stories about the disciples in the Gospels, that they might not have gotten all of this down completely correct at the first hearing of the sermon. I can imagine that Jesus shared this message many times and had to clarify what he meant as he formed his followers into disciples. A scene from a favorite movie of mine depicts it well, some might say. It opens with the crowds heading up to the hills to catch a glimpse of this new teacher in town. The captions read: "Judea 33AD, Saturday afternoon, about Tea Time..." and you hear Jesus off in the distance giving his famous sermon. "How blessed are those..." The scene cuts to the followers at the back of the crowd who can't hear every word he is saying, and are trying to piece together the message. One lady asks for clarification, and another spectator remarks, "Spectator I: I think it was "Blessed are the cheesemakers".
...Mrs. Gregory: Aha, what's so special about the cheesemakers?
Gregory: Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products." [9]
My husband Steve wouldn't allow me to recommend seeing Monty Python's Life of Brian because it's rated R, but this movie and this scene in particular makes me laugh every time.
But it also got me thinking. Maybe under all the satire about politics and religion that Monty Python mocks, there is a gem of truth. And this got me thinking about what the Beatitudes might look like if they were written in 2010. And it got me thinking about where I have seen the Kingdom of Heaven in our midst recently.
While I was eating lunch at the BBQ on Friday, I took a moment to stop and just look around. I was there during peak lunch time, and my heart filled with such pride and joy as I watched the Family of God in our little part of the Kingdom of Heaven on Ridge Road working together, laughing together, and serving together. There was so much support for the mission and ministry that God is calling us to do. I spoke to many different people who said this was a constant on their calendar, and they would NOT miss it!
I was excited to see so many groupings of co-workers--one member of Raleigh Moravian with friends gathered around, all eating and enjoying one another's company and great food. Neighbors stopped by and plates of food were passed down the line. Cookers, servers, and drink-pourers all had smiles and hellos for everyone who came out to visit. Laughter and conversations filled the air, just as the smell of fresh hush-puppies and hot BBQ filled the bellies. And there were plenty of offers for seconds for none should go hungry.
Later when Steve and I came back for dinner for Round 2, the same held true. I was excited to see young and old, friends and families working along side one another to accomplish a task bigger than any one person. I smiled with joy as I heard some of the college-students talk about this event being a highlight for them--something they wouldn't miss being a part of. One youth even remarked how he had been promoted a few years ago to be on the overnight cooking team. The disciples are teaching the traditions to the younger generations, and it was evident as I watched 3-year-old Bella not miss a beat as she followed instructions. Including so many people as a worker and serving with joy made me so proud of the service everyone was doing together.
The Kingdom of Heaven is about community living together to enact God's mission in the world. The Beatitudes both teach us about the Kingdom of Heaven and the community that is making it heaven on earth. We see in Scripture how the Kingdom is compared to a banquet feast.[10] Perhaps BBQ will even be on the menu... with Christ himself walking around to the tables serving his own special recipe of love puppies [hush-puppies coated in powdered sugar] for dessert!
And perhaps those involved in cooking, serving, and helping are Bless-ed:
Bless-ed are the BBQ cookers, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Bless-ed are those with tired backs and sore feet, for they will be comforted.
Bless-ed are the hush-puppy fryers, for they will inherit the earth.
Bless-ed are the food servers, for they will be filled.
Bless-ed are the slaw mixers, for they will receive mercy.
Bless-ed are the dish washers, for they will be called children of God.
Bless-ed are the Church Families who serves together, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.
And Bless-ed are the people we will serve with this summer beyond our doors, as the fruits of our BBQ labors will be the basis for our service together as we live our God's call to mission--to help those in need and share Christ's love, and together expand the Kingdom of Heaven a little more. Amen.
[1] In the Moravian Lectionary, Luke 6:17-36 appears in Epiphany 6C and Epiphany 7C. Matthew 5:1-12 appear in Epiphany 4A and All Saints Day A. Micah 6:6-8 appears in Epiphany 4A.
[2] Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew. Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 33.
[3] Hare, Matthew. Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 34.
[4] Some of my favorites are: Kenneth Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008) 65-87. M. Eugene Boring, "The Gospel of Matthew" in New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. VII (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995) 171-181. Douglas R. A. Hare, Matthew. Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 33-43.
[5] Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008) 69.
[6] Hare, Matthew. Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 37.
[7] Hare, Matthew. Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 37.
[8] Hare, Matthew. Interpretation Series (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 1993) 35. Bailey, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008) 67-68. The Greek word is makarioi.
[9] Monty Python's Life of Brian, 1979. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470/quotes?qt0471973
[10] Isaiah 25; Matthew 8; Matthew 25; Luke 14 to name a few examples of feasts in Scripture.
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