Matthew 5:1-12

Epiphany 4 - Year A
All Saint's - Year A

 


This Sermon on the Mount illustrates the kind of world God's presence can bring forth. It is an alternative to and disruptive of the primary commitments of Rome's, or any, culture, including our own.

In parallel with Moses going up the mountain to receive Commandments that will shape a community, Jesus goes up a mountain and shares his way of living his commission and Blessings that shape a church. In like manner, Jesus follows Isaiah 61 for this prophetic agenda. In some sense this is our charter or constitution.

Who are we? What is our focus?
Poor and hopeless G*D's reign/realm/kingdom
Bereft and mourning G*D's comfort/purposes
Disenfranchised G*D's justice/reform
Actively yearning G*D's righteousness
Merciful G*D's mercy
Devoted G*D's presence
Peacemakers G*D's identity
Persecuted/Committed G*D's people
Insulted/Prophetic G*D's joy

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Dave comments:

I wonder what a list would look like, if we would start out with "To be pitied are the ...? The proud, the know it all, the wealthy, the popular, the powerful? Maybe all these do not work with the Opposites of the Beatitudes, but it is something to consider?

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Wesley White responds:

From the TextWeek Weblog by Jenee Woodard (well worth time browsing regularly) comes the following. It is helpful about the issue of "blessed" and "pitiful".

Matthew 5:1-12 - Epiphany 4A

Don't miss K.C. Hanson's How Honorable! How Shameful! A Cultural Analysis of Matthew's Makarisms and Reproaches. In this article, Hanson explores the Beatitudes in the terms of honor and shame cultural models. From Hanson's conclusion:

"1) Makarisms and reproaches are thematically related to formal blessings and curses, but linguistically and contextually distinct from them. Consequently, makarisms should not be translated "blessed." The translations of "happy" or "enviable" for the makarisms are also inappropriate since they do not refer to either human emotion or the evil eye. 2) Makarisms and reproaches are value judgments, which can be uttered by sages, prophets, or anyone in the community. They should be translated in keeping with value judgments: the makarisms with "O how honorable" or "How honored"; and the reproaches with "O how shameful" or "Shame on." 3) Makarisms and reproaches are comprehensible only in terms of Mediterranean honor/shame values and the challenge-riposte transactions. Thus they describe and challenge values, but also call for a response. 4) Matt 5:3-12 provides the introduction to Jesus' public ministry and Matt 23:13-31 its conclusion. Consequently they form an honor/shame inclusio around Jesus public teaching. Furthermore, the evangelist has not only employed them as formal and semantic antitheses, but has paralleled key-words throughout their formulations."

http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2005/january2005.html


Thou shalt : Thou shalt not !

Blessed, honored, happy, fortunate art thou !

There is a world of difference between the strict boundary setting that defines the limits of evil and the openness of grace that encourages the boundarylessness of blessing.

Being who we are, we tend toward the Commandments rather than the Beatitudes. We argue about posting the commandments but when was the last time you heard a debate about posting the beatitudes. Kurt Vonnegut points this out well in his article Cold Turkey.

In many ways the Beatitudes are antinomian energy. Our rule making tends, over time, to run amok. Simply note the expansion of legislation over time measured in shelf-feet. Finer and finer details and loopholes for previous legislation abound.

By this time we all have heard the rules against the GLBTQ community and individuals therein. How many have heard the blessings of the GLBTQ community and individuals?

The beatitudes were radical in their day and remain so today. The beatitudes had a short shelf life when it came to living them. The same is true today. One of the most radically graceful actions always available to us is to choose the beatitudes over the commandments.

http://www.kairoscomotion.org/lectionary/2005/january2005.html


Blessedness and rejoicing are both exciting, over-the-top, expressions and bedrock foundations from which comes steadfast love in shown in many ways. They need particulars to bring goodness into better clarity. They need particulars to respond to questions that will set case law.

Let's track some parallel terms from Micah, Psalms, Paul.

do justice - speak truth from the heart - do not take a bribe - desire wisdom

love kindness - do what is right - do not lend money - demand signs

walk humbly - walk blameless - stand by your oath - decide through foolishness

All manner of arrows can be drawn between these terms. Some will double-back on themselves, particularly when the beatitudes are tossed into the mix. Each of the blessings can be related to good effect to each of these terms.

In fact we have a season of possibilities here. Write them on a magnetic sheet and cut them apart. Each day rearrange them on your refrigerator until you have identified the best pattern for your life in this season. (In another season you may go through the same process and find yourself with a different best pattern.)

= = = = = = =

O my poor spirit
you have mourned much
destroyers of creation
the unhumble dominionists
who settle for righteousness
presently defined
devoid of future, of hope
the strict constructionist
merciless
setting up blowback
and child soldiers
through persecution
an evil of falseness
unable to see itself

pause
breathe
prepare to contend with yourself
for yourself
plead your case

no more sacrifices
internal or external
they will not fix
brokenness
they will not heal
hurt
they will not cover
debt

rejoice persecuted soul
peace is at hand
in heart and gut
created to comfort
to strengthen
your presence

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2007_01_01_archive.html

 


 

These wonderful words of the Sermon on the Mount are addressed to those apprenticed to Jesus, "the committed", as The Message has it.

If just tossed out to anyone, they lose their power. Aphorisms, platitudes, and the like are more likely to act as barriers to learning.

Rather these are are part of a periodic snap quiz, variously constructed.

  1. Give evidence that the following statements are blessings.
  2. Rank the following blessings in your life from the most evident to the one you are most uncertain of.
  3. Note an intermediary blessing between each of the following that connects the blessing before it with the one that follows.
  4. What would change were Pilate or Herod to recognize these blessings were the expected outcome of their rule?
  5. For each blessing, note 3 people who are doing better than you are with acting out of that blessing and then go to them for further instruction.
  6. What is another blessing that should be added to the list for at least a day?
  7. Complete the sentence: "Blessed are the blessed, for they . . . ."

When these blessings are engaged as part of an on-going self-study, they deepen one's spirit. When joined into as a community journey, they widen the reach of the common good. Note that these are not conclusions, but quizes of our life and lives.

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2011/01/epiphany-4-year-matthew-51-12-these.html

 


 

beloved

beloved are the poor, ready for fulfillment
beloved are mourners, ready for dawn
beloved are the gentle, already living their inheritance
beloved are those who yearn for wholeness, satisfaction has begun
beloved are the mercy-full, their joy overflows
beloved are those forgiven, they see G*D everywhere
beloved are those steady in peace, images of G*D for others
beloved are refugees, their home shall travel with them
beloved are those reviled for good, their worthy work will reveal them

beloved are the fair-hearted, they ground reality
beloved are the kindly-lived, they enhance creation
beloved are the humble-minded, they reveal the future

beloved are you, period
beloved am I, comma

beloved, be loved, be love, be

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2011/01/beloved.html

 


 

Large crowds followed Jesus for his teaching and healing. You can decide the proportion of followers. We suspect it was for the immediate healing, not the long-term life-changing teaching.

It is reported that Jesus saw them and went up a mountain. Was this a retreat to an attempted retreat? How far up did he go? The higher he went the fewer people would follow.

At some point Jesus sat down. We do not know how long he sat. Long enough for the stragglers to arrive? Long enough for an internal clarity?

Strange how Jesus refers to folks as “happy” those who most would characterize as troubled or unfortunate (CEB note).

Verses 1-10 are of a piece - pronouncement of happiness and a reason for such. Verses 11-12 is a different animal and is worth a deeper look as it shifts from the general “Happy are people...” to the specific “Happy are you...”.

People in the pews need to hear this distinction so they can see the blessing in those they might otherwise overlook and also hear their particular call to be prophets. In a sense a priest can only be a Priest if the people are being Prophets. These two functions can then inform one another. If the priest is trying to get others to be priests, the church ends up being an echo-chamber rejoicing on every street corner that it isn’t like those other miserable SOBs.

What, then, will the prophets do about the hopeless, grieving, walked upon, hungry and thirsty (ref Luke’s version here)? How will they see mercy, purity, and peace in others that may be even greater than their own?

Here is a test: Does Leviticus exercise you more than Matthew 5-7? If so you may be a church-gate-closer rather than a Sermon-on-the-Mount-door-opener.

http://kcmlection.blogspot.com/2014/01/matthew-51-12.html