The Beatitudes

Matthew 5: 1-12 (January 30, 2011)

1) The Text

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 8“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

2) The Context

Matthew arranges Jesus’ teaching in five blocks: The Sermon on the Mount, chapters 5-7; Directions to his disciples, chapter 10; Parables of the kingdom, chapter 13; Sayings on greatness and forgiveness, chapter 18; and Sayings and parables about the end times, chapters 24, 25.

Verses 3-12 in Chapter 5 are known as the Beatitudes, from the Latin for blessed. To be “blessed” is to be happy. All the qualities are expected of the faithful, for the consequence is the same: they will enjoy God’s end-time rule. They will attain (and are attaining) eternal life. The “poor in spirit” (v. 3) are detached from wealth and dependent on God alone. Those who “mourn” (v. 4) the reign of evil forces on earth will be “comforted” and strengthened in the Kingdom. The “meek” (v. 5), people who do not press for personal advantage, will share in God’s rule. Those who “hunger” (v. 6, who ardently pursue God’s will and purpose for his people), and do so single-mindedly and sincerely, “the pure in heart” (v. 8), will come to know God intimately (“see God”). The “merciful” (v. 7) are those who pardon and love others (especially the poor). The “peacemakers” (v. 9), those who seek shalom, the total state of well-being God provides through Christ, “will be called children of God”, for they share in God’s work. Finally vv. 10-12: those spreading the good news, striving to reconcile the world to God, will be persecuted because of the message they carry (as were the Old Testament “prophets”). They too should “rejoice and be glad” for God will reward them.

Although Jesus' teaching in chapters 5-7 seems to be addressed only to the disciples (vv. 1b-2), there are also indications that it was also for the "crowds". The Sermon begins with Jesus seeing the crowds (5:1). It ends with the statement, "Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching,." (7:28). The word "crowd" (ochlos) does not occur anywhere else in the sermon. In the verse just before today’s text, we are told, "Great crowds followed (akoloutheo) him ...." (4:25). In the verse just after the Sermon, we are told, "... great crowds followed him (8:1). Prior to this, the only ones who had followed Jesus, were the four fishermen he had called (4:20, 22). This suggests that the Sermon was not just for the 12 "disciples", but intended for all who "follow" Jesus.

3) Interpretation

The Beatitudes (Matt. 5:1-12) begin the body of material referred to as the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5-7). It is important to ponder the nature of Jesus’ original audience because audience is integral to understanding a speaker’s meaning. Did Jesus speak to the crowds or to his smaller circle of followers? The content of the sermon seems to assume a commitment to life under the reign of God; it would be difficult to argue that Jesus’ teachings were or are for the general public, to be implemented in the larger arena of civic and social networks. Jesus is addressing his followers. But it seems that the disciples are being taught in the context of a larger audience. The presence of the multitudes keeps the disciples honest as to who they are and what price is to be paid for their commitments. The crowds serve also to remind the reader that the invitation to join the circle of disciples is always open provided we are willing to submit to the discipline of God’s reign. After all, the church is a community and it is always open to and aware of the world.

Even more important for understanding Matthew 5:1-12 is an understanding of what a beatitude is. A beatitude is a blessing or announcement of God’s favor. Of the 44 in the New Testament, the vast majority occur in Matthew and Luke. In the Old Testament, most of the beatitudes occur in Psalms and in Wisdom literature. Beatitudes can be translated "Happy are those who" or "How fortunate are those who." However, it is more appropriate to translate Jesus’ words so as to convey God’s favorable behavior toward those addressed. Hence, "blessed" or "favored of God are those who" conveys the understanding that such favor is both present and future.

Very important, then, is the recognition that the beatitudes appear at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, before a single instruction is given, before there has been time for obedience or disobedience. If the blessings were only for the deserving, they would be stated at the end of the sermon, probably prefaced with, "If you have done all these things." But being at the beginning, they say that God’s favor precedes all our endeavors. All our efforts at kingdom living are in response to divine grace, motivated by "because of," not "in order to."

Finally, and most important to the reader of Matthew 5:1-12, God’s favor is granted to those whom society regards as the ones left behind: the poor in spirit, the meek, etc. On these Jesus pronounces God’s congratulations, with these God identifies in Jesus, to these comes the Good News of God’s interceding grace. What a reversal of values and fortunes! Many of these are victims, to be sure, but the beatitudes deliver them from a victim mentality. Those who in the face of violence, oppression, abuse and neglect continue to turn the other cheek, go the second mile and share possessions even with accusers are not really victims. They are in a very real and profound sense victors, set free to live by hearing Jesus extend to them the beatitude of God.

4) Thought Exercise

We might not be able to fully live the Beatitudes today. But that is not the point. Like any ideal of happiness, the road is as important as the destination. Striving to live the Beatitudes day by day opens us to God.

How do you cultivate the ways of living that Jesus speaks about in the Beatitudes?

Fish for People

Matthew 4: 18-23 (January 23, 2011)

1) The Text

18As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.” 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

23Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.

2) The Context

The Sea of Galilee is a large freshwater lake, about 7 miles wide and 13 miles long. The shore is dotted with villages connected with the local fishing industry, among which Capernaum was foremost. Fishermen of that day did not operate in a "free market" economy. The fishing industry was state-regulated for the benefit of the urban elite. These urban elites were Greeks or Romans who had settled in Palestine following their military conquests, or they were Jews well-connected with King Herod and his sons. Everybody else was poor. Caesar and Herod benefited from the fishing trade in a variety of ways. They sold the fishing leases which entitled local groups to fish in the sea. Fishing rights generally were awarded not to individuals, but to local "coops" based in kinship--like, for example, the brothers Simon and Andrew, and the Zebedee family. There were also taxes on both the fish product and on the processing, as well as tolls on shipping and land transport. Fisherman were at the bottom of a very detailed economic hierarchy, the main beneficiaries of which were Caesar, then Herod, then major tax collectors.

Jesus made a strong appeal to local fishermen. The known harbors of the Sea of Galilee in the first century strongly correlate with locations where Jesus either lived or traveled--Bethsaida, Capernaum, Gennesar, Magdala, Gadara and Gergasa. The original name of Magdala, was Tarichaeae, which means "processed fish-ville." It was only a few miles south of Capernaum.

3) Interpretation

For the third time in Matthew, Jesus finds himself embracing a new hometown. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. In doing so, prophecy was fulfilled (2:5-6). The first move finds the family fleeing Bethlehem and Herod's furor and arriving in Egypt. In doing so, Jesus' life emulates Moses' journeys. The second move allows the family to return to Israel after Herod's demise but the reign of his progeny leads the family to resettle in Nazareth. In doing so, prophecy was fulfilled (2:23). A third move brings Jesus to Capernaum. In doing so, prophecy was fulfilled (4:14-16). Thus, these moves are not rooted in human will. Matthew argues that God has orchestrated these geographical dislocations and thus given them great significance. What is that significance?

Here we get a glimpse of Jesus' peripatetic existence. From his earliest days through his adult life and ministry, Matthew's Jesus is an itinerant preacher, a constant wanderer. Jesus does not opt for the comforts of the familiar but embraces God's call to find those in need of a word of God wherever they might live. After all, this is the message of the prophecy. God has promised to reach all the nations. Light has reached those who formerly dwelled in darkness and death. Jesus has come to them and, in a sense, become one of them by becoming their neighbor. Moreover, Jesus' first ministry locale is known as "Galilee of the Gentiles." Thus, from the first and in consonance with prophetic promise, Jesus ministers in an ethnically diverse land.

In an ever more mobile and diverse culture, Jesus' moves are in some sense familiar to many of us. The dislocation of a new place and new neighbors can be both thrilling and intimidating. New surroundings can provide us a new start, a nearly blank slate that might allow us to recreate how others perceive and how we perceive ourselves. New surroundings also can cause us to question every dimension of our selves. The richness of diverse communities can help us understand others better but also ourselves. Jesus' peripatetic experiences must have shaped his perspective, helping him understand a community as both insider and outsider.

The power of Jesus' call becomes quickly evident. The call of his first followers is profoundly inspired. Jesus doesn't have to pitch the idea to these individuals nor does he need to persuade them. After all, each has little reason to leave their current way of life. Each seemingly has a steady job and, more importantly, familial ties to their vocations. At the same time, these are not individuals of great social power or individual wealth. Though Jesus' disciples will play a vital function in the earliest days of the church, on this day they are utterly ordinary individuals called to an extraordinary task. They may not have completely understood what it would mean to become fishers of people at the moment, yet they follow without hesitation.

Having begun to assemble his disciples, Jesus turns to his work. He teaches in the synagogues. He pronounces "the good news of the kingdom." He makes the sick and infirmed whole. These will be the defining characteristics of Jesus' daily labors in Matthew. Teaching, proclaiming the kingdom, and healing are integrated components of his ministry, not discrete pieces. The proclamation of the kingdom is not solely verbal, not just a teaching but a series of actions designed to bring wholeness to individuals and communities.

This passage also makes a statement about dominant values. Jesus creates social dislocation by placing the challenge of the kingdom ahead of family and work loyalties. Local systems of work and family were crucial for security and the fabric of society. Jesus' challenge sets these priorities aside, not in principle and not for everyone, but nevertheless in a way that relativizes them. There is something great, more fundamental, than family and the local economy. To challenge these is to take a real risk, but for many people as well as communities and congregations, real growth will never happen until they can make such a move.

4) Thought Exercise

Jesus does not ask everyone to leave everything behind - but nobody can be a disciple without leaving something behind. What have you had to leave behind - or let go of - to follow Jesus?

Mission

Isaiah 49: 1-7 (January 16, 2011)

1) The Text

49Listen to me, O coastlands, pay attention, you peoples from far away! The Lord called me before I was born, while I was in my mother’s womb he named me. 2He made my mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me away. 3And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” 4But I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my cause is with the Lord, and my reward with my God.” 5And now the Lord says, who formed me in the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— 6he says, “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

7Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nations, the slave of rulers, “Kings shall see and stand up, princes, and they shall prostrate themselves, because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

2) The Context

This passage is the second of the four Servant songs in Isaiah. It falls within what is often called Second (Deutero) Isaiah, chapters 40-55. The four servant passages (Isa. 42:1-9; 49:1-7; 50:4-9a and 52:13-53:12) form a sequence but changes take place as we progress through them. The first passage, Isa. 42:1-9, was in the third person, i.e. it gave another person’s view of the servant. In today’s passage we hear the servant’s own voice. That is also the case in the third passage, Isa. 50:4-9a. In Isaiah 49 the servant speaks about his calling from God. He has a sense of being called from before he was born. In this the servant is like Jeremiah (cf. Jer 1:5). This is not to suggest that Jeremiah is the servant, but it gives the servant’s words ‘prophetic authority’.

It is characteristic that Jewish interpretation identifies the servant as the community of Israel. Standard historical criticism has sought to identify a nameable, known historical character. Traditionally, Christian interpretations of this Hebrew narrative attempt to own the servant of Second Isaiah as a type of Jesus. Here coupled with the Gospel text with John identifying Jesus as the Lamb of God, certainly this text too could point us in the direction of contemplating Jesus' ministry within the call and context of that of the servant. "It may turn out that Second Isaiah's servant is not only a type of Jesus," Gene Tucker writes, "but may also be a model for understanding the vocation of the church". Yet, there is merit to the message in its time, a message brought to a people in exile. There is also relevance for us in the call of the anonymous servant struggling with call, who is then invited to embrace an even larger mission.

3) Interpretation

Call and vocation in ministry lie at the heart of this week's lectionary text about the unknown servant of Isaiah 49:1-7. This prophetic address puts the servant in dialogue with God, even as the prophet confronts human failings in the midst of desire to fulfill the calling of God which was determined in his mother's womb. The unknown servant in the text brings an address which identifies a call to the nation of Israel and "you peoples from far away" (Is. 49:1).

The servant speaks (vv.1-4), first addressing coastland and people (v.1), then identifying the call that came prior to birth, while in the womb (vv.1-3), in the same vein as the prophet Jeremiah (Jer. 1:5). The main theme at the beginning of the passage is the servant's declaration of being called by God to a specific task. This is the beginning of another year in the life of the Church. What is the message for our congregations? What is the mission to the community around and what do we anticipate will be the response to that message?

Epiphany brings with it themes of light and mission. The light of God comes to shine forth through the darkness. The expectation of Advent yields to the revelation that is the light. With the light comes the mission of ministry, even as we read accounts of the beginning of Jesus' ministry in this season. The mission of the servant is perplexing and twofold. The servant is first sent to Israel, but after naming frustration in v. 4 is told, "I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach the end of the earth" (v. 6). Do we have a sense of ministry and mission this second Sunday after the Epiphany? What do we do with the frustrations experienced in the midst of yielding to the call to ministry?

This Sunday holds much promise in community as it is also the Sunday before Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It seems rather fitting to be dealing with the words of the servant and the struggles of accomplishing the work of ministry where call by God is recognized and accepted. God's plan looks beyond what is seen and behind what may seem all too futile to that which is unseen and unexpected. There is something even greater yet to come.

Tucker observes, "As individuals and as a church, we experience vocations and may experience unworthiness or frustration as well. In such cases, there is the divine assurance in verses 4 and 5. As servants of God, we may hear a call to set captives free and to make the reign of God visible throughout the world. We may recognize ourselves in captive Israel, and then for us there is the proclamation of the message of release, the good news that God intends restoration (vv.5-6a). Or we may even be able to see ourselves in those other nations, to whom the good news comes".
God's plan requires our willingness to be participants in the world around us. God's plan requires that we give all that we are to make a difference in the world around us. How do we bring this message of call to vocation in ministry and call to do justice to the world around us? Like the servant, the message moves beyond local community and is a call to the world in our day. What is the message that we bring for this Martin Luther King Jr. Day?

4) Thought Exercise

Where has God called you?

What accomplishments and frustrations have you experienced with this call?

Beloved Children of God

Matthew 3: 13-17 (January 9, 2011)

1) The Text

13Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him. 14John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” 15But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.” Then he consented. 16And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

2) The Context

This text portrays the baptism of Jesus by John, but only after highly significant material which gives it a unique context. For only in Matthew do we find John and Jesus so closely linked that their messages can be summarized in the same words, as Matthew does in 3:2 ('Repent; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand'). In Matthew Jesus is so much like John, especially in the emphasis on judgment and the insistence that pedigree, whether Jewish or Christian, is no guarantee of God's favor if it is not matched by real performance (see 3:7-10). In fact through Matthew 3 the expectation is built up of the judge to come (especially 3:11-12). The episode of 13:13-17 functions then as a moment of identification and confirmation. John has just announced the one who would come to baptize with spirit and fire. Here we see Jesus receiving that spirit. In chapter 12 Matthew will cite Isaiah 42 as an echo of the baptism: the Spirit is upon him because he will announce judgment to the nations.

3) Interpretation

There are a number of interesting questions surrounding the gospel accounts of Jesus' baptism, questions that date from the earliest Christian communities. In fact, given the various re-workings of the story by the four evangelists, it's likely the very existence of this account was troubling. Why, to summarize the early church's difficulty, did Jesus need to be baptized by John at all? Surely it wasn't for the forgiveness of sin? Or because John was the greater prophet or teacher? Then why? Each evangelist works out a distinct response to this question, including Matthew in today's reading, where he links Jesus' baptism to the fulfillment of righteousness.

While these differences are both important and interesting, however, all four gospels share two plot-related features that I think are key to interpreting this passage meaningfully. First, in each account Jesus' baptism is accompanied by the giving of the Spirit, and in three of them it is accompanied by a voice from heaven pronouncing Jesus as God's beloved Son, a child with whom God is most pleased. Whatever else Jesus' baptism may mean, therefore, it certainly is the place where he learns definitively who he is in relation to whose he is. At his baptism, Jesus is given the intertwined gifts of identity and affirmation.

This leads to the second important plot element of the gospels: Jesus' baptism precedes the commencement of his public ministry. In John's account, this begins with the calling of the first disciples. In Matthew and his synoptic cousins Mark and Luke, Jesus is tempted in the wilderness immediately following his baptism and only then begins calling followers. In all four, the theme is clear: the gift of identity precedes mission. We might even go further and say that only by having a clear sense of God's affirmation and identity can Jesus take on the enormous mission in front of him. This is poignantly clear in Matthew and Luke, where the Tempter's point of attack is precisely at the question of identity: "If you are the Son of God...." Satan calls into question Jesus' relationship with his Father because he knows that Jesus, as with Adam and Eve before him, is vulnerable to temptation precisely to the degree that his is insecure about his identity and mistrusts his relationship with God.

And this is where these stories of Jesus' baptism intersect with the stories of our own. For we, too, can only live into the mission that God has set for us to the degree that we hear and believe the good news that we, too, are beloved children of God. As with Jesus, we discover in baptism who we are by hearing definitively whose we are. Baptism is nothing less than the promise that we are God's beloved children. That no matter where we go, God will be with us. That no matter what we may do, God is for us and will not abandon us. In baptism we are blessed with the promise of God's Spirit and given a name, and that name is Christian, one marked with the cross of Christ and named a beloved child of God forever.

This matters tremendously because names are powerful. The names we are given or take, the names that arouse pride or shame, names are important. Some we have chosen; others have been given to us. Some lift us up; others tear us down. Whatever the case, names are powerful. This reading promises, however, that no matter how powerful our earthly names are, they do not define us. What defines us is the name given to us by God alone: the name of beloved child.

4) Thought Exercise

What is the mission God has set for you?

How does this shape your sense of identity?