The Beatitudes

When I think about how best to live a life in line with God’s will, I am drawn first and foremost to Jesus himself, and the example of his life, seeking to understand who He is, how He lived, how He calls us to live, and how that applies to my life. And our primary means for understanding this are the Gospels.

We tend to quickly gravitate to the ten commandments as our primary source for how to live according to God’s will. However, this can lead us to seeing our relationship with God as simply following a list of commands, following a set of rules, and this oftentimes leads us to see God as someone who is distant, someone looking to dish out a form of punitive justice, someone who is looking first and foremost to punish us for failing to follow His commands.

When exploring the Gospels, I think we see a Jesus who recognized this. Instead, Jesus came to introduce us to a different kind of God, a God of Love. Not a God who is looking to punish us, but rather a God who is looking to reconcile, to restore relationships, to transform lives, to Love us as daughters and sons.

So, although acknowledging the ten commandments as a clear yardstick for measuring our relationship with God, Jesus reframed the ten commandments into two commandments. Two commandments that refocus us on what is at the heart of the ten commandments, Love of God and Love of neighbor. Jesus refocuses us on the two great commandments and makes it first and foremost about the heart.

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind.  And you shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

So how does one live the Gospel life? How does one enter into a relationship of love with God? How do we achieve a peace and joy in our lives that is beyond understanding?  The answer is not what one might think. The answer is not what the world might tell us. The answer is not easy. The answer starts with The Beatitudes.

Let’s take a look at the beatitudes and how what Jesus says compares with what the world tells us.

Jesus says: Blessed are the poor in spirit

The world says: Power, money, position & possessions matter most

Jesus says: Blessed are those who mourn

The world says: Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die

Jesus says: Blessed are the meek

The world says: You have to crack a few eggs to get ahead in life

Jesus says: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness

The world says: You need to break the rules and get your hands dirty if you are going to succeed in this life.

Jesus says: Blessed are the merciful

The world says: Do what it takes to get ahead. Take care of number one. Show no weakness. Show no mercy.

Jesus says: Blessed are the pure in heart

The world says: Beauty is only skin deep.  Your worth is measured by your looks. If it feels good, do it.

Jesus says: Blessed are the peacemakers

The world says: The one with the biggest stick wins. Peace through force. Military might matters.

Jesus says: Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness

The world says: Those who fight for moral reform are dreamers. In the end, “If you can't beat them, join them.”

The world, our culture, the American dream, all teach us that the true road to happiness is found in having wealth, power, position, and possessions.  Happiness is found in achieving. That we need to have a plan, to be in control, to execute, to lead, to succeed. Then, we will be blessed.  And for those of us in America, especially those privileged enough to be white, or in my case male, this is something we’re entitled to, a sign of God’s favor.

But Jesus says something quite different.  The Beatitudes are not simply a list of different types of people that we should feel sorry for, take pity on, or that God blesses in their vulnerability. The Beatitudes are Jesus’ call to each and every one of us to leave behind the values of the world, to leave behind the things we have been taught to believe about success, to leave behind most of what we have been taught to value most, and to enter into a totally different way of life.

The Beatitudes are not intended as sweet sentiments, meant to tug at our heartstrings. The Beatitudes are something Jesus intends for us to Become.  Let yourself become poor, broken, vulnerable, peacemakers.  Surrender your freedom.  Put yourself in the position of having to trust. Free yourself to enter totally into LOVE.  Love is sacrifice. Love is gift. Love requires suffering. And through suffering we find Transformation.  The cycle of Life, Death, and Resurrection. 

Conclusion

The values the world promotes, create separation from God.  The trappings of this world cloud our vision.  The results, we are all too familiar with, sin, guilt, shame, pain, depression, anxiety, hopelessness.

But God chose to enter into our human experience, into our brokenness, our messiness, our suffering, and through this, and the lessons of The Beatitudes, we are called to surrender. We are called to give up control, to become poor, broken, vulnerable, peacemakers ourselves.  We are called to dependence on God and God alone.  Called to live lives of simplicity, humility, and poverty. Called to experience His mercy, forgiveness, hope, love, and joy.  “Happy are those…” “Blessed are those…”

The Beatitudes are the world turned upside down. They’re a call to transform our priorities, transform our perspective, to experience the Freedom of God. A God who is Love.

Become the Beatitudes.