Reflections on "The Beatitudes: Those Who Mourn" Matthew 5: 1-12; Isaiah 61: 1-4

This was the second week of a five week series on the Beatitudes. 

 The source citations are not as good as they should be.  The Barbara Brown Taylor quote did not have the book from which the citation came. I also utilized the New Interpreter's Bible's commentary on Matthew several times.  I tried to reference it each time, but may have missed a spot.  I try not to be so sloppy with my source citations, but had a bad week in that regard.

I have learned a lot about the Beatitudes, which also means each week I had been challenged to find a focus in midst of all the material.  It has also been a challenge to connect the Beatitudes to our daily living.  

I found myself moving off the written text quite a bit, so what was preached is quite a bit different than what is found below.

When I went back over my notes for the sermon searching for better source citations, I realized that I had not included some of Mark Powell's insights in the sermon.  The sermon would have been better had I remembered his comments. For example, he notes how to inherit is to receive a gift, not earn a reward, which would have been a good point to make in the sermon (Powell, God with Us, 126). 

The connection to Isaiah 61 and then Jesus' use of that passage in the Gospel of Luke was an important point.

“Those Who Mourn”  SAPC, January 26, 2020, Beatitude series Week 2;   Matthew 5: 1-12; Isaiah 61: 1-4

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

3 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[b] on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Introduction:  We continue reading through the Beatitudes this morning. A reminder that in Matthew, the Beatitudes were the first instructions recorded from Jesus after he began his ministry with teaching and healing.

he seems to be speaking to his disciples, who have gathered with him on the mount, but the crowds seem to be listening in as well.

In the second and third Beatitudes we focus on this morning, we see clearly how Jesus builds on the Old Testament understandings the people brought to his words.

Move 1: "Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” is closely tied to the prophet Isaiah’s words that we read in the 61st chapter.

a.  A reminder - in the Gospel of Luke, immediately after being tempted in the wilderness Jesus goes to Nazareth, read this prophecy from Isaiah, and then announces he has come to fulfill what Isaiah had prophesied.

b.  Back to the word “mourn.”

1.   We hear the word mourn and probably think about someone whose loved one has died.

2.  As we dedicate our prayer room that houses the columbarium, we might have images of people gathering in the prayer room to mourn the death of their loved ones whose ashes are inured in the columbarium.

2. We can imagine the emotions that come with that kind of mourning.

b.  As we hear Jesus refer to those who mourn, we need to broaden our sense of those who mourn.

1.   The biblical tradition of those who mourn is tied to the community of God’s people who mourn the devastation of Israel and the disobedience that brought about such destruction;  

2. When the prophet Isaiah prophesies about to spirit of the Lord being upon the one who comes to “comfort all who mourn; to provide for those who mourn in Zion,” he is talking to those who see the devastation of Jerusalem, those who live in the aftermath of the defeat of God’s people (New Interpreter’s Bible, Matthew) 

  3. Mourning takes on a communal aspect.  

4.  those who mourn are being told that God is not done.  Comfort and justice will still be found for God’s people and the world.

5.  those who mourn are God’s people who look at the world and lament the gap they see between the reality in the world and the world to which God calls us.

6. In this Beatitude, we heard Jesus offer a word of hope to those gathering to listen to him. 

b. “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth” also has Old Testament connections. 

1. the Greek word for “meek” can be translated as “gentle” and is used in several places in the Gospel of Matthew to characterize the reversal of kingship as lived out in the world in which they live (New Interpreter’s Bible, Matthew)

2.  paralleled by Psalm 37:11; in the OT context, meek are nonviolent people who are humble and gentle in their dealings with others because they have humbled themselves before the greatness of God. 

3.  in the context of Psalm 37, it seemed to be a promise that the tenant farmers and owners of small plots of ground would no longer be oppressed by the wicked rich but would gain their fair share of the soil.  

4.  Perhaps Matthew uses the phrase “they shall inherit the earth” to use imagery grounded in the experience of those who worked the land.  (Douglas Hare’s, Matthew, from the Interpretation commentary series, 37-39)

5. again in this third Beatitude we hear Jesus offering a word of hope to those who live in the gap between how the world operates in real-time and God’s desire for how the world should operate.

Move 2:  Finding our place in the Beatitudes

a.   We note that Jesus is speaking to people who mostly belong to the minority and marginal community in their world.

1. Jesus’ words are meant to shape and strengthen the community's identity and lifestyle as they live in a dominant culture that does not share the worldview they have as God’s people.

2.  They have little power and are desperate to be reminded that God is still at work, that they can still hope in the future God has for them.

3. And that hope should shape the way they live their lives.

b.  Fast-forward to our time when we live in a  much different context.

1.  We can read about the decline fo Christianity and the failings of the church, but we still recognize that we Christians have power and resources in our world.

2.  We are not a minority group with no ability to enact change.

c.  as we hear these Beatitudes, we can be people who lament the gap between the reality of the world in which we live and the kingdom to which God calls us.

1.  Barbara Brown Taylor – dual citizenship;   a man describes his dilemma: “On Sunday morning, I walk into a world that is the way God meant it to be.  People are considerate of one another. Strangers are welcomed.  We pray for justice and peace.  Our sins are forgiven.  We all face in one direction and we worship the same God.  When it’s over, I get in my car to drive home feeling so full of love it’s unbelievable, but by the time I’ve gone twenty minutes down the road it has already begun to wear off.  By Monday morning it’s gone, and I’ve got another whole week to wait until Sunday rolls around again.” (my notes lost the book, but the page number is correct! p. 26) 

2.  Our calling, it seems to me, is to work to close the gap.

3.  To use the power and resources we have available to transform the world we know into the world that reflects the justice and mercy of God.

4. we can dare to do this work because we know, that in life and death, we belong to Jesus Christ, the one who came and modeled for it what it was like to work for justice, to bring healing, or free the oppressed, to heal the sick, to proclaim the good news.

5. that is the assurance Jesus offers his followers, offers us in the Beatitudes; that is the call Jesus issues to those listening.

Conclusion:  Are we listening?