Y'All Have a Blessed Day ...

And Bless your heart.  In the south Blessings seem to invade the language of today’s Christian.  From Blessed days, to Blessed hearts, to a half a dozen other blessed expressions; today’s Christian has adopted a “blessed” language as part of everyday speech.  But what does it mean?  In the very ancient days of this world’s history a “blessing” was something performed by a believing Father to their sons.  It was done in order from eldest to youngest.  It had a special meaning for all of them.  The first or largest portion was associated and given to the eldest.  But this was not just about the financial rewards associated with the blessing.  Esau wanted the financial rewards and power that accompanied his blessing.  Jacob in later life, wanted only a closeness with God that perhaps his Father could bequeath to him.  In turn, Jacob thought to bless his sons according to both tradition and to merit.  In point of fact, Joseph the second youngest of his sons, became leader over all from what transpired throughout his life, even outside of his father’s opportunity to bless him.

Outside of the father son tradition, blessing was also used as a sort of divine good-luck-charm.  It’s opposite, the curse, was also used in a reverse or divine bad-luck-charm sort of way.  To be blessed by a prophet of God, was interpreted as getting the rain you need, in fertile soil you need, to grow crops you need, and have animals and children in abundance.  It meant good health, and good fortune.  In the case of Job, his incredible wealth was one-for-one associated with blessings from God.  Satan was able to curse Job (but not take his life), and Job lost everything a blessing might describe.  He lost his farms, crops, animals.  He even lost his children.  Then his own health.  This was a curse of enormous magnitude intended to get Job to turn around and curse God.  But Job did not.  He was more interested in finding out what he had done to warrant the curse, and why his loving God would allow this curse to befall him.  The answers of course were outside of the limited perspective of Job in this world, but of love that does not depend on rewards to obtain it.

But if blessings, and even cursing for that matter, depend on an element of the divine.  Then when we utter them, we are in effect offering a prayer that they become true on the object we associate with the blessings.  To treat a blessing so casually then is perhaps not such a good use of the term.  Take the expression “bless his heart” for example; are we asking that God give this person a healthy heart, one that withstands the horror of heart disease in our age, one that will be healthy enough to see this person to an old age.  Or rather, and more likely, are we taking the word blessing, putting it in a common expression, and making its meaning … meaningless.  The same could be said for the expression “have a blessed day”.  Do we infer that today will be wonderful, but tomorrow could be horrible, without a second dose of the blessed-day theory?  And what happens when more than one person says it to us, does our day get exponentially better for every time we hear the blessing?  Again, our use of the expression, seems more intent on identifying us as Christians, than on a meaningful use of the idea of blessing someone else.

Then there is the perspective of our Atheist friends, which corresponds to quite a few in our Christian ranks.  They believe that blessings do not exist.  If something good happens, you did it.  No God.  No divinity.  Just good old fashioned hard work, and opportunity, presented at the right time.  Quite a few Christians are willing to subscribe to the “I did it” philosophy.  Just listen to how they talk about the good things that occur in their lives.  The Atheist converse theory though is more opposite than you would think.  While no God exists for good things, God is to blame for every bad thing that occurs.  It is the Atheist familiar challenge to the existence of God.  If God exists, then why does this bad thing occur? Etc.  Christians too, seem all too eager to jump on this bandwagon as well.  A Christian contracts the disease of cancer, and immediately begins using language like … well, it must have been God’s will, etc.  In effect they blame God for just as much woe, as our Atheist friends do.

But the Bible does not refer to a blessing by accident, or just because we co-opt it into our everyday speech.  Beyond just the ordinary ways we use or associate the word blessing, Jesus Himself, gave us another way to think about it.  Matthew recorded one of the most famous sermons offered in the Bible, in what we now refer to as “The Beatitudes”.  You will note the word Beatitude was not the language Jesus used, it is our scholarly achievement of putting a group of blessings under the heading of one term.  Yay us!  Jesus used the word Blessed.  The context began as the fame of Jesus had spread from as north as Decapolis in Syria, to Jerusalem, from the regions of Galilee and Judaea, all the way to the Jordan river.  Massive numbers of people now sought Jesus to find healing from sin in their bodies.  And now that most were already healed, they sought further, a relief from the pain sin causes in their souls.  Jesus would oblige.

Matthew begins recording the event in his gospel in chapter five, picking up in verse 1 saying … “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: [verse 2] And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,”  The number of people was great.  And once again, this sermon would not be offered within Temple walls, at least not the Temple constructed in Jerusalem.  It would be offered along the sides of a mountain.  Nature’s acoustics would serve the audio needs well, but the thundering voice of its Creator did not hurt either.  Words carried through the air, and combined with the convicting power of the Holy Spirit upon hearts would make the sermon even more powerful.  The leadership of the church would be offended.  Why would the Messiah not use the beautiful facilities that were available to Him within the confines of the Temple?  That is where this kind of thing was supposed to happen.

But before we get all self-righteous, why do we expect that “church” can only be conducted within the walls of our great constructed buildings dedicated to that purpose as well?  This sermon is living proof that buildings are NOT needed at all.  Attention is.  Willingness to hear is.  Contrite hearts are.  But four walls, not so much.  Then there is the day of this sermon.  YIKES!  We have no idea upon which day this sermon was preached at all.  This leaves all of us holy-day-centric Christians with a further dilemma.  If Jesus preached this sermon on “our” holy day, why wasn’t he in church, where he was supposed to be?  We start immediately joining the Sanhedrin in our way of thinking.  If this sermon did occur on our “Holy” day then Jesus is defacto stating we could be having church outdoors perhaps with far more effect than we do indoors.  The people would have been dressed casually.  It would have been comfort wear, not formal wear.  And there is no song-service recorded.  Neither is there an offering call recorded.  Not even a children’s story unless the words of Jesus could be understood by them as well (perhaps as it should be).

The entire structure of our holy-day-services had no basis in how Jesus worshipped and preached if this sermon was offered on our “holy” day.  So then, if it was not, if this sermon was offered on some other day, what does that imply?  It implies that people can learn from the mouth of Jesus on any day, and in any venue.  They do not really need a holy-day, like the way we use them.  Any time with Jesus becomes holy-time, because He is there, not because we constrict our activities to a list of do’s and don’ts handed down by tradition, and not impacting our hearts at all.  Jesus did not destroy the meaning of holy-day worship by offering this sermon.  The facts of this sermon, just cause us to re-examine how we use our time with God.  What makes that time important?  It is not the place.  It is not the building.  It is our willingness to hear the word of God where and when He offers it.  To prioritize hearing that word above going to restaurants, and theme parks, and movies, and malls … but instead to travel to a mountain with no wi-fi, and listen to Jesus speak with nothing else to do, and no regrets in doing it.

Jesus begins in verse 3 saying … “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  Why was this one first?  We already know there are quite a few more coming.  Why was being poor in spirit, being humble, the first thing on the mind of Christ?  Perhaps because entry into the kingdom of heaven depends upon that characteristic.  Now here is where it gets tricky.  The verse is not a curse.  It does not say that without humility you CANNOT get in to the Kingdom of Heaven.  It is a blessing.  It says, those who are humble enough to seek Jesus for their salvation, and their perfection, are ALREADY in the kingdom of heaven.  The word Blessed is not intended as a future promise, it is intended as a current recognition of where you are.  It is not a guarantee you will remain there, only an expression of cause and effect that got you there, and will keep you there.  You are blessed not because of who you are, but because of where you are, and why you are there.  Humility that leads to submission to Jesus is the lynchpin of our salvation, of being saved from ourselves, and finding something more in the here and now within the Kingdom of heaven.  No waiting required.

Jesus continues in verse 4 saying … “Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.”  This one seems odd, and it was the number two item on the mind of Christ.  Why sadness?  Why mourning?  Did Jesus mean this just in general, or did He have something specific in mind?  In a spiritual context, they that mourn, might be we who understand the weight of our sins, and the pain our sins cause to those we love, and how those circles of pain seem to never stop reverberating through the circle of lives they touch.  To know that pain, causes sadness, it causes mourning.  We repent for a reason.  We want a stop to our sins.  Not just the action of our sins, but the desire to perform them at all.  We want freedom from them.  And Jesus says we are Blessed, for we shall be comforted.  The process of salvation works.  For those who bear great sadness over what they have done, or are doing, there is hope.  The gift of salvation is a gift.  It is the only comfort for those who wish to see sin no more.  And it is real.  Be blessed you who mourn.  Understand your comfort is already working within you.  Jesus is already freeing you from the sin that causes you to mourn, as only He alone can do.

Jesus continues in verse 5 saying … “Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.”  First, why would I want the earth?  All of scripture informs me that the earth is not my home.  Unless, perhaps the earth Jesus is speaking of, is the re-created earth.  Perhaps the third thing on the mind of Christ is a re-iteration of the first and second things, a humility that drives one to seek God, results in rewards both here and now, and on an eternal basis our minds can hardly comprehend.  Jesus continues in verse 6 saying … “Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”  Another reference to salvation.  Another reference to perfection.  To hunger after righteousness is to be filled by Christ.  The people on that mountain were not there to hear Peter speak.  This was not about hearing great disciples, apostles, or modern day ministers and popes.  The people on that mountain were there to hear God.  And it is only God who can fill the hunger for righteousness.  We do not fill ourselves or each other.

Jesus then turns to a description of love as He continues in verse 7 saying … “Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.”  This is not a promise of tit-for-tat.  This is not about Karma.  This is about a description of a characteristic of love itself.  To offer mercy, is to grant it to someone who does NOT deserve it.  Love forgives.  Love has no need to forgive the righteous, but instead it forgives the wicked.  The forgiveness it offers does more than just release the guilty from his responsibility, it releases the wronged one from the burden of hate, resentment, and revenge.  The one who offers forgiveness and mercy is the one freed from the memory of the act that harmed him.  Mercy given, is mercy already understood, already received, already part of who you are.

Jesus continues in verse 8 saying … “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”  The entirety of the commandment law could be summarized in the idea of “pure in heart”.  One who loves, one who bears no malice, does not think to lie to another, to steal from them, to hate, or kill, or dishonor them.  One who is pure in heart thinks only how he could make their lives better than they are.  One who is pure in heart, invests the imagination into making life better, making life outstanding, not thinking of self, but only of others.  In this we come to see God, to see God for who God is, to reflect God through who he re-makes us to become.

Jesus continues in verse 9 saying … “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.”  As Jesus concludes His mini-definition of what it is like to love, He offers the trait of peacemaker in the list.  Nowhere in the commandment law is this trait specifically listed, yet it is on the mind of Christ as He speaks to the multitudes who are not yet able to forgive or forget.  Those who know what it is to love, understand why peace is more important than gain, or honor, or self-imposed restrictions.  To seek peace is be known as the children of God.  The war in heaven happened, not because our God did not seek peace, but because Satan would not have it.  War with evil may always be inevitable.  But war between those who call themselves by the name of God should ALWAYS be avoidable.  It is ever our honor to seek peace, we are blessed as we do.

Then Jesus turns, to what inevitably happens when you love, in a world steeped in hate as He continues in verse 10 saying … “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  When you love, others will persecute you for it.  The expression no good deed goes unpunished has truth in it.  Your motives will be questioned.  Your deeds of love discarded as selfish, and self-serving.  Your anguish over the salvation of another, discarded as unneeded and unwanted.  But residence in the Kingdom of Heaven does not preclude you from this persecution, it only offers you another perspective on why it occurs.

Finally Jesus concludes the results of the end of all things as He wraps up this section in verse 11 saying … “Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.  [verse 12] Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”  Suffering for the name of Jesus was new to the Jews.  The Jews had long awaited the Messiah.  To accept that Jesus was Him, was sure to bring condemnation from those who rejected this idea.  It still does.  Whether from Atheists who do not believe, or Islamists who believe only that Jesus was a prophet, or Christians who prefer to think self solves all problems – persecution comes.  Every other form of religion will reject Jesus and our belief in Him, because Jesus offers the only mechanism to be saved, from self.  Every other religion thrives on self.  It is this difference that brings the persecution, and creates the hinge upon which salvation hangs.

What Jesus has just outlined is not the promise of a blessing in future tense.  He does not make casual but instead profound use of the word.  Nor does Jesus state that people who lived a long time before you were blessed (past tense) and it is something you can never see in your own life.  What Jesus outlines instead is a recognition of a blessed state when you embrace humility, purity, love.  He warns us in advance that persecution will come.  And He offers us the hope, that when bad things happen to us from the fury of Satan, we are to take comfort, recognize we are blessed already, and that our eternal salvation is as sure as our present one within the process of being remade.  Jesus does not reserve our transformation to some future date, just as He does not reserve our state of blessed to the future either.  They are both present.  They are both immediate.  They begin with our humility, our submission right here and now, and they have no end in the eternity He offers behind it.

And this was only the beginning of the sermon …