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Fourth Sunday After the Epiphany

Matthew 5:1–12

Micah 6:1–8

The beatitudes are a troublesome passage, not so much because of what they say, but because of how people have used them over the years. Because almost all of them end with a supposed reward that is set in the future, people use them to talk about what the people who fulfill these descriptions will receive not now, but in heaven (or at least some sort of distant future). Slave owners often used such verses, even editing them, to remind slaves that they should be meek or that, if they hunger and thirst now (note the omission), they will be filled when they are ultimately in heaven, where they will be because they are meek.

Along the same lines, men used this passage against women for centuries, and some still do. In the same way the slave owners used such verses for control, the men have and do, as well. They, too, might edit out parts to remind women that they didn’t need money, as the poor will receive the kingdom of heaven. As with the slave owners, they also forced women to be meek, which they interpreted as doing whatever the man (often the husband) said the woman should do.

While talking about these ideas in this way, they reminded (or remind) the slaves or women that “blessed” doesn’t really mean “blessed”; instead, the better translation is “happy,” a point preachers continue to emphasize. For the slave owners and men, then, it was clear that those whom they were oppressing should not only be meek or poor or hungry or thirsty; they should be happy to be in that state. Doing otherwise was against the will of God. These verses became an instrument of control, coercion, and oppression instead of providing the liberation Jesus intended.

The focus on the future, though, still hampers how we read this passage. We still talk about how those who suffer in some way here on Earth will receive some sort of future reward, whether we accept the traditional idea of heaven or have some other idea. Such a view does provide comfort to those who are going through difficult times, as they can remember that, though they mourn now, they will one day receive comfort. Many people who have had family members or friends die use such an interpretation to help them get through one of the most difficult times of their lives.

However, such an approach that puts any reward in the future deprives us of the joy (which is different from happiness) we should seek and provide to one another right now, not in some distant future. We often interpret these verses in a way that causes them to read like this: “Blessed are those who mourn, for God will comfort them in heaven.” That reading, though, makes two assumptions that shift our reading in unfortunate ways. It implies God will do the comforting, and that comforting will happen in heaven. Given its construction, though, one could also read the verse as, “Blessed are those who mourn, for others will comfort them when they do mourn.” It’s still in the future, but a much more conceivable future, a future almost all of us will experience when we suffer some loss that causes us to mourn.

Such a reading not only shifts the emphasis from some distant future life to our time here on Earth, it also points out that we have communities of people—ideally, the church—who will surround us and help us through those awful times in our lives. Rather than waiting for comfort from God in heaven, we can receive comfort from one another here, in our present lives. If we truly work for righteousness, we will see it come to fruition, perhaps in small ways, but we will see it, nonetheless. If we are merciful people, others will be merciful to us. If we are pure in heart, we will see God, not in some future life, but here and now.

In fact, if we look at the opening of Jesus’s list of blessings, we see that it is not written in a future tense at all, but in the clear present. If we are poor in spirit, we will have the kingdom of God, not sometime in the future, but now: “theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” If we put others ahead of ourselves, if we work for justice and righteousness, if we provide mercy, then we will create the kingdom of heaven on Earth for others and for ourselves. We’re not doing such actions to earn our place in a future heaven where we will reap some reward; we’re doing those actions to show love to one another, as that’s how we create the kingdom of heaven.

Of course, such an approach shifts the responsibility from God to us. We can no longer tell people that God will comfort them at some point, as God is calling us to comfort them ourselves. We must be the ones who work for justice and righteousness now, rather than waiting on some divine reckoning in the future to bring any sort of leveling to the inequalities of the world. We must be the peacemakers, working to end all strife, whether the wars that continue to kill and displace the innocent or the battles we fight in our office hallways or in ourselves.

The end of the passage from Micah sums up what the beatitudes lay out as the way to establish the kingdom of God: we are required to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. We must hunger and thirst for righteousness, be merciful, and be poor in spirit. We must not put off such actions until some future time; we must not shift the responsibility to God. Instead, we must work for the kingdom here and now, for everyone, in every way we can. Only then will we receive, not some superficial happiness, but true joy. At that point, we’ll all be blessed.

Questions for Reflection or Discussion:

What are some things that prevent us from experiencing the kingdom here on earth?

How can we take on more of the responsibility for justice and righteousness, rather than shifting that responsibility to God?