The Sermon on the Mount is probably one of the most well-known passages in the Gospel of Matthew. Just as Moses was given the ten commandments on Mount Sinai to regulate the communal life of the people of Israel, so Jesus gives us, his followers, a way
of life in his teaching on the mount.
Because we hear this text often, it has become familiar to us. We know familiarity means we can lose the essence
of what we are hearing. This week, we will revisit the essence of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount daily.
Notice how each of The Beatitudes starts with the word “blessed”. In our contemporary culture, this word often means something good has happened, or we have received something good and are blessed. However, that is not the sense in which Jesus uses the word. To be blessed, as the text tells us, is to be
living in God’s presence. It means that we have been enriched not by things – good events or possessions – but by God’s grace, friendship and providence.
In
the English translation, notice how Jesus says, “Blessed are” Jesus wants us to know that we can put this sermon into practice now. His words are for here and now. They are not meant to point to sometime in the future. We are “blessed” now – when we are aware of the fact that we live in God’s presence. We live in God’s presence when The Beatitudes inform how we choose to act each day.
There is something else worth noticing. Jesus doesn’t make a series of if/then statements. In other words, he doesn’t say that Y will happen if you do X. We might find this strange in a culture where we often look for or expect a reward or prize. There is no prize. We are invited to make The Beatitudes a way of daily life, here and now.
Take a few moments today to consider your thoughts and ideas about being “blessed”. Can you see how being “blessed” means living in God’s presence, here and now? Take a few moments to read through The
Beatitudes today. What strikes you?
