The Freedom of the Blessed

The Freedom of the Blessed

Matthew 5:1-12 T All Saints Day

INI

Who looks at the Beatitudes in the Gospel lesson and says, ‘That’s the kind of life I want!’  Poor? Meek? Hungry and Thirsty? Mourning? Pure in heart? Peacemaker? The world looks at such people and sees weakness. They see people worthy of pity – not someone to emulate or strive to be.

And yet, how does Jesus describe them despite their lowliness? They are ‘blessed’. Many translators translate that as ‘happy’ or I’ve even heard the description ‘lucky’. These are pretty shallow words, yet they capture the idea of this word ‘blessed’ quite well. Because the blessings being described here aren’t the kind that we hear about in the Old Testament – the kind where God blesses His people with cattle and land flowing with milk and honey. This kind of blessing entails a freedom from the things of this world. It’s a kind of freedom that describes what a life lived in Christ looks like.

That’s why any worldly person would look at this description of God’s people and think – ‘this one seems weak.’ Yet, they have the greatest life. This life looks like weakness. But that’s because this kind of life is shaped by the cross of Christ itself – for where He seemed weak, God was strong. God used what seemed foolish to the world to shame the wise.

Yet, Jesus describes such a life as ‘blessed’ or ‘happy’. That tells us something about an inheritance we already have. It’s already ours.  These blessings aren’t rewards that we hope to achieve one day. They’re already gifts we have through faith in Christ! And that fundamentally changes the way we live.

The Beatitudes aren’t a checklist of virtues we better develop. We don’t need to go out and MAKE ourselves poor in Spirit, or MAKE ourselves hunger and thirst for righteousness, or MAKE ourselves meek – all for the reason of getting the reward or blessing from Christ. You don’t need to go out and manufacture your own crosses to carry, for God will surely give them to you. But rather, these beatitudes are just the description of what the baptized life looks like – for it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. That means I look like Him. Is such a life pitiable in the eyes of the world? Sure. But to those in Christ – it’s the very image of the cross. And our hope extends way beyond this world.

Bishop Barron is a well-known Catholic theologian whose written many books and is all over the internet. He comments on the beatitudes in a helpful way. He sort of modernizes these parabolic sayings that we might understand the freedom that Christ frees us to. And thus, we understand what life under the cross looks like. So, instead of “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”, he says “How lucky are you if you aren’t addicted to material things…’ Instead of “Blessed are those who mourn…” He says, “how lucky are you if you aren’t addicted to having good feelings? Because doing the will of God sometimes involves enormous pain and discomfort.” Instead of “Blessed are the meek….” He says, “Power is one of the world’s greatest seductions. We ought to forego worldly power, so that the power of God’s will might reign through us.” Finally, instead of “blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you…” He says, “How lucky are you if you are not addicted to the approval of others, but are addicted to God’s approval of you.”

And a few of my own that I’ll add in this sort of light – “Blessed are the merciful…”becomes “How lucky are you if you aren’t addicted to vengeance, and false ideas of justice.” “Blessed are the pure in heart…” becomes “How lucky are you if you don’t bury your sin to hide it from others, and instead reveal it before them and God – thus having freedom from sin’s control over your emotions and conscience.” And “Blessed are the peacemakers…” becomes “How lucky are you if you can swallow pride for the sake of peace? Not being ruled by your exaltation over others, but bearing your brothers sins for the sake of peace?” For example, Paul once told more mature Christians to give up something if it may harm a weaker believer’s faith – that’s what it means to be a peacemaker.

The point is this: you’ve been freed from having seductive eyes for the things of this world. The addictive, intoxicating things of this world really only have one purpose – to distract you from the hope and blessing and JOY that you have in everlasting life with God. The world will try to get you to live for yourself, and neglect the joy that you have in Christ. They want you to disregard the truth. And the truth is, life is much more than living for the approval of others. It’s much more than the pursuit of temporal pleasures. It’s much more than being ruled by our emotions. Life is about finding rest in our Creator.

That’s why I love this text on this Feast Day – All Saints Day. It describes the inheritance and rest that our loved ones who’ve died with Christ have. And today, we especially remember our dear sister in Christ, Delores, who now rests in the freedom from this world. She’s passed beyond the cares and concerns of this temporal life, and entered into an eternal one with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. She’s among those described in our first reading from Revelation 7. They stand before the throne of the Lamb, clothed in their white robes, which is a symbol of the righteous purity they’ve received from Christ in baptism. They wave palm branches, just as the crowds did in Jerusalem when Jesus came to die on the cross to accomplish their freedom from the despair of this material world. And they cry out with a loud voice – “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

This isn’t something they could’ve ever accomplished. Salvation isn’t their accomplishment. Only fools live poor in Spirit, hunger and thirst for righteousness, embrace meekness, and are joyfully reviled for God’s holy name. They’ve not chosen such a life. However, this life has been given to them in Christ – through His death and glorious resurrection. And yet, only through His deliverance from the cares and concerns of this world, can we find rest. St Augustine famously said “our hearts are restless, until they rest in Thee.” And when we rest in Christ – His works, His ways, His life – what’s perceived by the world as weak and pitiable behavior is used by God to free us from the world.

And that’s the vision of All Saints – not moral heroes, but sinners made holy by God’s grace in Christ Jesus. The world may look at God’s saints and see weakness – poverty, meekness, mourning, hunger. But through His Son, the Father sees us for what we truly are: blessed. Freed. At rest. Their lives were hidden with God, and now they see Him face to face. And until that day when we join them before the throne of the Lamb, we too bear that same, blessed life. We are poor in Spirit, because Christ is our wealth. We hunger and thirst for righteousness because He is our righteousness. We mourn, yet not without hope. For we have the victory over this world through Christ’s own resurrection and ascension to the Father. The same Christ who calls them “blessed”, now calls you blessed, despite the difficulty of this life and the crosses you bear. Because He has already made you His own. You rest in His eternal inheritance.

So, as we press on toward our own glorious, eternal rest, we lift up our voices WITH the angels, archangels, and all the company of heaven as we cry out “Salvation belongs to our God and to the Lamb.”

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston