Supreme Blessedness

Message/Devotion

January 26, 2020

Matthew 5:1-12

Supreme Blessedness

The Reading

The Beatitudes

5 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn,

For they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek,

For they shall inherit the [a]earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

For they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful,

For they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart,

For they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers,

For they shall be called sons of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake,

For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

The Message

The Beatitudes. What does that word beatitude actually mean? According to Webster’s Dictionary, it is a noun which means SUPREME BLESSEDNESS.

Having never given it much thought, it is a blessing to understand its meaning, which also means a better understanding for the basis for Jesus’ sermon on the mount.

Here are a few short quotes about blessings, that I thought I’d share.

1. “When I started counting my blessings, my whole life turned around.” – Willie Nelson

2. “More smiling, less worrying. More compassion, less judgment. More blessed, less stressed. More love, less hate.” - Roy T. Bennett

3. “Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.” – Albert Camus

4. “Some wish blessings, others pray for them. Some send blessings and they become one.” – Joyce C. Lock

There is an abundance of quotes about blessings out there and just reading them is a blessing in and of itself.

You may quote me from the following two of my originals:

1. In our daily morning prayers, we begin: “Thank you Lord for this day and all the BLESSINGS of the day, even those that we don’t recognize.”

2. Every time I sneeze, someone is bound to say: “God Bless You”. As a humorous response, I usually say, “Thank you, I sneezed just for that extra blessing!”

I consider a good sense of humor to be a blessing.

In our reading, did you pick up on Matthew's opening? Jesus saw the multitudes gathered all over the place. (okay, I’m taking a little liberty in that mind picture.) He went up on the mountain. Why? Matthew doesn’t really say, does he? We can surmise though can’t we? I think when Jesus saw all these people crowding about, He thought it a better means to have a teaching session with His disciples, to go on up the mountain. Matthew doesn’t mention the crowds again, does he? We read that Jesus took a seat and His disciples came to Him. Jesus began to teach them about supreme blessedness. There is nothing mentioned that would lead me to believe that He was preaching, teaching or discipling any crowds nor even persons beyond His disciples. He was sitting down and as I see it teaching the disciples who were most likely sitting in a semi-circle facing Him.

HOWEVER, Jesus is teaching us today by way of His Holy Word the true meaning of Supreme Blessedness. In His teaching discourse on the beatitudes, Jesus is teaching us about our purest character. We so often portray a different character (attitude) depending on whose presence we are in. Does anyone think for even an instant that their character (attitude) doesn’t vary but is consistent all the time. Of course, it should be but if we are honest it is not.

Do you think and act the same way around your parents, spouses, co-workers, neighbors, the grumpy clerk, the policeman that pulled you over, the garbage collection crew…on and on…? Do you?? Your inner character should and that is what I believe Jesus is trying to teach. Our own righteousness flows not only with our relationship with God but also with each other. Our inner peace derives from our inner spirit not from the pleasures that we so often seek.

We must try and see ourselves as God sees us! We must try and see others the way God sees them. We must try and see our weaknesses and our sins the way God sees them.

Verse 8: “Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.” We cannot see God as He truly is when our vision of Him is blurred by our weaknesses and self-indulgence. We must resist the temptations to think our relationship with God is “okay”. Okay is not good enough, God wants to be first in our lives – thought, word and deed. You know that He is not, at least not all the time.