February 25, 2018 - The Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Persecuted

Today, someone, somewhere in the world, will lose their life.  It will not be as a result of hunger or disease.  It won’t be a result of their age or infirmity.  The loss of life will result from religious persecution.  

This morning we complete our series of messages on the Beatitudes, as we talk about persecution.  The final beatitude is, perhaps, the most difficult of all, and it is also the longest – three verses, while the others are one verse each – and four times as long in number of words compared to the next longest.  It is the longest, I assume, because it is the most difficult.  It is easy to like a beatitude that promises us comfort, or mercy, but one that tells us we are blessed when persecuted or insulted is much, much tougher.

For the final time in this series, let’s read the Beatitudes.  I hope that, as we have read through them each week, they have become more etched into our hearts and minds.

Matthew 5:1-12

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,

2 and he began to teach them.  He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

1.  The Reality of Persecution.

Let’s talk first about what persecution is not.  Persecution is not disagreement or ridicule.  In our hyper-partisan, contentious society, as we have lost much of the ability to talk to one another, some people believe that simply to be in disagreement is equal to persecution.  It is not. 

Ridicule, although unpleasant and unfortunate, is also not persecution.  Members of the early church sometimes faced ridicule, an example of which is found in Acts chapter 2:13.  In chapter 2, Luke writes about the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came upon the church.  Many of the people who were in the crowd that day recognized the divine power of the moment, but not everyone.  Verse 13 says, but some people in the crowd made fun of the believers.  “They’ve had too much wine!” they said.  While unpleasant, and perhaps, at times, bigoted, ridicule is not persecution.  I do not enjoy ridicule and I believe we should always work to discourage it, and I do not want to add my voice to any form of ridicule, because doing so creates an environment in which the seeds of persecution can be planted.

So what is persecution?  Persecution is the denial of a right or rights that are enjoyed by others.  It is the targeting of an individual or a group because of their race, their religion, or some other facet of life, particularly one that sets them apart from the majority. 

According to a report by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion and Public Life, one-third of the world’s popluation (2.2 billion people) live in areas of the world where religious persecution increased between 2006 and 2009. (you can find the report at this link – http://www.pewforum.org/2011/08/09/rising-restrictions-on-religion2/).  And some estimates, indicated in other research, put that number as high as 2/3.  Note that this is not the total number of people who live under religious persecution, but the number who live where it has increased.  Clearly, much of the world’s population live where being a person of faith is made difficult because of persecution. 

While not all countries are experiencing this rise in religious persecution, it is becoming a daily fact of life for people of faith in the most populous countries, with two of the biggest offenders being China and India.  China has been vigorous about cracking down on the house church movement, as the government fears the move toward freedom and independence that are natural outgrowths of the message of the Gospel.  China, which is officially atheistic in its governance, only allows worship to take place in state-approved churches, which probably number somewhere in the amount of 20 million people.  In the state-approved churches there are often government representatives present in the worship service, listening to what is said and monitoring that activities that take place.  In contrats to the state-approved churches, it is estimated that 60 million people – and possibly millions more – worship in the house churches, which operate without government approval and whose leaders are often subject to harrassment and arrest.  The house church movement is booming in China, so much so that in not many years China will have more Christians than any other country one earth, and this in an environment of persecution.  Though we don’t hear about it often, Chinese authorities have, in the past few years, destroyed many churches, often coming in the middle of the night with equipment to tear down the buildings. 

The Middle East, obviously, is one of the most dangerous places in the world for those who are Christian, or members of other minority religions.  ISIS, certainly, has become one of the primary threats throughout the region, but it is often government authorities who aid in religious persecution. When ISIS fighters began to move through Iraq and Syria several years ago, they began a violent purge of Christians from communities that had a Christian presence for many centuries.  In some cases, ISIS gave Christians a matter of hours to flee their homes or face death.  If they fled, they could only take with them a few items, leaving behind their homes and most of their belongings.  The Middle East is the birthplace of our faith, but persecution there has caused many believers to flee from that part of the world.  Some, however, persevere under very difficult circumstances.  I recently saw a picture of a congregation in Syria that had returned to their building to have the first worship service in several years.  The church building was heavily damaged and was in need of significant repair, but the congregation was joyous to be back in their spiritual home.

2.  The Gospel Challenges Power.

Several years ago I read a fascinating article about some research that connected Christian missionary work and the rise of democracy around the world.  The researchers discovered that where missionary work had taken place there was a corresponding rise in the spread of – or desire for – democracy.  This should not come as a surprise.  The gospel asserts that all people are created as free individuals, are meant to live in freedom, and are endowed with a God-given right to worship – or not worship – as their conscience dictates.  Democracy and freedom are what happens when people hear the message that God has created all people as equals and that he desires that they live in freedom.  Paul writes in Galations 5:1 that it is for freedom that Christ has set us free, and freedom is a central tenant to the gospel.

We were not created to live under oppression, or to be pawns of political bullies and tyrants.  The early church faced much persecution because this message of equality and freedom made Rome uneasy.  The Roman Empire was not interested in sharing power with anyonee, and they were not about to allow freedom and democracy to threaten their grip on power.  

Jesus was a challenge to a lot of people in power.  He was a challenge to the Romans and to the religious leaders of his own people.  When Jesus was asked whether or not it was lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not his response was not as neat and easy as we generally think (Matthew 22:15-22; Mark 12:13-17; Luke 20:20-26).  When Jesus said to render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s and unto God what is God he was presenting us with the reality that both Caesar and God claim ownership over all; there is no power sharing.  For the followers of Jesus, calling him Lord was a capital offense.  That was a title reserved only for the emperor.  To use other titles, such as Son of God and Prince of Peace, were also capital offenses.  Though we don’t often pick up on the political nature of the life and teaching of Jesus, much of what he said and did was a direct confrontation of the power of Rome, and Rome did not abide any competitors.

3.  Faith,Hope, and Love Wins.

The Christian faith was born under persecution.  The theme of persecution is alluded to in many of the writings of the New Testament.  Paul’s letter of Philippians, which was written while he was in prison, awaiting execution at the hands of the Roman Empire, is an amazing document of someone who was facing martyrdom.  In spite of his circumstances, the letter is often referred to as the book of joy.  How could anyone be so joyful in such difficult circumstances?  Paul was able to maintain his joy because he knew that, ultimately, he was in God’s hands regardless of his circumstances and regardless of what happened to him.  The book of Acts tells us the death of Stephen, the first Christian martyr (Acts 7:8-15), and of how, on that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.  Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.  But Saul began to destroy the church.  Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison (Acts 8:1-3).

Peter was no stranger to persecution.  The book of Acts tells us that he was taken before the Sanhedrin for trial (4:1-22), that he was imprisoned (5:17-20), beaten (5:40), and imprisoned again (12:1-19).  In his first letter he writes that in this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire – may be proved genuine (I Peter1:6-7).  Peter is saying that even in persecution there is some kind of benefit that can be found.  Who among us has not said, I wish I didn’t have to experience that difficulty, but, through that difficulty I learned…?  It is the triumph of faith that can find something good, and even beautiful, even in the midst of suffering and persecution.

This is a lesson that persecutors do not learn – you cannot overcome the power of faith, hope, and love.  These great qualities of faith, hope, and love – the triumverate of Christian values – hold within them the greatest power on earth, and no amount of persecution can ever overcome them.  This is what led the great church father Tertullian to proclaim that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.  As much as the persecutors of the church tried to defeat it, they could not do so.  No power held by an earthly kingdom can defeat the power of faith, hope, and love. 

When Tanya and I were in St. Peter’s Square several years ago it was interesting to note the presence of an ancient Egyptian obelisk in that square.  What in the world is that object doing in that location?  That obelisk is one of a number located throughout the city of Rome.  They were brought there by Roman emporers as a way to demonstrate their political might.  To take such an object from another kingdom, another military power, was a way to show Rome’s superior military and political might.

Interestingly, that obelisk was probably one of the last things Peter saw as he was crucified.  And look at what occupies that vast territory now.  The city that was once a symbol of the might and power of Rome has now become one of the centers of the Christian faith.  Not far from that location, at the Colloseum, a cross now stand in the place where the emperor’s seat was located.  It would have been inconceivable, two thousand years ago, for anyone to imagine that a new religion, heavily persecuted by Rome, would not only survive, but thrive.  The vast Roman Empire, which dominated the world, is long gone, but the Christian faith persist.

4.  Our blessing of freedom.

As we gather for worship this morning, and as millions more gather for worship across our country, we must remember that we are historic anomolies.  For most of the history of our faith, people did not enjoy the freedom we enjoy to worship according to the dictates of our conscience.  In fact, for a number of centuries, in some countries, people could not even choose their own religion.  The Latin phrase cuius regio, eius religio (the religion of the king is the religion of the people) was the rule for much of Europe for centuries.

For us, we are blessed because –

Not one prevented us from attending worship today, and no one compelled us to be here (sorry, kids, your parents don’t count.  My siblings and I were expected to attend church with our parents; it wasn’t a choice and there were time I did not want to go, but I am grateful that they insisted).

No one will tell us how, or how not, to worship.

No one will tell me what to preach or not to preach.

No government regulators attend our worship.

No one will tell our congregation what we can and cannot do.

We need no government approval for what we do.

No one will threaten us for being here.

As Americans, we enjoy the gift of religious freedom, a bedrock principle of our society, but we cannot forget our brothers and sisters who do not enjoy the luxury of living their faith without the fear of persecution.

Perhaps we cannot fully appreciate what we have always had, but we must always advocate for the freedom of others, especially the most basic right of all humanity – the right to religious freedom.

5.  We are called to the kingdom of God, which is an alternative vision of how to live.

Jesus spoke often about the kingdom of God, and it is very clear from what he had to say that the kingdom of God is very different from the kingdoms of this world.  Jesus’ words about the kingdom of God often provoked a sharp reaction, because kingdoms of this world do not like competition.  In the time of Jesus it was certainly clear that the Roman Empire did not want competition from any other kingdom.

The kindom of God is one that supercedes all manmade boundaries.  Humanity is so caught up in tribalism, nationalism, and other ways of thinking that draw lines between people.  The kingdom of God does not draw boundaries; it erases them.  Even in our faith we sometimes draw boundaries.  I am often puzzled at the religious language of “turning America back to God.”  I can’t imagine Jesus having a “turn Israel back to God” rally.  It would please me very much to see our nation embrace faith in a greater way, but it is important that we remember that the kingdom of God is not limited to our nation alone.  The goal of the kingdom of God, and thus are goal, is not to improve our society alone.  The goal of the kingdom of God is to bring all people to the love of God.  In this way, the kingdom of God is a radically alternative vision of life that goes far beyond any nationalism or other limiting view of life and humanity. 

When Tanya and I were preparing to travel to Europe several years ago, we talked about the countries and cities we wanted to visit.  Once we chose our destinations, we needed to decide what we would visit in those locations.  I only had two requests.  In London I wanted to walk across Abbey Road and have my picture taken, matching the cover of the Beatles album of that name.  Tanya took the picture of me walking across the road and I had it enlarged to a poster size.  I hung the poster in our basement, just below the Beatles Abbey Road poster.  My poster is in the basement because, evidently, a big picture of me walking across Abbey Road does not qualify as “living room art.”  The second place I wanted to visit was very much a spiritual pilgrimage to the catacombs in Rome.  Tanya and I traveled just outside of the city of Rome and entered one of the catacombs with a tour group.  The early Christians often met for worship in the catacombs because that is a place they could go and not fear being harrassed by Roman soldiers or anyone else.  They were not bothered because the catacombs were tombs, and no one else wanted to go down into those tombs.  Imagine what it would be like to have to go below ground, into tombs carved out of the volcanic rock, in order to worship.  Throughout the catacombs were shelves, where bodies were placed, and larger rooms, where some families had their own tombs.  As we neared the end of our tour I could hear another group behind us.  The group was from Asia, and I had heard their voices echoing down the stone corridors and it really caught my attention when I heard them begin to sing.  They were in one of the larger rooms, a room about half the size of our sanctuary.  I walked back through the corridor and stood outside of the room where they had gathered, so I could hear them sing.  They were in a circle, holding hands, and singing Amazing Grace, in English.  There was a stone altar in the room, and I imagined this was what it must have been like, centuries ago – followers of Jesus, gathere in that tomb, three stories below ground, singing and worshipping.  It was an incredibly moving moment, hearing the voices of those who were far from the birthplace of our faith, and from the place where the early church was persecuted.  It was evidence, beautiful evidence, of how the church has become a global presence.

Kingdoms come and go, but God’s kingdom remains.  Rome’s great empire, a powerful empire that forced the early church into the tombs in order to worship, has passed away, but God’s kingdom and church has not only remained, but prospered.  There are kingdoms in this world still that seek to hinder or eliminate the church and God’s kingdom, but still it persists, and thrives.

Blessed indeed are the persecuted, because the kingdoms that threaten and persecute them will not be the ultimate victors.  The kingdom of God reigns now and forevermore!

February 18, 2015 The Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Peacemakers

Today we continue our series of messages on the Beatitudes, with a message on the seventh beatitude – blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Considering the events of the past week I would say that the timing of this beatitude is certainly, well, timely.  I would say that except for the fact that it could be almost any week of the year and this beatitude would be timely.  And, honestly, after so many acts of violence in our country and around the world, I feel as though I am running out of words on peace and the related topics. 

In the previous six weeks we have read through all of the Beatitudes and will do so again this morning and for the final one next week.  I hope as we have been doing so each week that these verses have etched themselves deeply into our minds, and especially deeply into our hearts and souls.

Matthew 5:1-12

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,

2 and he began to teach them.  He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

As we have moved through the Beatitudes I think we can say that they have been building to this point.  I wouldn’t say that it is a step-by-step increase in difficulty from one beatitude to the next, but it’s as though Jesus left the most difficult two for the last.  Beginning with comfort, having our hunger and thirst for righteousness satisfied, receiving mercy, to being children of God, all of which can be difficult enough, Jesus shifts to the final two, which are much more difficult than the others, I think. 

I will offer what I have this morning, and it will be from only one perspective –

Be A Peacemaker and Everyone Will Be Blessed.

I will admit that, sometimes, when I read the Beatitudes, I wish Jesus had given some more detail.  Why didn’t he, for instance, explain exactly what he meant by the poor in spirit?  And couldn’t we get some more detail about how theirs is the kingdom of heaven?  And how is it that the meek will inherit the earth?  As I have thought about this beatitude in recent days I wished a number of times that Jesus had given us more details about how not only to be a peacemaker, but to bring about peace.  And as I think about it some more, I imagine that Jesus might say I thought I made myself very clear.  It’s only difficult because you don’t want to do what it takes to bring peace.  And that’s true, I believe.

Everyone wants peace, but actually creating peace is a different matter entirely, because peacemaking is really, really difficult.  One of the reasons why peacemaking is so difficult is because it is easier to assign blame that it is to find solutions.  Even though we are only a few days from the tragedy in Florida, there is no shortage of blame as to why these tragedies take place.  In the past few days, as so many people say we must do something we find that we can’t even find agreement on what we should do.  How is it that one person can be so certain they know the answer, while another person thinks that another person’s answer is completely wrong?  Just offering solutions can lead to very heated arguments and disagreements.  The discussions about causes and solutions too quickly devolve into a good deal of contentiousness and finger pointing, which is not at all conducive to helping build a healthier and safer society.  But that seems to be our lot now, unfortunately, as we don’t seem to have any way to have conversations across our society.

To be a peacemaker is to do the work of God, because peacemaking is the work of reconciliation, which is at the heart of what God does.  Paul writes in Romans 5:18-20, God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:  that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them.  And he had committed to us the message of reconciliation.  We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.  We implore you on Christ’s behalf:  Be reconciled to God. 

So to be a peacemaker means that we take an active role in the healing and restoration, first, of our relationships, because peacemaking begins on an individual level.  How many of us have a relationship that is waiting on someone to step forward and take that first step down the road of peacemaking and restoration?  But we may resist and say, I’m not the one that is at fault here.  It’s not my responsibility to try to fix this relationship.  But someone has to take that first step.  You may not be able to fix things.  The other person may resist to the point that it is impossible to fix the relationship, but a peacemaker is one who will take that first step of reconciliation.  If we cannot mend and heal relationships between individuals, we cannot bring peace to the world.  If we cannot step across our yard to our neighbor, if we cannot step across the hall to a coworker, if we cannot step across the living room to a family member, if we cannot step across the aisle to a church member, there is no hope for finding peace on a larger scale.

But at some point peacemaking must move beyond the personal and the individual to the corporate.  By corporate, I mean the work of becoming a peacemaker in society, between groups of people.  Peacemaking cannot remain only between two people.  Peacemaking involves working in our communities, our social groups, and nations.

We begin by understanding that being a peacemaker means much more than simply reducing or minimizing conflict. The Hebrew word for peace, you may know, is shalom, which means working for everything that makes for a person’s highest good.  The Greek word used for peace in the Beatitudes is used only one time, in this verse, in the entirety of the New Testament.  It does not mean a passive acceptance of the way that things are simply for the sake of keeping some kind of pseudo peace, but to work for the good of another person.  Being a peacemaker, then, means far more than just reducing conflict or wishing for peace; it means engaging in the very difficult work of doing good to and for others.  Peacemaking is not passive.  Peacemaking implies action.  It is easy to love the idea of peace; it is something else entirely to actually work for peace.  If we only like the idea of peace, and are not actively working for iy, we are not peacemakers.

In the day of Jesus, there was the Pax Romana, which was the peace of Rome.  The Romans were very proud of the safety and security of their empire.  They were proud of the fact that a Roman citizen could travel throughout the empire with no fear of attack or violence.  But the peace of Rome was not a true peace because it was established and maintained by violence and brutality, and because violence and brutality were the foundation and the maintenance of the peace, it bred bitterness and resentment and, in turn, violence.  You can’t have real peace if it comes about through force and violence.  That is not peace; that is subjugation.

If we want peace, we must understand and address the root causes of conflict.  I remember reading, years ago, an interview with a psychologist about violence among young people.  The psychologist made a comment that I have never forgotten.  She said, when a young child says, “I hurt,” that hurt must be addressed.  If that hurt is not addressed, it will move from a description of their feelings to a predictor of their behavior.  As I have been thinking about what it means to be a peacemaker, and about what happened in Parkland, Florida, and in so many other locations, I can’t help but wonder, why is their so much anger in our culture and why does that anger so often manifest itself in violence?  Asking that question, I must then ask, what are the root causes for that anger?  Why are so many people so angry and turning to violence as a perceived solution?  I can’t help but wonder if at least a portion is not due to the fact that there are many, many people – especially young people – who hurt very deeply and profoundly and that hurt has not been addressed, causing that hurt to be turned outward and inflicted upon others.

We absolutely must do a better job of addressing why peace is so elusive.  Jesus was not afraid of confronting some of the issues that kept peace from being attained.  Jesus was neither afraid nor hesitant to speak out about the injustices and the difficulties of life that became incubators for violence and all things that undermined peace.  Doing so is not an easy process because it means that we cannot live in a protective bubble, hidden away from the problems of the world.  When Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain, where he was transfigured before them (Mark 9:2-32), Peter wanted to build some shelters so they could stay there.  It was far more preferable to want to live in that moment rather than living at the bottom of the mountain, where need and struggle and hatred and violence were a part of everyday life, but Jesus took them back down the mountain and into the chaos. 

We call this place a sanctuary, and sanctuary means a safe place.  If we are not careful, however, it can become a place to separate ourselves from the world around us, where we can hide behind walls that will keep us insulated and safe from the problems beyond our doors.  Like Peter on the mountaintop, we can desire to stay here in our safe place and avoid facing the problems of our community.  So sanctuary must also be defined as a place where we gather to find encouragement and fuel for our mission of moving outside of these walls, where we find strength for the difficult and challenging task of peacemaking, and where we understand that there we are not called to stay in a safe place, but to go out and bring peace and safety to others.

Tanya, Nick, and I attended a wedding yesterday.  When I go to weddings it is almost always to be the officiant, so I enjoyed sitting among the congregation and taking it all in.  Weddings always make me feel more hopeful.  As the music began, and the very young flower girls and ring bearers began to walk down the aisle I couldn’t help but feel concerned for them. What kind of world are they growing into?  Is it a world that will continue to be ripped apart by hatred and violence or will they be part of a generation that will finally help to bring about peace?  And as the young adults who made up the wedding party began their procession down the aisle it was not hard to see the idealism and hopes and dreams that filled their hearts.  And to see the joy of the bride and groom, beginning their life together, and to think that all around the world, on the same day, other young couples were beginning their lives together, with the same hope for a good life, a peaceful life, a loving life.  I hope it will be all that and more for them.

I hope our world will finally come to understand what true peace is.  Peace in the kingdom of God is different from any other kind of peace.  Jesus says in John 14:27 peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  I will confess that I am often troubled and afraid.  In fact, most days I find myself troubled and afraid, but when I hear Jesus tell me to not be troubled or afraid, and to be a peacemaker, I know I can – and must – do so.

Blessed indeed are the peacemakers, and blessed we all will be when peace truly comes.

February 11, 2018 The Beatitudes: Blessed Are the Pure in Heart

This morning we continue our series of messages on the Beatitudes, with a message on the sixth beatitude – blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.  Each week I have read the entire passage of the Beatitudes and will do so again this week, so follow along with me as I read.

Matthew 5:1-12

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him,

2 and he began to teach them.  He said:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

This beatitude has been the most difficult for me, so far in the series, in terms of writing a message.  Part of the reason, I believe, is because it is easy to miss the point of this beatitude.  Generally, we focus on the first phrase – blessed are the pure in heart.  Reading that phrase we make this beatitude about personal purity and the need to live a holy and righteous life.  There is certainly nothing wrong with that emphasis; indeed, it is an important part of a life of faith, but that is not what Jesus is speaking of in this beatitude.  The meaning of the beatitude is in the second phrase – for they will see God.  Jesus is telling us that the importance of being pure in heart is so that we can see God.

This is why I had a harder time writing this message than the previous ones in this series; because I had been missing the primary point.  I began writing a message about personal purity but by the latter part of the week I realized I was missing what Jesus was telling us.  The message of Jesus, I believe, about being pure in heart is about the ability to be able to see God, and to see him at work in this world.  Being pure in heart, Jesus says in this beatitude, is not the end goal; the goal of being pure in heart is to be able to see God, and if you can see God – and see God at work – you are a blessed person. 

As Jesus says, and implies, in many places in the gospels, we do not see as clearly as we believe that we do.  In Mark 8:18 Jesus says do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear?  This was Jesus’ way of reminding us that our vision is very influenced by the world around us, often to the point that we do not see reality as clearly as we believe we do.  We are very much shaped and molded by the changing tides of public opinion and our historical context.  What we need is an eternal anchor that helps us to understand what is real, what is true, and what is genuine.  This anchor, we believe, is the gospel.

So what is it that Jesus wants us to see?  I believe there are many things he wants us to see, and I will focus on three of them this morning –

1.  Seeing God in others.

We have become such a harsh culture.  We are so hard on one another.  We are divided in so many ways.  It’s getting to the point that people will only associate with those who have the “right” political affiliation, voted for the “right” candidates, have the “right” religious affiliation, and any number of other qualifications that must be met.  I have always admired the manner in which Jesus paid no attention to the expectations people had of whom he should associate with.  I’m also troubled by that willingness, because I don’t always have it in me.  This example of Jesus is one we must adopt in our lives. 

I am often trouble by social media, mostly because of the tone.  It can be so harsh, and it’s hard to say anything without sparking a debate.  If I posted that I love kittens someone would say what do you have against puppies?  Why don’t you like puppies?  What kind of person doesn’t like puppies?  People are so often looking for a reason to tear others down, but I have no interest in getting involved in social media debates.  If you want to do that, be my guest.  I am connected to many of you on social media and I see some of the debates that pop up, but I have no desire to get involved in them.

In the midst of such a contentious time, can I see God in others?  If my heart is pure enough that I can see God in others, I am indeed blessed.  Jesus could do that, and as his people, that should be something we are able to do.  But our hearts are so easy diluted by things that cause us to look at people in ways that make it hard to see God in them.  We are, for example, diluted by fear of those who are different from us, by race, by class, and so many other things that affect how we see people.  Tanya and I went to see the movie Hidden Figures when it was in theaters.  If you have not seen the movie, I highly recommend it.  The movie tells the story of African-American women who worked for NASA as mathematicians, and related the ways in which they were treated.  Tanya was watching it again yesterday, and I watched a couple of scenes and was again struck by the terrible ways people are treated simply because of their ethnicity.

The same was true in the day of Jesus, and as much as Jesus tried, he was not always successful in getting the religious leaders of his day to see God in people who were different from them.  They saw many people as unworthy of God’s love and they could not conceive that God could be reflected in them.  I’ve been in more than my share of worship services over the years where that type of message was communicated.  It was a message that condemned “those kinds” of people.  You know who “those kinds” of people are, don’t you?  “Those kinds” of people are the ones that God doesn’t like, according to the people who don’t like “those kinds” of people.  “Those kinds of people,” however, are also God’s children and they reflect his image, as we are told in Genesis 1:27 (So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them).

2.  Seeing God in ourselves.

It has been many years since I was a middle and high school student, but I still remember the anxiety I felt on most days as I walked into the school.  How would others see me?  Would they accept me or would they reject me?  That is a very difficult time of life, but we continue to worry about what others think about as, no matter how old we become.  As much as we worry about how others see us, how do we see ourselves?  Though we can be hard on one another, we can be especially hard on ourselves.  I am my own worst critic, and I’ve had a lot of critics over the years, but none are harder on me than me.

Over the years of life we can be so hard on ourselves that we arrive at the point where it is hard to see God at work in us.  Jesus dealt with many people who had arrived at this point.  I think of the Samaritan woman, in John 4, whom Jesus had a conversation with at a well.  John 4:1–9 relates to us the story – 1 Now Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that he was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John— 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 So he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)  The woman was surprised that Jesus would speak to her, but Jesus was not going to be bound by the conventions of the day that caused this woman to imagine that he would want nothing to do with her. 

I think of the woman in John 8, who was brought before Jesus because she was taken in adultery.  As John writes in 8:2-11, 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  11 “No one, sir,” she said.  “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” I imagine at that point she couldn’t see much of God in herself, but Jesus did.  Over and over we see Jesus dealing seeing God in others even though it was doubtful that they could see much of God in themselves. 

Can you see God in yourself?  Do you know you are a precious creation of God?  Do you know that you are, even when people say harsh things to you?  Even when people tell you that you are no good, or not worth anything?

3.  Seeing God in the world.

Now there’s a challenge, seeing God in today’s world!  Where do we see God in suicide bombings?  Where do we see God in war?  Where do we see God in the abuse that is so rampant?  Where do we see God in the hateful rhetoric that is tossed back and forth across partisan divides?

Make no mistake about it, however, God is indeed in the world and at work in the world.  Some people make the mistake of believing that if they do not very obviously see God then he must not be present, and there is a large contingent of people who believe that.  What we see is not always accurate, though, as we must remember.

When my family moved from town to our farm, we were outside of the “city” water supply.  As we could not get what we called “city water” we had to come up with an alternate water source.  At the bottom of the hill behind our house was a spring that offered a steady flow of water year round.  We built a springhouse around the source, installed a pump, and ran water lines up the hill to our house.  The springhouse provided us with an ample supply of water that was also, fortunately, free.  There was, however, one catch that came with that free water.  After a hard rain the spring became muddy, and when we turned on the tap in the house to get a drink of water, it was a bit muddy looking.  It was obvious, just looking at it through a glass, that the water was less than pure.

When I read the beatitude about the pure in heart I often think of our spring and its sometimes muddy water.  It was not difficult for my family to recognize that our water was not always pure, but was it always pure when it was clear?  Coming out of the hills of West Virginia, with its strip mines, underground mines, and chemical runoff from the many steel mills, it was probably not pure, even when it appeared to be.

The point is this – even though we think we see clearly, we don’t see as clearly as we believe.  Our vision is clouded by the world in which we live, sometimes to the point that we cannot see the ways in which God is working in others, in us, and in our world.  But make no mistake, God is indeed at work, and when we are pure enough in heart to see this, we are indeed blessed!