Loving God, you offer us your love and blessing and then send us out in order to love and bless the world.  As we gather together today, help us to know that we are blessed, even as we give thanks for the gift of your son, Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.

    What does it mean to be blessed?  Or perhaps we could ask, what does it feel like to be blessed?  Have any of you ever felt blessed?... Can you describe at all what that feels like?... [perhaps humility, joy, thankfulness, contentment, peace] When we are feeling blessed, we know that we have received a gift – perhaps even an undeserved gift.  It is a good feeling when we know that we are blessed.  At the same time, it can be devastating to feel as if a blessing has been withheld from us.

    One of the more gut-wrenching stories in the Old Testament involves Jacob and Esau, who are both vying for their father’s blessing.  In those days, the blessing was reserved for the eldest son, which in this case was Esau.  However, Jacob and his mother Rebekah conspire in order to trick his father Isaac into blessing Jacob instead.  Right after Jacob has received the blessing from his father, Esau comes in and discovers what has happened.  He literally pleads with his father to bless him as well.  “Have you not reserved a blessing for me?”, he says.  “Have you only one blessing, father?  Bless me, me also, father!”  “And Esau lifted up his voice and wept” (Gen. 27:36, 38).

    It is a terrible thing to feel as if one of your parents (or even both of them) have withheld their blessing from you.  Perhaps it feels even worse to think that God has refused to bless you.  This makes it all the more poignant that when Jesus teaches about those who are blessed, he includes all sorts of people who wouldn’t likely be feeling very blessed at all.

    The poor in spirit are blessed.  How come?  Why them?  Perhaps because they actually have room for God in their lives.  One commentator invites us to think about those who are “wealthy in spirit.”  These are the people who are full of themselves and always ready to talk about themselves and to show you what they can do.  These are the people whose lives are full of activity – so full, in fact, that there is no room for God.  The poor in spirit, on the other hand, know how much they need God in their lives and have learned to rely on God for all that is needed.  And so, under God’s way of life, these people are blessed.

    Those who mourn, apparently, are also blessed.  How come?  Most people I know definitely don’t feel particularly blessed when they are grieving.  And so why would Jesus pronounce these people “blessed”?  Perhaps it is because we no longer grieve as those who have no hope.  Instead, we certainly feel the loss of those who are dearest to us, but we also have hope through Jesus Christ – expecting that we will be reunited with our loved ones in eternity.  At the same time, we know because of Jesus that he weeps with us and is able to give us strength and peace that go way beyond our own.  And so, those who belong to Christ can experience blessing even as they mourn.

    But what about the meek?  How come they are blessed?  Aren’t these the ones who get trampled on by others and get their rights taken away because they don’t stand up for themselves?  Yet, people forget that Moses was described as meek, and so was Jesus (Num. 12:3; Mt. 11:29, 21:5)!  Both humbled themselves in order to serve and were exalted by God.  While meekness might not get rewarded by worldly standards, under God’s way of life, this is a quality to be valued and sought after.  It is to these people that God gives the earth as an inheritance.  The meek are blessed as they humble themselves in the presence of God.

    Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness are also, apparently, blessed.  Once again, we would ask, “Why them?”  Aren’t these the people who get worn out seeking justice in the midst of an unjust world?  Aren’t these the people who want to do what is right and want to see right relationships in this world, but are constantly confronted by evil and suffering?  You wouldn’t think they would feel very blessed, either, yet once again, Jesus singles them out.  Perhaps they are blessed because ultimately, God’s way of life will prevail.  Perhaps they are blessed because God’s power is real, and people who seek justice and righteousness really can make a difference!  God is the one who will satisfy their hunger and who blesses them.

    But what about the merciful?  How come they are blessed?  Aren’t these the ones who are soft on crime?  Aren’t these the ones who want to give everybody a second chance and want to restore relationships rather than punishing?  Aren’t these the ones who get burned because they help people out and then those same people turn around and steal from them?  Yet, Jesus pronounces them “blessed.”  Could it be that the blessing is in knowing how merciful God has already been to them?  For surely knowing that you have been pardoned is also akin to being blessed.

    Then there are the pure in heart – another group pronounced blessed.  Once again, you really wouldn’t think so, for aren’t these the people who are absolutely cut to the heart by all the evil that they see in this world?  They are horrified when they see people abusing others or being sexually promiscuous or being driven by greed.  It doesn’t seem that they would feel particularly blessed.  Yet, in the midst of whatever horrors they might witness in this world, they will see God.  They will see God in the midst of the suffering and know that God is near – and in this is blessing.

    As for the peacemakers? – surely they would end up feeling sorely frustrated rather than blessed.  After all, there always seems to be conflict, if not all-out war.  How could they possibly be blessed while continuing to work for peace in a violent and decidedly non-peaceful world?  Still, God’s way of life is the way of peace, and while walking in God’s way as God’s children, there is both blessing and peace from that close relationship with God – even in the midst of conflict.

    As for being persecuted, this is probably the one where we have the hardest time imagining enduring persecution and feeling blessed all at the same time.  However, if we are to believe the Scriptures, it has happened and it does happen (Heb. 10:32-34).  For, even in the midst of persecution people have been aware of God’s presence and power, and in this have experienced blessing, and even joy.

    In lifting up all of these unlikely people and pronouncing them blessed, Jesus reminds us that God is to be found in all sorts of unlikely places, and is just waiting to love and to bless us.  We do not have to be the ones with the biggest house or the best job or the fastest car or the most fabulous talents in order to be blessed.  In fact, when we are participating in God’s way of life, we will know that we are blessed, regardless of what difficulties we might be facing or what troubles we might endure.

    And so, when you hear God’s blessing announced today, allow it to sink deep into your souls.  Receive it as the gift that it is, a reminder of God’s unconditional love for each and every one of us – for God is always ready to bless us – especially when it seems most unlikely.  Amen.

Epiphany 4(A)                                Matthew 5:1-12
February 2, 2014
St. Luke’s Zion Lutheran Church
Pastor Lynne Hutchison

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