Today's verses from the "Sermon on the Mount" in Matthew are some of the more well know words from Jesus. They're often called "The Beatittudes" from the Latin for "blessed," which has led to some unfortunate word plays such as "the be-happy attitudes." But this list is not a self-help guide to happiness. It is a surprising list of those whom God favors, who are aligned with the ways of the kingdom. While the list is often spiritualized (and even Matthew seems to have done this with the blessing on the "poor in spirit, see Luke 6:20), these are not "attitudes" for the most part but concrete conditions of life."Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers,for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Most people don't think of mourning, being persecuted, or longing for the world to be set right (the meaning of hungering and thirsting for righteousness) as particularly blessed states. And our culture clearly doesn't think that meekness leads to anything good. Jesus' beatitudes embrace people the world views as not particularly fortunate, as not particularly blessed. And these blessing clearly set apart the ways of God's dominion from the ways of the world.
One of the perpetual problems for all religions is that they tend to get "domesticated" over time. Christianity is no different, and when it went mainstream all those centuries ago, it gradually lost a lot of its radical edge. And when it became the official religion in the West, too often it moved from challenging the ways of the world to supporting them. It may well have softened its world a bit, but it was softened as well.
From time to time we all need to take a good look at what Jesus actually said and stood for, to look at the ways we have made his hard words easy. From time to time the Church needs to be reborn in the image of God's reign, shedding the image of the world we have embraced. And I wonder if the loss of prestige and influence by mainline denominations such as my own may be something to celebrate and embrace rather than mourn. Perhaps these are an opportunity given us by God to rediscover who we are really called to be.
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