One lady was enterprising. She thought, I can render a service to people in the city and save them money. She placed an ad in the newspaper that said, "When your pet dies, I will come and take care of the carcass for you for $25." This lady would go to the local Salvation Army and buy an old suitcase for two dollars. Then when someone would call . . .
His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them. Matthew 5:1-2
I came across this story, which sounds just wacky enough to maybe be true:
One lady was enterprising. She thought, I can render a service to people in the city and save them money. She placed an ad in the newspaper that said, "When your pet dies, I will come and take care of the carcass for you for $25." This lady would go to the local Salvation Army and buy an old suitcase for two dollars. Then when someone would call about his or her pet, she would go to the home and put the deceased pet in the suitcase.
She would then take a ride on the subway, where there are thieves. She would set the suitcase down, and she would act like she wasn't watching. A thief would come by and steal her suitcase. She'd look up and say, "Wait. Stop. Thief." My guess is the people who stole those suitcases got a real surprise when they got home. 1
There are some translations and paraphrases of the beatitudes that use the word "happy", such as "How happy are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven". The English word happy comes from the root word hap which means chance.
Happiness is a frail candle in the winds of life. It is always at risk of being blown out.
With the death of "Peanuts" cartoonist Charles Schulz, many commented on his ability to reflect on the sadnesses of real life through the experiences of his characters. One journalist talked about Schulz's admiration for the losers of the world:
With that theme of loving losers?even Charlie Brown's baseball idol, Joe Shlabotnik, was the worst player in the pros?came the corollary, losing at love. Every major character has an unrequited love?Charlie Brown and the little red-haired girl, Lucy and Schroeder, Linus and Miss Othmar. Even Snoopy got dumped at the altar. Happiness may be a warm puppy, but as Schulz once said, "Happiness is not very funny." Schulz infused the strips with his lifelong feelings of depression and insecurity?he had his heart broken by a real-life red-haired girl?and they showed, Camus-like, how one could feel lonely even in a crowd. Many of his panels have two characters outside, at night, staring at a field of stars. "Let's go inside and watch television," Charlie Brown says in one. "I'm beginning to feel insignificant."2
We need something better than happiness. That's what Jesus offers us in the Sermon on the Mount. We are the blessed of God.The word blessed is the Greek word makarios. Jesus wasn't speaking in Greek however; but Aramaic, so the closest word is probably the Hebrew word ashere. In Hebrew it means literally O the blessedness of...3
Psalm 1 begins with this word. We read it as "blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked."
Literally it reads "O the blessedness of the man..."
Being blessed in this way is the result of being blessed by God.
A far less lyrical way to express it is to say, "when you face life this way you are facing it in faith and in a way which God approves, and God will see to it that your choice is not overlooked."
Much more lyrical to say, "blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
Let's read them again.
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 be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.
Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
When we are mistreated we want to retaliate.
When we feel insignificant we retreat inside like Charlie Brown to watch T.V. or we sometimes resort to behaviors that make us feel important.
We feel that showing mercy is showing weakness and that being humble is just an invitation to being used.
Besides, being humble, merciful, peacemakers and such is a lot of work and our natural instinct is to say that if it doesn't affect me or my family, its not my problem.
But you know, Jesus was right.
It is the merciful who are shown mercy and friendship and gratitude.
To truly mourn our losses is good mental health. Bottling them up and putting on a brave face is like throwing the trash in the broom closet. Sooner or later you will have to deal with it. When we mourn God is there to comfort us.
When you retaliate you just get more of the same back.
But as hard as it is to do, kindness wins far more battles than being a bully.
One night a group of drunken high school boys went to the Royer farm after a football game and began breaking watermelons'the produce that provided the mainstay of their annual income. While the boys were yelling and cussing in the field, the light of a glowing lantern began flickering in an upstairs bedroom of the farmhouse. From the field the boys could see the light being carried down the stairs and then onto the front porch. As the light approached them through the darkness, the boys prepared for a fight. Instead, Mr. Royer told the boys they could have all the melons they desired, but that the melons they were breaking were not his best. He offered to lead them to the best field and give them as many as they wanted. The boys were embarrassed and respectfully apologized before leaving. Mr. Royer invited them in for a glass of lemonade?he said they needed it. But the boys declined, trying to soak in their vivid lesson on Christian character.4
It's a simple fact of life that the seed we hold onto is the seed that will never germinate and produce a harvest.
The kindness we hold onto is never planted and never has a chance to show what it can do when it comes to full bloom.
Those are true in the natural everyday world.
There are some truths that take a different pair of eyes to see.
These are the truths that depend on understanding the nature of God.
If you take what Jesus is saying at face value, you can reason back from what he says to see what he is saying about the nature of who God is.
Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.
Who then is God? God is the person who will not tolerate deceit or deception. The only way we are sinless is through God's forgiveness, but we remain pure before God when we live in God's presence without deceit, with an open heart, and with a desire for integrity. When we do not present one face when we secretly harbor deceitful motives.
Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.
God is one who honors us when we try to do what is right and are not obsessed with just finding out what's in it for us.
But in all these ways we need to be willing to put it on the line and act the way we believe.
We need to believe that God is watching and that God cares and can do something about it all. And that he will.
This letter was written by Southern Baptist Missionary to Iraq, Karen Watson, prior to leaving for the Middle East. The letter was dated March 7, 2003. Karen was killed, along with four other missionaries, on March 15, 2004.
Dear Pastor Phil and Pastor Roger:
You should only be opening this letter in the event of my death.
When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn't called to a place. I was called to him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, his glory my reward, his glory my reward.
One of the most important things to remember right now is to preserve the work?.I am writing this as if I am still working with my people group.
I thank you all so much for your prayers and support. Surely your reward in heaven will be great. Thank you for investing in my life and spiritual well-being. Keep sending missionaries out. Keep raising up fine young pastors.
In regards to any service, keep it small and simple. Yes, simply, just preach the gospel?.Be bold and preach the life-saving, life-changing, forever-eternal gospel. Give glory and honor to our Father.
The Missionary Heart:
Care more than some think is wise.
Risk more than some think is safe.
Dream more than some think is practical.
Expect more than some think is possible.
I was called not to comfort or success but to obedience?.There is no joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving him. I love you two and my church family.
In his care,
Salaam, Karen5
You can't live that way without believing that your life is closely held by God and that what you do is not lost. That God sees, and cares.
So, yes what Jesus is saying is true. It's experientially possible to demonstrate, but to live this way requires the sense of God's closeness so that when you are alone looking up at the stars you can know that your God is big enough to make all of that and caring enough to hold you as important enough to notice.
Interestingly, one of the ways to find out about the closeness and caring of God is to experiment with the beatitudes.
Try putting as much of Matthew five into practice as you are able and see what happens between you and your creator.
You can diet for a week and be certain of taking off a couple of pounds.
Put God's instructions into effect for a week and see what happens. Try it and I am willing to go out on a limb and tell you you will happier with what you find than just losing a couple of pounds.
Try it this week.
You will be glad you did.
Preached January 30, 2004
Dr. Harold McNabb
West Shore Presbyterian Church
Victoria, British Columbia
Notes
1. Scott Wenig, Preaching Today #182
2. James Poniewozik, "The Good and the Grief," Time (12-27-99)
3. William Barclay, "The Gospel of Matthew", The Daily Study Bible Series, Westminster Press, 1975, p.88
4. Ted Haggard, The Life Giving Church Regal Books, 2001 quoted in Preachingtoday.com
5. "Keep Sending Missionaries," Baptist Press (3-24-04) op.cit.