Rev. Matthew Versemann

                                                                                      St. John Lutheran Church

                                                                                      Waverly, Iowa

                                                                                      4^th Sunday @ Epiphany

                                                                                      January 30^th, 2011

“A Picture Of God’s Up-Side-Down Kingdom”

God’s PEACE is ALWAYS YOURS in Jesus.

Today’s text are the Beattitudes of Jesus from Matthew 5.

(You may be seated.)

DEAR FRIENDS IN CHRIST,

The Be-attitudes are probably some of the most misunderstood words in the Bible.

Many people and pastors reduce them to a set of rules: DO THIS, GET THAT! “Be poor in spirit; and then you’ll receive the kingdom of God.” To make the Be-attitudes a set of rules, in order to receive “God’s goodies”, is the Performance Plan and NOT Christianity. The Bible teaches us that God’s gifts are by Grace Alone, and not by what we do!

In fact, before we even get to the Be-attitudes, we have to deal with the sin that is in each one of us, that has a whole different outlook on how one is blessed. In our sin, we often come up with a whole new list of be-attitudes:

          Blessed is the one with the most toys, for he or she wins.

          Blessed are those whose kids attend every sports’ practice – even if they miss

                   worship - for their’s will be the greatest athlete.

          Blessed are the popular, at any cost, because they will succeed.

          Blessed are those who misuse God’s gift of sex, for they will be ‘temporarily’

                   joyful.

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          Blessed are the impure, for they will be thrilled.

          Blessed are the powerful, for they will get their way.

          Blessed are you when people praise you, extol you, and say all kinds of good

                   things about you for your sake, for great are you in the eyes of the world.

And if you don’t like mine, then list your own; because every one of us, has our own sinful be-attitudes or measures, which we think are the way of greatness!

And then Jesus comes along, and He turns our thinking on its head. The kingdom of God is “inside out”, “upside down”, “politically incorrect” according to our way of thinking. Jesus’ way of blessing doesn’t look anything like you and I think it is.

Jesus says,

“Blessed are the poor in Spirit – spiritual beggars, those who have nothing

          to offer God, and they realize it – for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”

          “Blessed are those who mourn – who mourn over their sin, whose tears

          water the earth because they realize what they deserve from their sinning –

          for they will be comforted.”  Leave it to Jesus to be that forgiving.

          “Blessed are the meek – those who would present their other cheek to their

          enemies, because they so love Jesus, and their neighbor, that they don’t

          want to get in the way of the Gospel saving their neighbor; who trust not in

          themselves, but in the cross of Christ to save – they will inherit the earth.

          “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness – because they

          realize that they have no righteousness of their own, but that sinners cannot

          dwell with God in their sin – for they will satisfied, with a righteousness, not

          of their own making, but the righteousness which comes from God, through

          faith in Christ.

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          “Blessed are the merciful –who do not hold their neighbors’ sins against

          them, because Jesus did not hold our sins against us – they shall receive

          mercy….grace upon grace….mercy over the top.

          “Blessed are the pure in heart – who have had their hearts washed in the

          blood of the lamb – for they shall see God.

          “Blessed are the peace-makers – who stand in the breach between warring

          parties, because God has reconciled us to Himself by making peace through

          Christ’s blood, shed on the cross – for they shall see God.

          “Blessed are the persecuted for righteousness’ sake – who trust in Jesus as

          their best friend and dearest treasure, no matter what anybody in the world

          thinks of them; whose lives reflect the Savior Who laid down His life to save

          them, even to their own unpopularity – for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

          “Blessed are you baptized believing ones, when the world reviles you, cracks

          jokes about you, kicks you when you’re down, excludes you, or insults you

          because you gladly bear the name of Jesus – Jesus says rejoice – WHY?

          Because you stand in good company – for so they insulted the prophets who

came before you. It’s not ultimately you they’re insulting, it’s Christ! And

that’s cause for rejoicing! Because it means that you and Christ are one,

and even the world sees it – and Jesus promises that your faith in Him will

be vindicated – for great is your reward in heaven.

You may say:  “Where’s the Bentley? The vacation home? The Jacuzzi? The party life? The glamour? The celebrity?”  Jesus’ idea of blessedness is the exact opposite of the world’s:  poor, mourning, meek, hungry, thirsty, merciful, pure in heart, peacemaking, persecuted – and yet, Jesus’ way is the only way to truly live, AND to live forever. This is the “inside out”, “upside down”, “hidden” kingdom of God in Christ. The Be-attitudes are not finally about what you do, but about what Christ has done for you, and given to you.

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If you want to get the way of “Blessedness” right, or the Be-attitudes right, you have to get Jesus right. Jesus IS the Be-attitudes FOR US! Christ alone is all of this.

Jesus is “poor in spirit” for you. “Though He was rich, He became poor, so that through His poverty, we might become rich.” Jesus is the one Who “mourns” for us. He wept over Jerusalem. He mourned in the Garden of Gethsemane. And on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken me.”  Because of His mourning, you and I are comforted. Jesus was “meek” for us. “He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” Because of His payment for sin, we inherit the earth – even the new heaven and the new earth. Jesus “hungered

and thirsted for righteousness” for us. He said in John 6, “This is my food: to do the will of Him Who sent me, and to lay down my life, for the life of the world.”

Jesus was “merciful” for us, crying out from the cross, “Father, forgive them.” Don’t give them what they deserve. Give me what they deserve. Jesus was “pure in heart” for us. Where we got life wrong, Jesus got life right. He loved God fully, and His neighbor fully for us. Jesus was the “peacemaker” for us. “God was pleased to reconcile all things to Himself, by making peace through Christ’s blood shed on the cross.” Jesus was “persecuted for righteousness’ sake” for us.

“The Lord laid on Him the iniquities of us all, and by His stripes, we are healed.”

Do you see? Jesus did the Be-attitudes for you!  He lived the Be-attitudes perfectly, all the way to His death, as your substitute; so that IN HIM, but only IN HIM, are you counted as if you did them. And so, IN CHRIST, you are the blessed ones.

What the Lord is doing in this text is calling us to reject that deadly life, that false life, or the world’s Be-attitudes; and to embrace what Jesus has done for you; to hold tight to the identity that He has given you in this text, because the blessedness that the world gives ends at the grave; but the blessedness that Jesus gives you is this:  theirs is the kingdom of heaven, they will be comforted, they will inherit the earth, they will be satisfied, they will be shown mercy, they will see God, and great is their reward in heaven. In Christ, God already counts you as “a Blessed one”.

These gifts are not just yours for the future. They are already yours through faith in Jesus. And one day, they will be yours by sight, in their full-blown reality. BLESSED ARE YOU! Amen!