MIDWEEK LENT 1/ASH WEDNESDAY Rev. Mark P. Bruesehoff
MARCH 1, 2006 BEATITUDES OF PROMISE/PROMISE OF HEAVEN
ONCE UPON A DAY LIKE TODAY… there was a man by the name of Macarios. His name, Macarios in the Greek means “blessed.” But he didn’t like his name too much, so he preferred to be called “MAC.” One day Mac was sitting with a pile of bills trying to figure out what to do. The bills were piling up. They were having trouble keeping up. And Mac was facing bankruptcy.
There was no other way out. Mac and his wife Lois always tried to live well under their means. They could pay their bills, give generously and still save a little. That was always the plan. But the last six months weren’t working out quite the way they planned. Business was slow. The car broke down. The winter heating bill. They were broke and the bill collectors were calling.
Mac and Lois were not going to ask for charity. They had made it on their own, and this time was going to be no different. No one was going to call them beggars. They were going to be self-reliant. They were going to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. It is the American way.
And the moral of the story is: Self-reliance is a good thing. But not in everything.
Remember the story Jesus tells about the Pharisee and the tax collector, praying in the temple? When the Pharisee prays, he brags about himself, thanking God that he isn't a sinner like that tax collector praying over there. Instead, the Pharisee boasts in the good things he has done; fasting twice a week, giving a tithe of all that he has. There is nothing wrong with tithing. And that's not the important issue here. What's important is that the Pharisee is trying to impress God with a spiritual bank account full of self-righteousness.
The tax collector has absolutely nothing to offer God, except a confession of his sins. As far as his spiritual bank account goes, he's flat broke, busted! “God be merciful to me a sinner.” He is begging more than praying. He's so ashamed of himself, he won't even lift his eyes toward heaven. And while we might refer to him as “that poor devil” he is actually a blessed saint! The Pharisee is “that poor devil.” It's this sinful tax collector and not the Pharisee that Jesus says goes away justified by God.
And that is Jesus' point. He's saying it's not those who do good things and call themselves righteous that God accepts, but those who know themselves to be sinners and beg God for mercy. And while that may sound backwards to us according to the way the world thinks, it is not backwards according to the values of the kingdom of God. There is a difference. The world values wealth, pride and power. The kingdom of God values poverty of spirit, humility, and suffering for righteousness.
We won't have much luck convincing people of values like that today. That is, unless one is looking forward to a place in the kingdom of heaven. And Jesus wants sinners, people like you and me, to have a place in His heavenly kingdom.
So how do sinners like us get a place in His kingdom? What do I have to do? What's it going to cost me? It’s not going to cost us anything. It's already paid for with the suffering and death of Jesus. The only thing we CAN DO, is realize we CAN DO nothing. It's kind of like Mac’s financial situation. He could not pay the bills. He was about to go bankrupt. He had no choice.
All that was left was to beg for mercy. And that is exactly the condition of every person on the face of the earth; poor, bankrupt, broke, having nothing to offer God but to beg for His patience and mercy. It is people who realize this about themselves that have a place in God's kingdom. It's what Jesus says in the Beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
So where is the Good News, the Gospel, in this particular Beatitude? What makes this any better than just another set of laws to obey?
What makes it better, what makes it all possible is that we are baptized. We are believing Christians! We are faithful children of God. We’ve also confessed, that in the eyes of God we are just about bankrupt, broke, busted! We can even admit it. We say it every time we confess our sins. What's the best news a bankrupt debtor can hear? “Your debts are paid! Your debts are paid! YOUR DEBTS ARE PAID!” That’s how the Beatitudes are Gospel, Good News. They tell us our debts are paid!
They start off with the word “BLESSED.” Is a blessing something we earn or is a blessing a gift from God? It's a gift. And the first beatitude, the first blessing is for those who are “poor in spirit.” The poor in spirit, the morally and spiritually bankrupt. All who see themselves this way have a special promise from God. The promise is the kingdom of God! We are all sinners who deserve nothing from God. We are dead broke because of sin and couldn't afford a “God bless you” after a sneeze. But Jesus has paid for all our sins. By faith in Jesus, bankrupt sinners are blessed with a place in the kingdom of God. Now that is very good news!
And it's the beginning of the rest of the story The bankrupt sinners who are blessed with God's love and forgiveness in Jesus Christ, open their hearts to help other bankrupt sinners. Sinners blessed by God want to bless someone else.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
TO BE BLESSED, IS TO BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS!
Amen.
Sola Deo Gloria!