Every day I receive emails, texts, and news articles calling me to act, to resist, to protest. Maybe you do too. I wonder if that’s what Jesus was doing when he preached the Sermon on the Mount. What if the Beatitudes, the gospel for this Sunday (Matthew 5:1-12), are his call for us to act, to resist, to protest? 

What does it mean and look like to profess the Beatitudes “not only with our lips, but in our lives”? How do we move them off the page and onto the streets? 

Whether that happens is up to you and me. But it’s not a task to be completed. It’s a direction for our lives, a way of being, something we strive to live into day by day, moment by moment.

We are called to be poor in spirit. That means we are not full of ourselves. We don’t make ourselves great or number one. Instead, we make room for God and others. Our worth is not measured by the positions we hold, the weapons we carry, the power we have, or the possessions we own. We say we know that but it’s hard to live as if we truly believe it. “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”

I hope we never outgrow tears, or become so indifferent or self-interested that we can’t cry for others. We are called to mourn, grieve, and weep. Jesus did. It’s the way of a soft and compassionate heart. It lets us feel the hurt, pain, and needs of others as our own. For whom and what we grieve and mourn reveals who we are, and who and what we value. “Blessed are those who mourn.”

Don’t be afraid to be meek. It’s not the same as being weak. The meek don’t take up all the space in a room. They are not the loudest or meanest. They’re humble, neither making more nor less of themselves than they really are. They neither oppress nor dominate. They have a disposition of good will towards others. They are easy to be with. They become a channel for God’s peace, strength, and presence. “Blessed are the meek.”

Let our hunger and thirst be for doing what is right, for deep and meaningful relationships, for the well-being of others, for the dignity of all people, and for justice everywhere and for everyone. That means we’ll have to make some difficult choices. The buffet of life will offer us things that look good but cannot nourish, satisfy, or give ultimate meaning. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”

We are to be merciful. That’s about tenderness, graciousness, gentleness, kindness, unconditional love, self-restraint. It is a balm that heals. The world needs mercy, and so do you and I. To withhold mercy is to deny our own humanity and that of others. “Blessed are the merciful.”

If you want to see God, cleanse the thoughts of your heart. Let go of fear, anger, jealousy, resentment, comparison, competition, and judgments. Be wholehearted and offer all that you are and all that you have. The pure heart is a lover’s heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart.”

Let’s not add to the pain of the world. Let there be no violence in our thoughts, words, or actions. We follow the one who is the Prince of Peace. Practice inner disarmament. Make peace and start within yourself. “Acquire the spirit of peace and thousands around you will be saved” (St. Seraphim of Sarov). “Blessed are the peacemakers.”

There will be times when we are called to step up and speak out, to rock the boat, to challenge the status quo. Don’t just make trouble, “make good trouble” (John Lewis). We need people to speak God’s words and dream God’s dreams when we or others have forgotten or denied them. Yes, we’ll feel lonely doing it but we are not alone. We stand with Jesus, the prophets before him, and saints like Mahatma Gandhi, The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Oscar Romero, Ms. Rosa Parks, Ms. Renee Good, and Mr. Alex Pretti. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness.”

What do you think? What might all that look like in each of our lives? Whether the Beatitudes live on the page or in the streets is a question for each of us. 

Leave them on the page and they’re nothing more than a nice speech from the past. Take them to the streets and they are the power of love in this moment and a coming of the kingdom in this time and place. And we sure could use that these days.

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Image Credit: Photo by Tim Wildsmith on Unsplash.
*This post is an adaptation of a baptism sermon preached on the Feast of All Saints 2020.