Joyful and Blessed

PROPERS:          ALL SAINTS, YEAR A

TEXT:                 MATTHEW 5:1-12

PREACHED AT ST. PAUL’S, MAGNOLIA SPRINGS, ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2017.

ONE SENTENCE:        The Beatitudes speak of both present joy and promise for the eschatological future.

                                   

            Today, in one of the most beautiful and memorable passages of scripture, we face the conundrum of language and meaning.

            We are well-familiar with the Beatitudes.  We know that in Matthew’s gospel, Jesus spoke them in the Sermon on the Mount. The people who first heard them were gathered on a grassy hillside, descending into the blue waters of the Sea of Galilee below.

            On that site now is a Franciscan chapel built in 1937 by the Italian government and Il Duce, Benito Mussolini.  Belying its 20^th Century history, it is a place of beauty and tranquility where one may reflect on the eight beatitudes carved in Latin into the chapel’s octagonal walls.

            The beauty of the scene cannot obscure the questions about the language and the meaning of the words Jesus spoke there.  Let me share them again:

"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.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

            Bear with me for a minute, because I want you to hear – on some level – what Jesus’ listeners heard.

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            The language that Jesus used, despite what many might believe, was not Elizabethan English.  The King James Version was not the original language of the Bible.

            Our English version – what we read today – is translated from the New Testament language: Greek.

            The original Greek was, in the case of the Gospels, a translation of Jesus’ own tongue, which was Aramaic.  Aramaic is a long-dead language and is used today only in some small, Middle Eastern Christian groups.

            So, what we read today – while alive and vibrant – is a translation of a translation of a translation.  Aramaic to Greek to English – and that is leaving out the Latin step, which may have had no part.

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            Confused enough?  It’s about to get more complex!

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            It is believed that the original Aramaic word that Jesus used for blessed was brikh.  That word was commonly translated as prosperous.

            The Greek translators interpreted that word to be makarios, which can mean happy, blessed, or fortunate.

            Most English translations have chosen blessed – though the Good News Translation chose happy.

            Keeping all this in mind… and keeping the various nuanced meanings on the forefront… can you imagine what Jesus’ first listeners thought when they heard these words?

"Prosperous are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

"Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

"Fortunate are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

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            You get the idea?  How would that have been heard?  Prosperous?  Happy? Fortunate?

            Let me further complicate it a little.  The complication is this: Jesus’ words may have had a present reality meaning, and a future meaning.  A present meaning and a future meaning.

            First, the present meaning.

            If we are considering nuance in ancient meanings, I would add one possible definition to the biblical word: joyful. Joyful is deeper, more profound, more abiding than happy, and certainly commends itself over prosperous or fortunate.

            Joyful has the potential to represent an inner sense of contentment. It can be an emotion that transcends worldly experience or circumstances.  One may be joyful even when life has turned hard or bitter.  One may be joyful even when alone or lost.

            Joy may abide and dwell deep within, even when more superficial happiness has taken flight at the first hint of difficulty.

            So, joyful may have been what Jesus was describing when he spoke the Beatitudes: “Joyful are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Joyful are those who mourn, for they will be comforted… Joyful are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” 

            Joyful potentially expresses a sense of peace that God’s followers may know even in distress.  A present state of joy even in the midst of loss, poverty, or turmoil.

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            Jesus seldom spoke with simple meanings, though, and the Beatitudes are a teaching which we need to plumb more deeply.

            We may have discovered – with joyful – the present state of those who follow God. What is the future meaning – the anticipated state – for those who are saints?

            As background, we know that Jesus spoke of a world that is both present and to come.  In other words, the kingdom has come and is coming.  We know – along with Jesus – that the New Creation has come only in-part.  We experience redemption and new life fragmentarily.

            Sometimes our lives and relationships reach the fullness of the kingdom. At other times, we are intimately familiar with the fallenness of creation.  Life seems to be one moment in the Garden, another moment, in the wilderness.

            So, what can we expect in the future?  What could the people of the Beatitudes anticipate beside the abiding joyfulness of the present?

            That is where, I think, the biblical translation is on-point.

            In the Kingdom, the poor in spirit will be blessed. Those who mourn will be blessed. The meek will be blessed.  Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be blessed.  And on through the Beatitudes… for those saints, when they enter the Kingdom’s fullness.

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            What are we to make of the Beatitudes – with the complications of languages, meanings, and translations?  How about this:

"Joyful and blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
" Joyful and blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
" Joyful and blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
" Joyful and blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
" Joyful and blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
" Joyful and blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
" Joyful and blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
" Joyful and blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
" Joyful and blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."