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INJ
St Matthew 5:1-12
'Blessed'
Divine Service
All Saints Day (transferred) | November 4, 2006
Dear Saints, Dear Perfect and Holy-Ones, Dressed in Robes Made White by being Dipped in the Blood of the Lamb,
Today is your day, our day, all saints day, for this, the Lord's holy Christian Church, is the communion of saints, the communion of holy ones by the forgiveness of all of our sins.
And so, Dear Saints,
The Lord Jesus sets before us today His blessings, His beatitudes.
Blessed are the poor, and those who mourn, and the meek, and more.
This is not a strange thing to do, the Scriptures are full of blessings.
The very first word spoken by God to man is a blessing:
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'” [Genesis 1:27,28]
And the Scriptures end with a blessing:
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. [Revelation 22:14]
And all between, from beginning to end, the Scriptures offer to us blessings. Blessings are not wages, they are not earned. That's the way a curse comes, curses are what sinners deserve and earn, but a blessings is a gift, an undeserved promise.
This is important when we take up the nine blessings that Jesus speaks to us in the text, the beatitudes. The gifts and blessings that Jesus gives there are not give because of us. There is no because's with Jesus' Gospel. The poor do not get the kingdom of heaven because they are poor. The meek don't inherit the earth because they are meek. These are gifts of God's grace, they don't come because, but even though.
This is especially true of the first three and last two blessings. Blessed are the poor, for even though they are poor, theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Even though we mourn, we will be comforted. Even though we are meek, we shall inherit the earth. Even though we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we will be filled. Even though we are persecuted, ours is the kingdom of heaven.
There is a disjunct between our condition and the Lord's gifts, a gap between our state and the Lord's promise, and it is Jesus who stands in the gap, He is the hinge between our humility and heaven's glory; He is the giver of these undeserved gifts, and He gives into emptiness.
This is the way it is in the kingdom of heaven. The Lord gives riches to the poor, forgiveness to sinners, holiness to sinners, life to the dying, to the dead. These are the blessings, the gifts.
We who are poor, mournful, meek and hungry, to us He lavishes us with gifts: the kingdom of heaven, comfort, the earth, His righteousness, great reward in heaven. This is our blessedness, the gifts our Lord gives to us.
And right in the middle of all of these gifts is this wonderful word: righteousness. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” [5:6]
What does this mean? Does it mean that when we strive and work for righteousness? It that who is filled with righteousness? No, to hunger it to not have food, and to know it. Hunger is the groan of an empty stomach, not a full one. Thirst is the result of a parched mouth, cracked lips.
To hunger and thirst for righteousness means, first of all, to not have righteousness, to have a stomach and mouth void of all things right and holy. To hunger for righteousness it to lack righteousness, and more, it is to know and feel the pain of your lack of righteousness.
We talk about hunger-pangs, the twisting gnarl of the empty gut. Hunger hurts. Thirst hurts. Our sin hurts. Our lack of righteousness hurts. It is painful.
And the more and more we know our lack of righteousness, the more that we know that Paul was speaking of us when He said, “No one is righteous, no, not one,” [Romans 3:10] the more we long for the Lord's righteousness. But there is no working or striving that can fill the empty belly of our sin, we are starved for righteousness and there is none in sight.
That is why this promise from Jesus comes with such wonder, such surprise, such grace. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” For this very reason was the Son of God manifest, He was born poor and meek, in weakness and lowliness. And then He humbled Himself, even unto death on the cross. His righteous life was wrapped in our sin, His perfect life satiated the hunger of death and the grave, and by Jesus' death on the cross we are given His righteousness, His perfection, His holiness, His life. That's the promise, that your sins are forgiven. You are filled with righteousness, Jesus' righteousness.
Into your ears: His righteousness in the promise of the forgiveness of your sins. Into your mouth: the very body and blood of Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins.
For you, dear saints, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the feast is set, the table is ready, the forgiveness of sins is ringing in the air, and the Lord Jesus is pleased to feed you with His own body and blood. All you who hunger and thirst for righteousness, come, and you shall be filled. Amen.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Pastor Bryan Wolfmueller
Hope Lutheran Church | Aurora, CO