Blessed are...

Introduction
You hear the phrase more frequently now, especially in the South. The bill has been paid, the bags have been packed, and as she hands you your receipt the clerk smiles and says, “Have a blessed day!” I think she means it. Her words are a conscious adaptation of the hackneyed, old “Have a nice day!” They are chosen in order to convey a message. With them, the clerk identifies herself as a Christian. Speak them back to her! Let her day be blessed, too.

The language of blessing, which had almost departed from everyday speech, is making a comeback. But it is nothing new. For thousands of years God’s people have been speaking in this way. “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven,” says Psalm 32:1, in words that Paul would later use to teach the message of Christ.[1] “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him,” the Psalmist continues.[2] Time after time the Bible announces the blessing of those who share a covenant relationship with God. From creation to the call of Abraham, [3] from King David to Deuteronomy, [4] Scripture bears witness to the blessings we enjoy as citizens of the Kingdom of God.

To be blessed is simply to experience the rewards of God’s Covenant. To be cursed is to have those blessings removed. So, when Jesus speaks to His disciples the words that we know as the Beatitudes, He is not laying before them a set of impossible expectations, He is giving them the marks by which they are to be identified. The Beatitudes contain the family likenesses of those who bear the name of Christ. They don’t so much tell us what to do as show us who we are. The Beatitudes are the blessings we receive as members of the Covenant community of faith.

Of course, these blessings would not be ours at all without the unmerited, limitless grace of God. We could never come close to purity of heart without His Holy Spirit leading us in pathways we would never choose, if left to our own devices. We could not show mercy if we had not, first, received the abundant mercy of God. We still fail to live up to the heights to which we are called, but that does not prevent God calling us. Though we may reflect these eight characteristics poorly, or sometimes not at all, they still identify us; they are still a source of blessing. We may not live out the Beatitudes fully, but one day we shall. They remain the priorities by which we are to order our Christian lives, as well as the dreams to which we are to aspire.

As we journey through the Beatitudes, make a conscious effort to bless others, and to know yourself blessed. One final word: You may have come across translations of Matthew 5:3-10 in which the verses begin: “Happy are those…” Is this helpful, or accurate? Should we talk about happiness instead of blessedness? I don’t think so. God’s blessing is not intended to make you happy. There is more to being blessed than being happy. Happiness is a subjective state, dependent upon your circumstances. God’s blessing is intended to remind you who you are. Blessedness is an objective state, dependent upon God’s sovereign choice. And who are you? As one who believes – you are a child of the Covenant, a recipient of grace, and of the blessings of belonging, body and soul, to our gracious Savior, Jesus Christ.







Alan Trafford
Lent 2009
[1] Romans 4:7-8
[2] Psalm 32:2
[3] Genesis 12:2-3
[4] Deuteronomy 28:1-14