Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed.

1 John 3:2

Why are you here? What are you doing here? (I ask this of my congregation in worship, but the same question can be pondered by those reading this sermon on my blog.)

There are a variety of reasons why people go to church, why you and I might be here today. Perhaps you are here because you simply want to worship God. That’s a good reason! You are here to give thanks to God for the gifts and blessings in your life. 

But there are other reasons why you might be here today. This week, you might be here out of a desire to connect with your friends and family, to spend time with like-minded souls. Or it might be that, if you’re honest, you really don’t want to be here at all, but you are here because of a loved one. Then again, you might be here because you know that God wants you to be, even commands that you and I remember the Sabbath day and to keep it holy. Truthfully, there are lots of reasons why people go to church, just as there were lots of reasons why people followed Jesus. 

Why Follow Jesus?

In our gospel reading today, Jesus begins his most famous sermon, his Sermon on the Mount. He saw the crowds and went up the mountain, probably so that he could be heard by everyone. He sat down, as a teacher or rabbi traditionally did, and began to speak. By this point in Jesus’ ministry there were large crowds following him everywhere. And for a variety of reasons. Some of them had sick loved ones, and were looking for a miracle. Others were looking for a revolution, and hoped that Jesus would lead them. Others might simply have been a little bored, and curious to see this spectacle. Still others felt a call, a longing that they could not articulate or understand, but it was to follow this man. And a few were chosen by Jesus to follow him. Large crowds were following Jesus, and for a variety of reasons.

Then and now, people go to church or follow Jesus for a wide variety of reasons. But you know what? Jesus doesn’t care. He doesn’t care why you are here, or why people follow him. He just wants to bless everyone who does. Regardless of the reason, Jesus wants to bless us all. And because Jesus wants to bless us, we are blessed. 

The message of the Beatitudes is as simple and as beautiful as that. When Jesus blesses us, we are blessed, no matter what else is happening in our life. Because there is nothing more valuable and more important than being blessed by God. So, let’s take another look at one of my favorite passages in Scripture, the Beatitudes, with this in mind. And let’s learn again what it means to be blessed by Jesus. 

The Poor in Spirit

Jesus starts out by blessing the poor in spirit. That is how this whole sermon begins: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. And that describes some of us here today, if we’re honest. Think of our faith as being like the gasoline that fuels our life with God. If that’s the case, then when we are poor in spirit, our tank is a little low. And when our tank is a little low, we have trouble seeing God at work in this world, or in our life. We feel discouraged. Weary. Worn out. Poor in spirit. And if that is the case for you right now, then Jesus says come: come all who are weary, and find rest for your soul. Learn from Jesus, who is gentle and humble in heart. Blessed are you who are poor in spirit, and know it, for yours is the kingdom of heaven.

Those Who Mourn

Some of us here today might be well-described by the second beatitude: Blessed are those who mourn. All Saints Sunday is a day when we traditionally remember those who have gone before us and are now at rest. We are thankful for them, but we also miss them. We mourn. But there are other reasons to mourn. Lots of reasons why we might be mourning, even as people of faith. But, again, it doesn’t matter. Whatever the reason, Jesus wants to bless you and comfort you. He promises to be with us in our joy and our sorrow, and there is great comfort in that. 

The Meek

These Beatitudes are surprising for lots of reasons, but perhaps the main one is that they describe people that we do not usually think of as blessed. The poor in spirit, those who mourn, and the meek. Why would Jesus bless the meek? Perhaps it is because, in part, the world does not. The world does not often reward or bless the meek, those willing to put others before themselves, so Jesus does. The meek, he insists, will even inherit the earth. Blessed are they. 

Those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

The next group of people blessed by Jesus are less surprising: Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. Those who want this world to be set right, and who strive for justice in this world. But this can be hard work, to make this world a better place. It’s important work. And work to which God calls us. But it takes great patience and endurance. So Jesus blesses us as we do this. 

The Merciful 

Now, these beatitudes in the middle describe how some of you are right now, but also might describe who you want to be. You want to hunger and thirst for righteousness. You want to be merciful. You want to be pure in heart. And if so, Jesus blesses you, and even blesses your desire to be these things. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. 

The Pure in Heart 

And blessed are the pure in heart. Another trait we might wish for. And if we do want to be pure in heart, may I make a suggestion? Consider the children. Often it seems to me those who are most pure in heart are the children among us. Maybe that’s why Jesus also blesses the children. They are pure in heart. They are not trying to be something they are not. They are pure and genuine and honest and unguarded. And blessed are all who learn from them, how to be pure in heart. For they will see God. 

The Peacemakers 

Jesus also blesses the peacemakers. This describes some of you, I know. And if it does, please know how important your work is. Our world longs for peace, but seems to fight about how to achieve it! It is not easy to work toward peace in our world, a peace that is true and real and based on justice and mercy and love. “Shalom,” as it is called in Hebrew. And this is the peace that Jesus himself came to work toward and to offer us, and to bless all who join him in working toward more and more “shalom” in our world. 

Those Who Are Persecuted

And then, finally, Jesus blesses the persecuted, those who receive insults and condemnation falsely simply because of their faith. This might describe some of you today, although truthfully it better describes Christians in other parts of the world. But wherever and whenever people are persecuted for following Jesus and for working toward righteousness, Jesus blesses them. He even invites them to “rejoice and be glad,” because they stand in a long line of prophets who were before us. 

And, indeed, part of what the church has always brought to the world is that persistent witness to the kingdom of God, that faithful voice, sometimes crying in the wilderness, but always speaking a word of truth. Reminding the world that there is a better way, the way that Jesus teaches us. And blessed are all who follow this way. 

Becoming Who We Are

One of the followers of Jesus in the crowds the day that he delivered his Sermon on the Mount was the author of our second reading, John. And John wants us to remember something very important today: 

“See what love the Father has given us,” he writes in 1 John 3, “that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are … We are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed.” 

John wants us to remember today that no matter why we are here, and regardless of what is going on in our life, we are God’s children. Right here, right now. Today, and always. Period. We are God’s children, loved by God, right now. And there is no greater blessing. But what we will be has not yet been revealed. Which means that our work is not finished. The work of following Jesus, of being a Christian, and of becoming a saint. 

That work has begun, but is not yet finished. And it won’t be until we close our eyes on our last day on this earth. We are God’s children now, but what we are becoming is still to be revealed. And what is that? What are we becoming? Ourselves. We are becoming who we are, who we truly are; who we were created to be. And that is the work of a lifetime. 

And we learn best how to do that by learning from Jesus. He teaches us what this means throughout the gospels. But one of the best places is in his Sermon on the Mount, which begins with these Beatitudes. At the very end of his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus has this to say: 

“Everyone … who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall because it had been founded on rock.” – Matthew 7:24-25

That is what Jesus wants for us, to build our lives on following him. To learn from him and to keep building and growing throughout our life. And Jesus knows it won’t be easy. We might be persecuted. We might mourn. Our gas tank of faith might run low. It’s why he encourages us to do this together. To be part of a church. To gather to hear his word and receive his meal. And to encourage one another. But not only that. Jesus also wants to bless us as we do these things. It is the first word out of his mouth in this, his greatest sermon, and the most important word for you to hear today. No matter why you are here. To all, Jesus simply says: “Blessed are you.” Blessed are you, for you are a beloved child of God. Blessed are you, today and always. Amen.