How to Survive Empire
Matthew 5:1-12
Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV):
1 When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
I know I’m supposed to talk for a while, and I will, but I also don’t think you need much help with this one. I speak, here, not so much to give you something you don’t already have, but to open things up and make it a little easier for you to recognize the truth and wisdom you already possess, the Light and Love within you. Which may not be too different from what Jesus is doing here, in a sermon where he seems to be directing his hearers toward what they do have, within them, and what they have, as a community.
So while there are countless interpretations of this text, in sermons and books, and while I would be suspicious of anyone that says they’ve finally figured out the one true meaning of these verses, after all these centuries, I will say that…I think I’ve finally figured out…the one true meaning…of these verses…after all these centuries.
Let me open the door, here, and then you can listen to your own heart and let your inward Guide take you through that door, to where you need to go today.
I think Jesus is trying to help people take hold of what will sustain them in a challenging, fraught world. Part of this involves coming to understand themselves and their capacity in a way that counters the story they’ve been told about who they are. Maybe that means believing in their goodness and agency, instead of in the lie that they are bad and have no agency. Maybe that also means believing in their communal goodness and agency, instead of the lie that their community is deplorable, exploitable, expendable, powerless to change their reality.
I think this is a motivational speech, meant to reassure and mobilize. To give hope, and remind people what lived, active hope, can look like.
The sermon on the mount, given on a mountain–or at least a sizable hill near the sea of Galilee, that would likely be accessible to most, no matter their age or ability–this sermon, especially these “Beatitudes”–the blesseds–is not primarily about how to be a good person, or how to be Christian, or Jewish, or how to get to heaven, or even how to bring heaven to Earth. You may hear guidance on how to love your neighbor, but I think this is primarily a sermon about how to survive and resist Empire, and should be read in that light–as a survival guide or resistance manual.
And, given the increasingly recognizable parallels between the Roman Empire and our own country, which has long been an Empire but seems less interested in hiding that fact, these days……I think Jesus’ visionary pep talk is as timely as ever.
Now while Empire may be our big picture context, today, I know that our shared national experience doesn’t capture the entirety of your daily, lived experience. You’re not just facing the soul- and body- and Earth- crushing realities of Empire–though, you are. But you’re also facing…the challenges of your job. Parenting or being a spouse or your own parent’s child. Managing your health, like a chronic illness, or cognitive decline, or a busted shoulder. Finances. Learning to cherish yourself and your path.
And yet, the question remains relevant: how do we survive forces that would crush us, whether they are armed with guns or whether they are the daily anxieties we battle? How do we resist letting those forces steal our joy, our connection to the land and each other, our peace?
I want to do three things, before we listen together in silence. I want to unpack that word “blessed”; I want to comment on each of the nine beatitudes; and I want to consider some ways to read these beatitudes as a whole.
First, "blessed.” Or “bless-ed.” If you’re Jesus you can say “bless-ed” but normies like you and me should just say “blessed.” In these times, we gotta ration our syllables a bit.
I don’t really use the word “blessed,” because, for me, it implies divine favoritism, and that those who don’t have the things people commonly mention when counting their blessings…food, friends, family, health, house, and so on…are somehow less chosen or deserving. I know you don’t mean that when you say “blessed” but that’s my own ambivalence toward the word.
But I wonder if there’s some shock value to Jesus using that word that Matthew, in his Greek gospel, translates as μακάριος (markarios): blessed, bless-ed. I mean, he’s talking to people that might not respond with an affirming “yes, thank you, we agree, we are indeed blessed,” but more like: “Um…do you actually know our situation?” It’s kind of remarkable–and this is probably why these declarations are so captivating and provocative–that he would say this.
It’s like he’s saying: “you all, you, you, even you…you are fortunate. You are well-off. You are in good shape. You’re on the right track. You have everything you need. It’s a gift to be you, in this time and place.” Is it though, they–and we–might wonder? Is it really a gift?
Poor in spirit. Is it really a gift that, thanks to forces greater than you, your morale is low, your outlook, bleak, your attitude, resigned, your hope, depleted, your faith, nearly extinguished?
Those who mourn. Is it really a gift that you are grieving, weeping, lamenting losses in your life and community, and even consciously choosing to do so, unwilling to avoid, escape, pretend like things are fine when they’re not?
Meek. Is it really a gift that you have been forced to become small, submissive, been taken advantage of, used, that you’ve learned to take up very little space or hide yourself so as not to trouble the waters?
Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Is it really a gift to be on this side of the long wait for justice, for things to be made right, for right relationships with others and the land to emerge? Is it really a gift to be waiting and struggling for a better world that you fear may never come?
Jesus, in these first four beatitudes, seems to elevate people who’ve been crushed by the world. And then he seems to shift, highlighting what those who have been crushed, or their allies, at least, might do, in response. But are these really blessings?
Merciful. Is it really a gift to practice mercy—feed the hungry, welcome the stranger, visit the sick, and so on—when you’ve got so many needs yourself? And what if they are people you’d rather not help? Like, I know you all, I know you are on the side of the oppressed. But would it be a gift to be merciful to those who’ve hurt you? To show mercy to those who didn’t or can’t or won’t show mercy to you, who didn’t prioritize your well-being or affirm your dignity?
Pure in heart. Is it really a gift to be pure in heart? Is that how this game is played, with pure hearts? Do integrity, sincerity, and kindness give people the power to change their world and lives? Or do greed, control, and violence get us where we need to be? Is seeing the best in people the way forward, or is focusing on the worst a more feasible strategy, so that we don’t give ourselves false hope that people can change?
Peacemakers. Is it really a gift to be a peacemaker? Sounds like a burden. Wouldn’t the real gift be to just kind of fade away, retreat into the woods, sidestep this exhausting work of trying to bring peace? Avoidance is easier. Or, violence, vengeance–also easier! But the work of peace, and all the care and patience and collaboration and vulnerability and uncertainty and exhaustion and willingness to fail that comes with it? Is that a gift?
Persecuted for the sake of righteousness. Um, since when is being persecuted a gift? Standing up for what you feel is right and good, sure, but being ridiculed, threatened, attacked? Choosing to be authentically yourself and then being told that “self” is wrong or unlovable? Choosing to join the struggle for justice and then being told you’re wasting your time, or teargassed, or worse? What’s the blessing of this?
Revile you, speak evil against you, falsely on Jesus’ account? People will claim to represent Jesus and beat up on you with words and more, believing themselves to be doing the work of God. Bigotry backed by religion? Shame powered by scripture? Condemnation of the already crushed, in God’s name, twisting the liberating and loving message of Jesus into something that would be unrecognizable to him? That’s a gift?!?
These nine beatitudes could mean a lot of things, beyond my impressions. But we can also consider how to read these as a whole, which could help us discern the details. If we had to identify a theme to Jesus’ message to his hearers on this big hill–and I’m sure it’s a great hill, I’m just not sure as a Pacific Northwesterner that I can call it a “mountain”–I think there are several possibilities, all which come as counterpoints, Jesus’ response to forces and messages and events in the world around him.
The theme could be inclusion. “You all, who may feel like and be treated like outsiders, are, in the world of Love I dream of and see emerging, here and now…you are insiders.”
The theme could be validation. “It might feel like God is on their side, because they seem to be thriving, but God is on your side. You are heard. You are loved. You matter.”
The theme could be reassurance. “Things may feel bleak, but things will improve. They won’t crush you forever. You weep now but you will laugh and celebrate. Your peacemaking work might seem ineffective but it really matters, so hang in there.”
The theme could be a public condemnation of Empire. “They want you to be meek and small and feel powerless, I want to help you discover your power. They show you no mercy because that’s not the directive of those in charge and their thugs, i.e. Roman centurions, sent to keep law and order. But you can befuddle them with your mercy, to each other, and even, in some cases, to them, whether they deserve it or not.”
The theme could be courage. Jesus isn’t just speaking to individuals who will then go home and live their individual lives, but to a community, in a shared struggle. “Be brave, together. Hang in there, and lean on each other.”
The theme could be engagement with reality. Many of us have the luxury of…staying home. Turning off notifications. Making a cup of tea. Watching sports or a movie or sharing funny internet memes with each other. We probably need all that! But for those really paying attention–maybe because they have no other choice, since what they’re paying attention to is happening to them–Jesus may be saying, “your presence to what’s really happening, is a gift to the rest of us.”
The theme could be authenticity. “You don’t have to be something you are not. It is a gift to be exactly who you are. Where you are. When you are. To be rooted in your particular watershed. To have the network of family and friends you have. To feel what you feel. To dream what you dream. To mercifully help others in the unique way you do that. It’s good and right that you are you.”
The theme could be hope. What kind of world or community or ecosystem do we want to live in? Where are we now? How do we get from here to there, together?
And, the theme could be Love. How do you do Love? Is Love a smart strategy? How much risk does Love require, how much presence and engagement, how much collaborative effort, how much consistency in meeting needs and putting up with insults, or worse, does Love require? Who is Loved by God? Who has Love within?
A lot of ways to think about being “blessed” and about what each of these beatitudes could mean. A lot of possible “sermon titles” we could give to Jesus’ message to capture this main idea. It’s a good sermon! Gives us a lot to think about.
To say it again, I think Jesus is trying to help his hearers discover and take hold of what they need to sustain them in a challenging, fraught world, partly by embracing a better story about who they are and what they are capable of. He’s equipping them to survive and resist the destruction of Empire and, beyond that, to survive and resist any of the challenging and crushing forces they face.
The sermon on the mount is a survival guide, a resistance manual. And timely as ever.
Queries:
What’s the heart of Jesus’s message in the Beatitudes? What’s his main idea?
Which of these nine beatitudes are most striking to me today? Why?
Who does this text bring to my mind and heart?
What actions does this text prompt me to consider taking, and with whom?