All Saints Sunday (GA)

Matthew 5:1-12

5 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 

² And he opened his mouth 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 shall be comforted. 

⁵ “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 

⁶ “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 

⁷ “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 

⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 

⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 

¹⁰ “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

¹¹ “Blessed are you when others 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 so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. 

Jesus sees the crowds and so he goes up on a Mountain.  Is this to escape from the crowd or is it to call the crowd to follow?  He sits down as his disciples are coming to him.  Is this so that they can catch up, or is it in order to teach them?  Jesus then opens his mouth to instruct them verbally apparently.  But then we hear how he starts.

Jesus appears to express deep wisdom even in his first couple of words.  This is the first part of what has been called the Sermon on the Mount.  Now, if I were to think of this as a modern sermon, then this would simply be the opening illustration.  These blessings are simply the opening to a longer or larger thought.

Jesus has brought crowds up on a Mountain, and he calls them blessed for their various station or aspirations.  I am not going to work through them individually, but I am going to remind you why they are blessed.  God has blessed these people not because of their actions, but in spite of them.  God has blessed not the strong in faith but the poor in Spirit.  God has not blessed those who lead perfect lives, but those with pure intentions in their heart.  God has not blessed those who have their bellies filled and get their way, but those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

God has truly blessed you.  He has made you a child of the Heavenly Father.  He has made you his saint.  On All Saints Day we celebrate this gift of holiness and blessing, which God has given to you.  Blessed be the Lord God in Heaven who has sacrificed his blessed Son and bestowed on you His holiness.