Matthew 5:1-12 (NRSV) The Beatitudes
5 When Jesus[a] saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. 2 Then 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 righteousness’ sake, 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.
All Saints Sunday has to do with our hearts. “Blessed are the pure of heart, (those who have opened their hearts to the redeeming goodness of God’s love) for they will see God.”( Matt. 5:8) And they will be a blessing. It will be said of them “He/she had a good heart!”
Heart. The word appears 872 times in the Bible.
It is an all inclusive word which captures all that we are and means everything we are, the very center our our being, the very soul of our existence. In the O.T. as well as new and even today, “the ‘heart’ is at the center of a person’s motivations and actions. It is the deepest fiber and sinew of the human will power” John S. McClure
As Jesus says a bit further in the sermon on the Mount:
“The good person out of the good treasure of the heart produces good, and the evil person out of the evil treasure produces evil; for it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.” Lk. 6:45
How is it with your heart?
Believe it or not, want it or not, God would, through Word and Sacrament search us, cleanse us, call us, equip us, change us, enrich us, forgive us, so that from the heart we might “be merciful, just as (our God) is merciful.” Mt. 6:36
It makes all the difference in the world when our hearts are turned towards God and God’s grace is at work in our hearts, taking the worst which happens to us and making it a blessing; and taking the best that happens to us and making that a blessing too, not just for us but for others too, who need to know they also are loved by God.
Then we are numbered with the Saints for a Saint is someone with a “good heart”. A heart which has been captured by the awesome love of God!
“The heart has its reasons,
which reason does not know.”
Blaise Pascal
Prayer thought for the week: “Purge my heart of evil and fill it with love so I too can be a blessing, and even a Saint!”
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