Do we understand in the modern world what it means to be blessed? Having just sung “Count Your Blessings” - one of those wonderful old Gospel hymns that we don't sing much any more – it's a good question. The song doesn't actually tell us what “blessings” are. It just tells us that we're supposed to count them. There's an unfortunate tendency to start to think of “blessings” as little more than things that make us happy, and, in fact, the Good News Bible translates all of the Beatitudes of Jesus not as “blessed are those” but as “happy are those.” That's a pretty weak substitute! Happiness quickly defined is a state of mind that comes upon us when good things are happening to us. Apparently, using that understanding, happiness is elusive.  In a book a few years ago called simply “Are You Happy?” author Dennis Wholey reported the results of surveys that suggested that only about 20% of people actually think of themselves as truly “happy.” Psychiatrist Thomas Szasz actually went so far as to write that “happiness is an imaginary condition, formerly attributed by the living to the dead, now usually attributed by adults to children, and by children to adults.” I'm not sure I'd go that far, but Szasz and Whiley may well be on to something. If happiness exists only when things are good then most of us face times in our lives when it's impossible to be happy. It would seem to me that the concept of “happiness” is related to the Beatitudes, but that through that series of blessings Jesus offered He was pushing us to understand that happiness shouldn't be dependent on circumstances. Real happiness (which Jesus defines as “blessedness”) should be a state of mind and a way of life rather than a temporary and conditional emotion. Blessedness is an inner state of peace and joy that penetrates to the very deepest parts of our being so that we can face even the bleakest and hardest times life can throw at us and still be able to say to ourselves “rejoice and be glad!” As He spoke to His disciples and others who were gathered around Him, Jesus said the words “Blessed are you” only once, in the very last of the blessings He offered, but the words need to be read into all the others. As we walk through this wonderful series of blessings, we can see how they apply to our own lives and to the varies circumstances we all sometimes have to face.

     Jesus said “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.” Many Christians would probably instinctively back away from that one. How could we, who have faith and who gather weekly to celebrate our faith, be “poor in spirit.” This one surely applies to those who are out there; to those who don't know God, to those who haven't heard the gospel. But, in fact, I wonder if it isn't only people of faith who can actually be “poor in spirit?” The only way we can begin to live the truly wonderful gift of life God has given to us is for us first to admit our spiritual poverty; to confess that we have an utter and abiding need to be dependent on God. We are “poor in spirit” precisely because we understand that without God there would be a huge hole unfilled. Our spiritual poverty is something for us to rejoice in because it means that we recognize the need to have God as a part of our lives. Understand that the opposite of being “poor in spirit” is not being rich in spirit – it's being proud in spirit. It's believing that we can do it all ourselves. But those of faith understand that we are “poor in spirit” because we must depend on God. So blessed are we – for we are “the poor in spirit”! Rejoice and be glad!

     Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn for they will be comforted.” In the context in which He was speaking – and no matter how and to whom we commonly apply those words today – Jesus was not talking here about people who were in mourning because of the death of someone they love. I don't doubt that God offers the blessing of comfort to those who mourn a loved one's passing, but Jesus was going deeper than that. Jesus was speaking of the mourning we should experience because of the state of the world and those in it. We mourn for those who lack the hope that a relationship with God provides. We mourn for a world which is a pale shadow of that which God created and declared to be “good.” We mourn the loss of perfect innocence and the entry of shame. We mourn the loss of perfect peace and the entry of violence. We mourn the loss of perfect love and the entry of hate. We mourn because we understand that we ourselves are imperfect creatures, a part of the fallenness of creation. But those of faith understand that we are “those who mourn” and so God comforts us  and tells us that things will be made right. So blessed are we – for we are “those who mourn”! Rejoice and be glad!

     Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Meekness is not a quality that's generally celebrated. In the modern world the equation tends to be “meekness = weakness,” and we're a society that celebrates and idolizes those who are strong. But for Jesus, meekness wasn't weakness – and neither should it be for us either. As I come to terms with Jesus' words and His life and His examples, I begin to see meekness as strength – but as strength which is under control, as opposed to an out of control strength that too often manifests itself as violence or abuse or anger. To be meek means to submit oneself to the will of God. To be meek means that we humble ourselves in a world which tells us that we're supposed to seek glory. To be meek means to engage in our Christian work and witness without seeking any worldly recognition from those around us, but to be content with the knowledge that God sees us. Those of faith understand that we are “the meek” and that we will inherit the earth (the riches of God's creation) precisely because we seek nothing – neither reward nor glory. So blessed are we – for we are “the meek”! Rejoice and be glad!

     Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” People who are truly hungry and thirsty will go to desperate lengths to satisfy their need for food and water. They'll take chances. They'll willingly do things that, in better circumstances, prudence would tell them not to try. To hunger and thirst for righteousness means to be that desperate in our search for a close and personal relationship with God that we're prepared to take chances for God; that we're willing to throw caution to the wind to live out that relationship with God. To “hunger and thirst for righteousness” means to have a desperate desire to be close to God in an ongoing way. That is the mark of a person of faith – to “hunger and thirst” for God's presence in our lives. Those of faith understand that we do “hunger and thirst for righteousness” precisely because what little we have of God makes us want more of God in our lives on a daily basis. So blessed are we – for we are “those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”! Rejoice and be glad!

     Jesus said “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.” Christian faith must be shown in Christian action. Edgar Guest wrote “I'd rather see a sermon than hear one any day; I'd rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.” In many ways so wold I – but I'll keep going anyway! The point is that we need to be willing to display the faith that we speak about. Showing mercy to the world is a part of what Christians do. Indeed, mercy is a sign of the Holy Spirit's presence in our lives. But mercy needs to be taken beyond merely doing nice things for the downtrodden. It's been said that “mercy is showing love to the loveless that they may become lovely.” Mercy is living our transformed lives in such a way that others are transformed as a result. Those of faith understand that we are to be “the merciful” by offering pure and unconditional acceptance and love to those who may haven never known either acceptance or love. So blessed are we – for we are “the merciful”! Rejoice and be glad!

     Jesus said, “blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God.” To be “pure in heart” in this world isn't easy. It means to be the same on the inside as we are on the outside. It means to match our innermost beings with all the good things we talk about outwardly and to do every good thing we do with unselfish motives. That's not easy. We live in a world of temptations, where the prevailing wisdom tries to pull us away from that unselfish nature that should characterize a Christian life and then tries to push us into a grasping, self-serving attitude that benefits no one but ourselves. To be pure in heart is truly to be able to see God because if we can be truly pure in heart then our own lives will be reflections of God. Those of faith understand that we are “the pure in heart” because we can see in our own lives signs of the presence of God that point us and others to God. So blessed are we – for we are “the pure in heart”! Rejoice and be glad!

     Jesus said “blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” Being a peacemaker is a tough piece of work. It means not only keeping enemies apart so that they can't fight but bringing them together and managing to somehow turn enemies into friends. The goal of a person of faith should be to try to constantly break down the barriers that exist between people by offering them the love of God which, expressed through Jesus, is available to everyone regardless of the distinctions we make between people or the walls we build against people.  “In [Christ] all things hold together,” Paul wrote. Those of faith understand that we are “the peacemakers” because we are to offer the love of God in a unconditional way to everyone we encounter without discrimination. So blessed are we – for we are “the peacemakers”! Rejoice and be glad!

     Jesus said finally “blessed are you.” Indeed. True happiness and real contentment – the actual state of blessedness – come to us when we finally manage to put our faith into practice, when we finally manage to match our words with our actions. These blessings that Jesus spoke of aren't just for those out there. They're for us! Blessed are we! Rejoice and be glad!