"Beloved are..."
- Rev Robert Moses
- Feb 1
- 5 min read
Updated: Feb 16
4th Sunday after the Epiphany
Lessons (RCL, Year A): Micah 6:1-8; Psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1:18-31; Matthew 5:1-12
The opening words of Jesus’ first sermon are some of the most memorable in all of scripture:
‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth." (Matthew 5:3-5)
Up to this point in the gospel, Jesus had spoken only a few sentences. Even in its early stages, the narrative shows Jesus busy healing people and casting out demons. Despite saying very little, Jesus had already developed such a reputation that people came from all over Galilee to see him and followed him to the mountainside.
On the mountainside, Jesus began to teach, and he spoke at length. It’s important to note that here, Jesus was instructing his disciples—those who had committed themselves to follow him (see Matthew 5:1-2). In this moment, Jesus laid out his vision for them, clarifying who he was and what he intended to do.
The atmosphere was undoubtedly thick with anticipation as Jesus delivered what was effectively his first sermon to this newly formed group of followers. He began, “Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are those who mourn… Blessed are the meek.” I can imagine the faces of the disciples: some smiling and nodding in agreement, while others displayed concern and confusion. The traditions of their elders and their own experiences had taught them that being poor, meek, or mourning the loss of a loved one was not a blessing; it often felt more like a curse.
Imagine being part of that crowd of disciples and hearing Jesus proclaim, “Blessed are those who mourn!” What solace would that offer if your husband had just died, if you were struggling to feed your children, or if a local soldier had just bullied you out of your last few coins? It would provide little comfort to know that Jesus was referencing a distant future known as the “day of the LORD.”
At this point, I found myself reflecting—an undertaking that can be risky halfway through sermon preparation—on those first disciples. Who were they? Of course, they included fishermen from Capernaum like Andrew, Peter, James, and John, but there were many others who came to follow Jesus, including those who had been healed of various diseases, pains, demonic possession, epilepsy, and paralysis. Notice the context in the passage immediately preceding this one.
I began to wonder if I was misinterpreting the word “blessed.” Perhaps its meaning has lost something in translation. So, let me get straight to the point: what if, when Jesus says “blessed,” He actually means something like “beloved”? Instead of hearing “blessed are,” we might instead hear “Beloved are...!” “Beloved are the poor in spirit... Beloved are those who mourn... Beloved are the meek... Beloved are those who hunger for righteousness.” I’m not sure if that perspective helps you, but when I began to read it this way, the Beatitudes transformed from a statement about what those people were feeling into a declaration of God’s compassion. I think Jesus was telling His crowd of disciples that they had not been abandoned; they were not alone. Jesus assured them that God sees each of them through the lens of divine love.
This means we need to rethink how we read the Beatitudes—or at least how we might have traditionally understood them. Traditionally, we have viewed the Beatitudes (and really, the entire Sermon on the Mount) as pure exhortation. It’s easy to interpret the Beatitudes as commands urging us to strive to be poorer in spirit, more mournful, or more meek in order to be blessed by God. However, I believe the Beatitudes aren’t a list of conditions we need to meet to receive blessings. Instead, when Jesus says “blessed are...,” it is not meant to be instructive, but rather performative.
In other words, the pronouncement of blessing actually bestows the blessing itself. The Beatitudes (and indeed the whole Sermon on the Mount) represent Jesus’ extravagant blessing on the world around Him, especially for those whom society often overlooks—people in pain, those who work for peace rather than profit, and individuals who exercise mercy instead of vengeance. Jesus is simply blessing people, telling them they are beloved, particularly those who rarely receive blessings otherwise. That certainly sounds like something Jesus would do—lavishing blessings freely!
As I always aim to provide you with a reason— a purpose— a “so what!” to reflect on, here it is: I learned two things this week. First, recognize that God is a God who blesses so that we might be blessed! It's really quite simple: We don’t receive grace upon grace because we live lives worthy of the gospel. We receive grace upon grace because we are beloved by God. The difficult part about viewing it this way is that for some of us, it might be easier to fulfill the conditions to receive a blessing than to simply accept one. We often feel the need to be worthy.
Years ago, when I first started as a priest at Saint Joseph Catholic Church, one Sunday as I was walking out of the sacristy, an elderly woman approached me and, in front of everyone, embraced me. But it wasn’t just a friendly greeting; it felt like she was holding me with all the love she had left in the world. Before I knew what was happening, a woman I had never met, wearing a scratchy green cardigan, enveloped me and whispered in my ear, “You’ve got something. Jesus walks with you.” She kissed my cheek and embraced me again. Later, as I reflected on that moment, it felt as if God’s own presence blessed me with warm breath and a scratchy sweater. When I went for coffee, I looked at Fr. John and said, “Well, that just happened!” “Yes,” he replied, “and you just have to accept the blessings people give you.”
If we have a God who blesses the poor, the hurting, the peacemakers, and the meek, I wonder what a Church would look like if it embraced these blessings. Perhaps you have had your own version of the old woman in the scratchy sweater who has brought God’s blessing into your life. Look for these moments and submit! Submit! Submit! God is a God who blesses so that we might be blessed. So, the first thing I learned this week is that we should simply accept God’s blessings in order that we might be blessed.
The second thing I learned is that God blesses us so that we can be a blessing to others. Just as in Jesus’ day, there are people all around us who are hurting or vulnerable. They are in our pews, our schools, our workplaces, and our neighborhoods. They often live on the margins and are not always seen. They stand next to us, hiding in plain sight. Our task is to put on our glasses—bifocals if necessary (don’t be vain)—to recognize them and see ourselves as God sees us. Our mission is to remember that we are all beloved and to live as though it is true.
Perhaps that is what it truly means to be God’s people: to bless the world around us not based on the world’s values, worth, or merit, but rather on the basis of God’s values, merits, and worth. So, I say, let’s create opportunities to bless people, places, and things, because it feels very much like Jesus and is genuinely joyful. I am confident that human blessings, and not human suffering, are “God’s will.”
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