Peace is never easy to achieve in our troubled world. Indeed, peace is increasingly in short supply in the secularized, divided democracies of the West. Angry mobs constantly make their presence felt on the city streets.

So what does Jesus mean when he says in his seventh Beatitude: “Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the sons and daughters of God” (Matthew 5:9)?

We need to remember that the Beatitudes or Eight Blessings are not features of eight different types of people. Peace-making is one characteristic of God’s people. Following the flow of his words, Jesus says that those who, instead of feeling proud of themselves, understand the brokenness of their relationship with God; who grieve over their own sin and over a world that turns its back on God; who, instead of following the power play and plotting of the world to achieve kingdom ends, walk the tougher path of humility and service; who hunger for truth and righteousness; who show mercy to the helpless, pursue purity, and work for peace.

Jesus’ Beatitudes search our character – what our hearts are like. They reveal that none of us lives up to God’s expectations. None of us is a worthy beneficiary of the kingdom of heaven through our efforts. Rather, taken in context, the Beatitudes reveal his expectations of his followers.

Jesus is the greatest peacemaker ever. He alone can make peace between us and God and teach us to make peace with one another. Through his death and resurrection, he uniquely holds out the removal of the stain of sin that has broken our relationship with God. He has given new meaning to the ancient Jewish greeting: Shalom. At the heart of the good news of Christianity is the making of peace.

In Romans 5:1 Paul the Apostle writes: Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,… This peace includes well-being and wholeness. Indeed, when we find peace with God, we will want to work at living at peace with family, with God’s people, at work and in the community.

“Blessed are the peacemakers”. Jesus is not referring to people who yearn for peace, but to his people who work at peace. For with this Beatitude he is not only speaking about gospel peace-making. He also has in mind that his followers are to be peacemakers in the broadest sense. God’s people should be at the forefront of living selfless lives and treating others with respect, seeking solutions to ease tensions, reduce conflict, and helping angry and conflicted people understand one another.

None of this is easy, especially when we personally have been hurt. It’s not always easy to forgive, to be reconciled, to make peace. It’s easy for us to forget the wisdom of Proverbs 15:1 – A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly. And in Ephesians 4:26 the Apostle Paul enjoins us: Be angry but do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,…

Now forgiving doesn’t mean that wrong goes unpunished. In early February in Sydney this year three children from a family and their cousin were walking to a local shop to buy ice-creams. As they walked, a car careered off the road into them. All four died. In the midst of their deep grief the parents of the three children publicly forgave the driver who has now pleaded guilty before the courts.

Peace is not the same as appeasement. Nor does making peace mean that we shouldn’t take steps to ensure that a wrong doesn’t recur. To be a peacemaker means doing everything we can under God, and without compromise, to bring about harmony.

Jesus says that when we think and behave like this, we will be called the sons and daughters of God. For to be a peacemaker is to be like God. If they are honest, people around us will see this. Consider what happens when God’s people disagree. Those who keep calm and listen to both sides with fairness and courtesy, and who work at finding a solution that is consistent with God’s Word, are usually respected. The truth is that all of us who call ourselves God’s people should behave like this. It is how Jesus behaved. Peace-making is one of the qualities of his people.

Through the Beatitudes Jesus tells us that the moral integrity of our lives matters. We can’t earn our salvation, but if we constantly follow the desires of our hearts and we are not being changed by Jesus’ teaching, we must ask whether we are truly God’s people.

And there is another facet to peaceful living that we overlook. In 1 Timothy 2:1-4 Paul says: …I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the truth.

Prayer for leaders is so important. We forget that through our prayers we can influence national and international affairs, praying that leaders will bring about conditions of peace and security for everyone. Significantly, these conditions provide a better context for promoting God’s gospel.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons and daughters of God”.

© John G. Mason – October 28, 2020

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In his book, The Big Ego Trip, Glynn Harrison, Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry, University of Bristol, UK, writes of the way the self-esteem ideology has led to a culture of narcissism and entitlement. Dr. Harrison observes, ‘On almost any measure you care to mention – precision of terminology, evidence of beneficial effect, potential for harm, philosophical integrity – self-esteem ideology promised big, but delivered small. It’s time to turn back and set out on a different path…’ (p.130).

He continues: ‘…I believe the Christian worldview provides the coherent narrative that we long for’ (p.130f).

Why would an eminent professor of psychiatry suggest this? What does Christianity offer?

Genesis. It’s said today that in order to live life to the full we need first to learn to love and forgive ourselves. But the Bible sees things very differently as we learn from Genesis 1.

Confusion exists over Genesis because, influenced by a culture of science, we ask the wrong question. Genesis is not interested in the how of creation. It is concerned with the who and the what. The Bible narrative begins by telling us that God created all things and that everything has its origin and meaning in him.

Image-bearers. Furthermore, we learn that God created men and women in his image (1:26ff). We are the glory of his work. And unlike other ancient creation accounts, we’re not a final emanation, created to serve the needs of the god(s). Rather, God has ordered everything in such a way that, under him, we have the responsibility and joy of overseeing his creation. As C.S. Lewis put it in his Narnia series, we are royalty. As rulers under God, we are expected to learn from him, to trust him and to find our meaning and purpose in him.

However, as Genesis unfolds, we learn that the glorious hopes for humanity are dashed. In chapter 3 tragedy enters the scene of perfection and peace. Failing to follow God’s command, men and women succumb to the temptations to be independent of God, to indulge their appetites, and to see themselves as gods. The innocent joy in their relationships with God and with one another is shattered. Tainted now by self-interest, we have a strange capacity for both good and evil. If we’re honest, we know we deserve to be judged. The dread shadow of death now hovers over us all.

But there is a ray of hope. Genesis chapter 3 holds out a clue, indicating that hopelessness and death need not be the end of our story.

Many centuries later, a remarkable birth occurred. It is recorded by two witnesses – Matthew, a Jewish tax-collector, and Luke, a non-Jewish physician. Astonishing though it is, both reveal that with the birth of Jesus, divinity came amongst us. The names the baby was given are significant: Jesus means God saves, and Emmanuel means God with us. Jewish and Roman historians of the time reference Jesus but it is Matthew, Mark, Luke and John who fill out the details.

Jesus’ public ministry focuses on the kingdom, or the rule of God. Jesus is unique in history – in the purity and integrity of his life, the power of his words, his compassion for the needy, and in his unexpected capitulation to the deceit of the Jewish authorities and the power of Rome. Yet, it was through his death and resurrection that Jesus the Messiah opened the door to life in all its fullness for anyone who turns to him in repentance and in faith.

This is the Jesus whose counter-intuitive Sermon on the Mount includes the Beatitudes that we are considering in this podcast series.

The sixth Beatitude reads: “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” (Mt 5:8).

Throughout the Bible the heart speaks of who we are.

Purity of heart is something God has always expected of his people. In Psalm 24, King David asks, Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? To which he had answered: Those who have clean hands and pure hearts, who do not lift up their souls to what is false, and do not swear deceitfully…

God, the maker of heaven and earth is holy. Indeed, when Isaiah, one of the great prophets saw a vision of the heavenly throne room, he exclaimed, not “Wow”, but rather, “Woe is me, … for I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). And the prophet Jeremiah chillingly speaks of the human heart as being deceitful … and desperately wicked… (Jeremiah 17:9).

And Jesus concurs: “… It is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person” (Mark 7:21-23).

How then can anyone be pure in heart?

It’s important to read Jesus’ words in the context of all the Beatitudes. Purity of heart is not a work nor a legalistic piety that will open the door into God’s presence. Rather, in the flow of the Beatitudes, we are blessed when we are aware of our spiritual bankruptcy and our need for salvation (Mt 5:3), when we weep over our sin and the sins of the world (Mt 5:4), and when we hunger and thirst for righteousness (Mt 5:6).

Purity of heart is the outworking of the salvation that Christ alone has achieved for us. The Letter to the Hebrews says to believers: Make every effort… to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14).

God now expects the hearts of his people to be pure. Ask yourself, ‘What it is that I think about when we put away my phone? Do I let my mind linger on images that have tempted me? What dominates my private thoughts? To what extent is my true inner self expressed in my words and actions?’

Furthermore, how do I view myself? Where do I look for meaning and purpose? Do I crave self-esteem through self-help mantras or the praise of others? Or do I thank the Lord because he has adopted me as his son or daughter? Do I now pray for his grace to live with a pure heart taught by his Word?

While seeing God in all his glory is in the future for us, we can experience something of it now. For as we see and delight in the rightness of his ways, so our hearts will be drawn into a deeper love for him. To know God is to have his Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord Jesus within us, the Spirit who assures us that we can call God, Abba, Father. No wonder Glynn Harrison wrote that the Christian worldview provides the coherent narrative that we long for.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

© John G. Mason – October 21, 2020

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Details for the Anglican Connection early February 2021 Online Conference will be released shortly. Look for: www.anglicanconnection.com

In his book, God is Good for You, Dr. Greg Sheridan an Australian commentator writes: ‘… Christianity has been marginalized in the popular culture in the West …’ He notes that there are ‘very few Christian celebrities, or rather celebrities whose primary fame is due to their Christianity, their works or writings’.

Consider President Abraham Lincoln’s letter on January 19, 1863 to the textile workers in Lancashire, England, who, at great personal cost, had voted to continue to reject cotton produced by slaves in the US Confederacy. Deploring the sufferings arising from this decision, Lincoln wrote: “Under these circumstances I cannot but regard your decisive utterance on the question as an instance of sublime Christian heroism which has not been surpassed by any age or in any country”.

Lincoln’s words point to the traditional understanding of Christianity that, amongst other qualities, calls for mercy.

How would Lincoln’s reference to ‘Christian’ be understood today? Greg Sheridan comments, ‘Christians have a right to be worried about what is happening to their beliefs in the West.’ ‘… The primary challenge is not intellectual but cultural,’ he writes.

How do we respond to this changing world that denies the sacrificial practice of Christianity?

Come with me to Jesus’ fifth Beatitude, one of the eight ‘Blessings’ found in his Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew chapter 5. “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall be shown mercy”, we read in verse 7 (Mt. 5:7).

The words mercy and grace are often used interchangeably, but there is a distinction. Grace is a love that is underserved. Mercy is love’s response to someone’s misery and helplessness.

Mercy responds to a world in pain because of humanity’s ‘me first’ problem. For despite the extraordinary advances in science and technology, we find it impossible to solve the issues of hunger and poverty, corruption and injustice, tension and conflict. In his Parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus provides an object lesson in neighbor love which, if practised, would lead to a world of selflessness, genuine love, kindness and mercy. It is a neighbor love that is motivated and shaped by God’s love for us and our love for him.

It is significant that when God came amongst us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth his priority was not first to destroy Roman rule, or to cure all the sick, or to deal with all the social ills of the world.

That said, he did reach out to people in need. The ancient historian Josephus says that Jesus carried out ‘remarkable feats’. The Gospel records tell us he enabled the deaf to hear, the blind to see and the lame to walk. And he wept with those who grieved.

Yet despite his divine powers Jesus allowed himself to be betrayed and put to death. His priority was to follow the highest path of mercy and grace – mercy for the helpless, grace for the undeserving. Through his voluntary death he addressed our broken relationship with the living and one true God. He the sinless, chose to die in our place – the sinful.

When we come to understand and personally experience this mercy of God, we will want to be merciful to others. Mercy is more than feeling compassion. It acts in doing good for those in need.

So what does this mercy look like in practice?

We show mercy by providing food for the hungry person, clothes for the needy and a bed for the homeless. In the big cites of the world mercy needs to be tempered with wisdom. For if we give to everyone in need, we will quickly find we don’t have the means to live ourselves.

This is why Christian foundations are formed so that resources can be used more effectively for those truly in need. In the churches I was involved in setting up in New York City, we supported and were involved in various care missions in the city as well as providing scholarship funds for children in Africa orphaned through AIDS.

But mercy is more than meeting physical needs, pressing though they are. Mercy has compassion for the spiritually lost. Augustine, the 5th century Bishop of Hippo in North Africa, said: ‘If I weep for the body from which the soul is divided, how should I weep for the soul from which God is divided?’ If we say we have experienced God’s mercy shouldn’t we now show mercy to those whose souls are lost for eternity?

When Stephen, the first Christian martyr was being stoned, he said, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Stephen pitied the souls of those who were stoning him to death.

Mercy prays for others and looks for opportunities to open up conversations about the God who has revealed himself in the Lord Jesus. Let me ask, do you pray for family members, friends, neighbors and work colleagues who are indifferent or hostile to the Christian faith? The most merciful thing we can do is pray for and create ways to draw others to the Lord Jesus.

The outcome of mercy. “Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy.”

We are not restored in our relationship with God by being merciful. It is only when we are conscious of our spiritual bankruptcy (Mt 5:3), grieve over our sin (Mt 5:4), and hunger and thirst for righteousness (Mt 5:6), that we will receive the blessing of God’s mercy.

Psalm 103 says, As the heavens are high above the earth, so great is God’s mercy towards those who fear him. Contrary to what many consider God to be, the Bible consistently reveals a God who is not only there but who is slow to anger and merciful.

How then will people around us come to know this? A little further on in his Sermon, Jesus says: “Let your light so shine before others that they see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Mt 5:16).

© John G. Mason – October 14, 2020

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Coming February 2-3, 2021 – Anglican Connection Online Conference
‘The Majestic Glory in a World of Change: The Unchanging God of Love & Beauty, Goodness, Justice & Compassion’

Details for the Anglican Connection early February 2021 Online Conference will be released shortly. Look for: www.anglicanconnection.com

Many people today grieve over the extremes of political divisions in a world that has turned away God. The bitter hatred and vitriol stand in stark contrast to the words and actions of Jesus Christ who came to earth to bring us to God. In his fourth Beatitude recorded in Matthew 5:6, he says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

Today I have a simple question: ‘What do you really long for in life?’ Peace and happiness? Health and fitness? Success in your work or profession? Sufficient resources to enjoy a great lifestyle and check off the items on your bucket list?

Having hopes and dreams is important, but we can be misguided in them.

In Jesus’ parable of the Rich Fool found in Luke chapter 12, he tells of a man who had enjoyed great success with his investments and wondered what he should do next. “I know, the man said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.’”

However, there is a chilling conclusion to the parable: But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life is being demanded of you. ‘Fool!’ What a frightening epitaph. Hungering for wealth and success, the man had left God out of his life’s plan.

Over these weeks we are reflecting on Jesus’ Beatitudes or Blessings that we read in his Sermon on the Mount. Through the centuries Jesus’ Sermon has been regarded by countless numbers, including people whose belief is atheism, as one of the great speeches of all time.

Let’s consider his words: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled.”

Righteousness here refers to a pattern of life that reflects God’s beauty and purity. When we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we long for a life of knowing God, loving and honoring him with all of our being.

Our society chases after money, possessions, fame and pleasure. But is everyone satisfied?  Is everyone happy? Does everyone have enough of what they pursue? Where are blessing and happiness really to be found?

Further on in this Sermon, Jesus speaks about our need for food and clothing. There he says: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be given to you…”

So, where do we learn what righteousness looks like? Psalm 19 verse 7 following says: The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring for ever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

The law is not simply a reference to God’s commandments but rather to the breadth of God’s mind and will for his people. These verses of Psalm 19 alert us to God’s good and wise expectations, awakening us to the joy of knowing and loving God personally – trusting and honoring him.

To get the essence of Jesus’ words we need to understand the emptiness of our lives without God. We might say we know God as creator of the universe. We may say we know Jesus as our Savior and Lord, but do we really long for God? Psalm 1 tells us, Blessed is the man or the woman whose delight is in the law or the Word of God, who meditates on it day and night.

We live in a sex-obsessed society. Yes, God invented sex. He gave us the freedom and the blessing to enjoy it but, in the way he sets out – within a publicly committed and witnessed relationship between a man and a woman.

What then does Jesus mean by being filled? Filled speaks of stomachs that are replete with food. Jesus is telling us that God will make his people who hunger and thirst for righteousness happy and satisfied. But there is a paradox. I enjoy a key-lime pie and am satisfied when I’ve eaten some. However, I always want more! Eating one piece creates a desire for more.

That is a picture of what longing for righteousness looks like for God’s people. We long for the day when we will see God in his perfection and goodness. Jesus Christ brings us satisfaction. We can experience joy and hope now. Yet we are dissatisfied. We long for righteousness in all its truth. We have a homesickness for heaven where perfect righteousness will prevail.

Richard Bewes in The Goodnight Book records John Stott’s response to his question, ‘What are you looking forward to more than anything else?’ John Stott replied, ‘I think I can truthfully say that I look forward to being more like the Lord Jesus Christ in my character. That, above everything else.’

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.”

© John G. Mason – October 7, 2020

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We don’t normally like to think of ourselves as being meek. These days meekness is usually associated with someone who is weak and submissive. Someone who is timid and easily pushed around. Yet in the third Beatitude in his Sermon on the Mount Jesus says, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”.

The Beatitudes lay the foundation for Jesus’ Sermon recorded in Matthew chapters 5-7. An interesting feature about these eight beatitudes is that the first and last make the same promise. The first reads: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”. And number eight says: “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”

To begin and end a series of statements with the same theme is called ‘an inclusion’. This means that everything between the first and last statements is included in the one theme – in this case, the kingdom of heaven. We are to think of Jesus’ Beatitudes as the standards of God’s kingdom. They’re not just descriptions of the attributes of different sets of people who are members of the kingdom – some are meek while others are merciful. Rather they capture features that the Lord expects of all his people.

Jesus expects his people to grasp the reality of their spiritual impoverishment: they are poor in spirit. His people mourn over their own broken relationship with God and mourn that humanity is tragically lost because it has rejected its Maker. And now thirdly, Jesus is describing another quality of his people – meekness.

So what does it mean to be meek?

Jesus’ words in Matthew chapter 11:28-30 help us. There he says: Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle – literally meek – and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

As the Gospel of Matthew unfolds we learn that Jesus, the eternal Son of God, came amongst us, not with the trappings of royalty and privilege, but with self-deprecation and lowliness. He came, not to exercise unbridled or terrorizing power, but to honor God by serving men and women in their greatest need. He set aside his glory to rescue us.

Here we begin to learn the rich meaning of meekness – gentleness and humility in serving the best interests of others. Someone who is meek does not insist upon their rights. They think of others before themselves.

Consider for a moment the scene around Jesus’ crucifixion. Jesus was naked, exposed to the idle curiosity of the crowd and the vulgar frivolity of the soldiers who were making a party of it. “If you are the king of the Jews,” they taunted, “save yourself.”

And yet the extraordinary thing is this. There’s no spirit of revenge. Jesus didn’t curse his tormentors. Instead, as Luke tells us, we hear a prayer: “Father forgive them, for they don’t know what they’re doing.”

Now it’s also important to notice that the kind of meekness that Jesus is speaking about in the Beatitude is not that of the person who is a pushover. Meekness is not to be confused with being nice and easy-going. Meek and lowly as he was, Jesus could take a whip to greedy money-changers in the Temple. We mustn’t confuse meekness with weakness.

“Blessed are the meek,” Jesus says.

Is it not true that many of us who claim to be God’s people have forgotten this? We have stalled on the first two letters of the word meek – the letters, me, Me! At the personal level we are so often more concerned with justifying ourselves than building one another up in our relationship with the Lord Jesus. And is it not true that we are often more committed to giving our opinion about church or ministry matters than we are at reaching others with the good news of the gospel?

Back in 9^th century England, King Alfred, a professing Christian, was not only a capable military strategist but also a wise and visionary ruler. It seems that because he knew the Christ who had taught the Beatitudes, he worked for peaceful solutions even with the most ruthless of his enemies. As Arthur Bryant in The Story of England: Makers of the Realm comments: Alfred had the wisdom to realize that the sword, though powerful to defend, could settle nothing permanently, and that only the conquest of the heart could endure.

Following his defeat of the marauding Danes, Alfred made a peace treaty with Guthrum, the Viking King – a treaty which identified land in East Anglia for the Danish Vikings. Alfred’s meekness led to the Christian baptism of Guthrum and peace in the land.

“The meek shall inherit the earth” Jesus promises. He was quoting from Psalm 37. He was saying that only the truly meek will learn contentment. Their ego is not so inflated that they insist they deserve more. Indeed, because as God’s people they are learning from him, the meek understand that they are co-heirs in the inheritance with Jesus (Romans 8:16f).

Furthermore, Jesus is saying that the day will come when the meek will inherit the new heaven and the new earth. It will be a time when this Beatitude will literally be fulfilled. Throughout eternity God’s people will continually rejoice that this Beatitude is literally true. Indeed, they will be grateful that by the grace of God they learned to be meek during their life now.

“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” What is your response? Do you really want to be one of Jesus’ disciples, exemplifying in your life those qualities that were so evident in his — meekness and humility in serving the best interests of others?

© John G. Mason – September 30, 2020

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Coming January 2021 – Anglican Connection Online Conference

Details for the Anglican Connection early February 2021 Online Conference will be released shortly. Look for: www.anglicanconnection.com