The Beatitudes – or the Sermon on the Mount

The Meaning of The Sermon on the Mount  -   By Bishop Alexander (Mileant)

The Sermon on the Mount begins with the nine Beatitudes. These Commandments complete the Old Testament Commandments given to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Old Testament commandments talk about those things that we cannot do, a spirit of sternness pervades them. The New Testament commandments, in contrast, talk about those things that we should do and the spirit of Love breathes in them. The Old Testament commandments were written on stone plates and were acquired by learning them. Whereas, the New Testament commandments are written by the Holy Spirit on the plates on the hearts of the faithful. Here is the text of those eternal commandments.

These are the immortal words of the Beatitudes.

Blessed are the weak in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they that thirst and hunger after righteousness for they shall be filled. Blessed are merciful for they shall find mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed are the persecuted for the Truth, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are you when men shall revile you and do all manner of evil to you for My sake. Rejoice and be exceedingly glad for great is your reward in Heaven. (Mttw 5:1-12)

These New Testament commandments are remarkable in that each of them begins with the word “Blessed”. Whilst the Old Testament commandments work by way of prohibition and the threat of punishment, the New Testament commandments encourage you towards doing good, they draw you up towards the unending joy with God.

Entering deeply into the meaning of the Beatitudes, it becomes obvious, that they are laid out in a certain consecutive order. They indicate the path towards true happiness and prosperity and explain how to walk along this path. They can be compared to a heavenly staircase or a blueprint of a elaborate house of good deeds.

The reason for the Beatitudes is that every person without exception, has been harmed by sin and is therefore poor and sad. The tragedy of the fall of Adam and Eve is a tragedy for all of humanity. Sin darkens the mind, weakens and entraps the will, squeezes the heart of man with sadness and depression. Therefore every sinner feels himself helpless, and at the same time, does not understand that this is the reason for his sadness. In his suffering he is prepared to lay fault at everyone else’s feet and blame life’s circumstances. The first of the Beatitudes makes the correct diagnosis: the reason for this feeling of dissatisfaction is rooted in his own spiritual illness .

Our Lord Jesus Christ came to this world to heal mankind. He calls us all to turn to God, to enter His Heavenly Kingdom of eternal joy. For mankind, the call of Christ sounds like the voice of a loving Father, who calls his lost son to return home. And when man returns to God, he does not come with a bag of good deeds or a rich assortment of talents that he has attained, but rather he comes as a poor prodigal son, who has squandered all his inheritance.

The first of the Beatitudes calls on man to understand his spiritual illness and to turn to God for help. This is an extremely difficult step! It is not easy for the “prodigal son” to come to his senses, realize his own mistake and inability to start his return journey. For this reason, just for his personal desire, just for the good beginning man is promised a great reward: “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs in the Kingdom of Heaven.” It is notable that the fall of man began with his prideful desire to compare himself to God (“You will be as gods”-promises the devil to our forefathers, Gen. 3:5), so the regeneration of man begins with his humble recognition of his own helplessness.

To be poor in spirit does not mean that you are materially poor or spiritually inept. It means that someone who is “poor in spirit” can actually be a very rich or very talented person. Poorness of spirit – this is a humbleness of thoughts which stems from an honest realisation of your own lack of perfection. At the same time, Christian humility is not a demonstration of pessimism or hopelessness. It is in fact, a total reliance on God’s mercy, on the real opportunity to improve. This reliance is interspersed with a joyous hope that with His help we will become pleasing to God as His children and doers of good deeds.

The understanding of a believer of his own inadequacy and sinfulness almost always expresses itself in a general repentant mood – one of rejection of the past misdeeds and a firm intention to improve. Heartfelt repentance is frequently accompanied by tears, which hold great spiritual power. After this type of repentance, the sinner feels a certain lightness, as if a mountain has fallen from his shoulders. To this kind of heartfelt repentance we are called in the Second of the Beatitudes, which says: “ Blessed are they who mourn (or, weep) for they shall be comforted. ”

When the soul of the sinner is cleansed of sins, there comes a inner harmony – which is a general order of thoughts, feelings and wants/needs. The previous irritation and frustrated anger is replaced by a feeling of peace and quiet joy. A person with this kind of feeling no longer wants to argue or fight with someone. He would rather accept defeat in some kind of worldly affair, than lose the peace in his soul. In this way, repentance raises the Christian to the third spiritual level of – meekness: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Of course, sometimes evil thinking people abuse the meekness of Christians. They make use of the chance to cheat, or insult or take away something from them. God offers comfort to those Christians who put their hope in the fact that their life in the future, the after-life, will be much better, much greater than anything they could lose here to evil people. If not in this life, then in the after-life, justice will definitely triumph and the meek , as is promised, with inherit the “earth” – ie. All the good things in the renewed world, or earth, in which only Truth will abide.

In this way, the first three commandments of the Beatitudes, that call man to a humble interaction with God through repentance and meekness, lay the foundation on which the house of his good Christian deeds will be built.

In this way, the first three commandments of the Beatitudes, that call man to a humble interaction with God through repentance and meekness, lay the foundation on which the house of his good Christian deeds will be built.

The desire to attain this state of blessedness can be compared to this next phrase related to the construction of the “Walls” of the “House of good deeds”. Having used the words “thirsting and hungering”, the Lord gives us an understanding that our desire for blessedness should not be lukewarm, or passive, but, instead, it should be energetic, active. Indeed, a hungry person does not just think of food, he puts all his energies into fulfill his hunger. Only through an active desire toward doing good deeds can we attain this blessedness, and as stated in this commandment of the Beatitudes, “be filled”.

Entering the fourth level of good deeds, the person already has a considerable amount of spiritual experience. Having received forgiveness of his sins from God, his conscience at peace and having joy of being returned as a Son, the Christian has now personally experienced God’s great Love. This Love warms his heart with reciprocal love for God and compassion toward the rest of mankind. In other words, the Christian becomes good, merciful and through this climbs onto the next wrung, the fifth level of Good, Mercy: “ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. ”

The commandment of Mercy is so all-encompassing! Mercy must be expressed not only through material assistance, but also in the forgiveness of others, in visiting the sick, in comforting the sorrowing, in giving good advice, in saying a kind word, in prayer for a close one and in much, much else. Literally every day, we are given many opportunities to help people around us. In the majority of cases, this is a whole set of small and minor incidents. But the spiritual wisdom of a Christian is rooted in the ability not to ignore those “small and minor” deeds for the sake of being ready for a so-called “great” deed some time in the future. Great plans often are left unfulfilled. Minor deeds in their collective sum total toward the end of life result in a considerable spiritual capital.

Active love cleanses the depths of the human heart to such an extent from self-love and brings him closer to God, that all of his soul is transformed from this spiritual light. The Christian starts to sense the presence of Grace, already in this life almost seeing God with his spiritual eyes. At this point the soul of the Christian can be likened to a lake that has grown over with grass from years of neglect, has become murky with slime, and then, having been totally cleansed, has transformed, has become a crystal clear lake through which light now penetrates to its very depths.