Mountaintop Manifesto

MOUNTAINTOP MANIFESTO

Matthew 4:24 So the fame of Jesus also spread throughout all Syria, and they brought him all the sick, those afflicted with various diseases and pains, those oppressed by demons, epileptics, and paralytics, and he healed them. And great crowds followed him from Galilee and the Decapolis, and from Jerusalem and Judea, and from beyond the Jordan.

On one such occasion Jesus sat with his disciples on a mountaintop and from there he began to teach the crowd that had been following him about what are called the Beatitudes, which means blessings – the blessings of being deeply fulfilled in soul and spirit. This teaching of Jesus is also known as ‘The Sermon on the Mount’.
Today I’m calling that Sermon on the Mount the ‘Mountaintop Manifesto’
A manifesto is a proclamation of a grand intention that states where we have come from and where we are and the plan to get where we are going.
Jesus starts the manifesto with the words; “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:2).

Life was difficult for the people who lived under the harsh Roman rule that governed their lives in those regions around Judea and from beyond the Jordan. They were mostly very needy people and many were poor and sick and infirm and had no real hope of fulfillment in life except for perhaps a faint and distant promise of a coming Messiah. Jesus wanted to give these ordinary lives the dignity and meaning and satisfaction in life that they had been created for, and to bring a spiritual fulfillment that they had never dreamed of.

He came to change the pitiful state they were in and to turn it upside down for them, and not only for those who heard him speak that day, but for all people everywhere and for all time, through being given entrance into his Heavenly Kingdom that would dwell within them in the here and now of their daily lives, and that new way of living would commence after his death and resurrection. Jesus had a wonderful plan to set all of these people into his Heavenly family with his Father and the Holy Spirit, and in his eyes they were already his brothers and sisters in that Heavenly family and so his heart was filled with compassion and with a magnificent hope of what his love was going to achieve for them. 
 
However, he knew that the words of blessing that he was about to speak over them would be difficult for them to comprehend and as being beyond the realm of possibility, so he began to speak to their self-image of poverty and lowliness and to lift them into a place of blessed hope. And he began to teach the people, saying:

Matthew 5:2 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

I want to take these blessings one by one and expand on their message of blessed fulfilment of soul and spirit.

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus chooses the lowest standing of human spiritual experience, that of poverty which reflects an attitude of neediness and scarcity and even destitution, and he offers the greatest of all possible blessing and benefit – that of possession of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus bestows his Kingdom with all its order and authority and wholeness and love and provision to enrich the spiritual lives of all who believe, no matter to what depth of poverty they have sunk. And Jesus made this promise to all of us. For all those there who heard that promise this would have been almost beyond belief, but Jesus spoke a powerful truth that day, one that he continues to speak to us in these days.

 
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

The pain of deep personal loss is very hard for another person to share in because they cannot undo that loss for us. We cannot be told to cheer up or get over it or to ‘move on’.
There is only one thing we need at that time – and that is to be comforted.  These people had lived with loss and grief…We can ably comfort someone at those times with grace and sensitivity, and sometimes with a quiet presence that stills the heart. But the ‘Comforter’ the Holy Spirit can come into our loss in such a perfect way that only he can at those times because he knows exactly what kind of comfort we need and his embrace can give us comfort like we have never found before.
The decease of a loved one brings a grief that is mingled with hope in the sense that the person we have lost has not ceased to exist and it is a matter of time till we meet again, and all will not only be well but be perfect.

“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. (Meek – praus - gentleness of spirit)

The gentle spirit of the meek doesn’t aggressively assert its rights over the rights of other people but knows that what is truly due to them will come to them in God’s way and in God’s time.   
There is great peace in being able to say ‘Thank You for what I have’. where you can find contentment in who you are and what you have, no more, no less. There is great peace in being able to say ‘I have enough, and God will supply what I don’t have.’ That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought with money.

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

Life takes on new meaning when you get a hunger deep inside of you to know God. This is what fulfils a life. We can compare the difference between an inner hunger and an outer hunger. The empty feeling of an outer hunger leads to a person eating anything they can find and that’s not always the most healthy food to choose and can lead to health problems. An inner hunger is an emotional and spiritual kind of emptiness that is only satisfied by relationships of mutual blessing where each person desires to bless the other, just as God desires to bless us and where we are also able to bless God. 

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

Up to this point Jesus has been talking about the blessings that would come from God to them – for their own personal blessing. But now he begins to speak to them about how these blessings could begin to flow out from them, to bless other people.

He tells us we are blessed when we care and have mercy, because at the moment of being caring, we find ourselves being cared for, as caring and showing mercy sets up the divine flow that draws God’s care and mercy from Heaven to us and through us to others. 

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

When we get the inner world of our heart put right with attitudes of faith and love and truth we will see God in our outside world in the things that happen to us and in the people we come across – and they will see God in us. We will see meaning and purpose even in things that are contrary because God is working out all things for our best. This is a measure of our growth in faith and trust in the fact that God is always acting on our behalf for his goodwill to come to pass in those people and situations in our world that we bring before him in prayer.

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

At this point Jesus now lifts them into becoming co-laborers with him in building up the family of God, the family he has brought us into as his brothers and sisters.
Peacemakers know their place in God’s family, and they help others to find their place in God's family. Peacemakers help people to agree and cooperate instead of competing or fighting. This is the gift of grace that sees past the differences that exist between one individual and another – in personality, and background, and ways of thinking and acting, and to be inclusive instead of exclusive.  We may be different to each other in hundreds of ways, but we are one in Spirit. Paul writes from prison to the Ephesian Church and says;
Ephesians 4:1 therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.
We have been given gifts by God that are uniquely designed and made to measure for each one of us to express the love and power and truth of the Holy Spirit that we might bless one another. We celebrate that unity whenever we gather together, no matter how few or how many we are and that is one of the greatest ways we can bless The Lord who celebrates that love and unity along with us.