Blessed Are You

Gospel

THE HOLY GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

ACCORDING TO MATTHEW

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying: "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. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

MATTHEW 5:1-12

Sermon: The Rev. Dr. Maryann Amor

Have you ever felt poor in spirit? Had a moment in your life when your heart was broken—when you felt empty or hopeless, as though there was no strength left inside of you.

Have you ever been in mourning? You lost someone you loved and weren’t sure how to move forward in a world that suddenly felt unfamiliar without them.

Have you ever felt meek—not gentle, but pressed down? As though the weight of life was crushing you, overpowering you, shrinking you into a smaller version of who you once were.

Have you ever hungered and thirsted for righteousness? Seeing the pain and injustice in the world and longing—deeply—for things to be made right, for suffering to end.

Have you ever been merciful? Aware of the struggles of friends, family members, or even strangers, and wishing you could take away their pain.

Have you ever tried to be a peacemaker? Reaching out when relationships were breaking apart—simply listening, offering presence when there were no easy answers.

Have you ever been dismissed, mocked, or misunderstood for caring, for giving, for standing up for what you believed was right?

If any of these questions resonated with you, you are not alone. Most of us could answer yes—once, twice, or many times.

Today’s Gospel gives us Jesus speaking the Beatitudes—that familiar series of “blessed are…” statements. And for many people, this passage can feel uncomfortable. It is often heard as a kind of checklist: a list of qualities we are supposed to achieve in order to receive God’s blessing. And that can feel heavy, because if we’re honest, we don’t always see ourselves as pure of heart, strong in faith, or good enough. And so we might quietly decide, maybe I’m not blessed after all.

But that reading doesn’t actually fit what Jesus is doing here.

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus sees the crowds and then goes up the mountain, where he gathers his disciples. This is the very beginning of Jesus’ teaching ministry in Matthew and it is directed specifically toward the disciples, the ones who will go out into the world to represent him. The crowds are nearby and likely overhear what Jesus is saying, but this teaching is forming the vision of the disciples. In other words, Jesus is using the Beatitudes to shape how the disciples will interpret those they meet as they carry out his mission.

As Jesus speaks, he uses the plural form throughout. He is not talking about individuals, but about groups of people—types of people—especially those the world tends to overlook or dismiss. And importantly, Jesus does not say, “Blessed are you if you are poor in spirit,” or “Blessed are you if you mourn.” There are no conditions here. He simply declares: “Blessed are…” Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are those who mourn. Blessed are the meek.

Jesus is not handing out requirements for blessing. He is naming where blessing already exists.

What Jesus is teaching his disciples is this: as you go out to build the kingdom of God, do not meet people with a list of things they must do in order to receive God’s blessing. Do not act as gatekeepers of God’s holiness. Instead, learn to recognize that God’s blessing is already present—already at work—in people’s lives, even and especially in places of pain, loss, and struggle.

This does not mean that suffering is good, or that injustice doesn’t matter. Jesus is not saying that people must endure hardship in order to be blessed. Instead, he is saying that God is often closest to us precisely when life feels most fragile...when we mourn, when we are beaten down, when our spirits feel poor.

When we hear the Beatitudes this way, they become deeply life-giving. Because as we find ourselves in each of the statements, we are reminded that we are already blessed. When we are at our lowest, God has not stepped away from us, we are not failing spiritually...instead, in these places, God is with us, God is blessing us.

God’s blessing, then, is not something we earn by behaving correctly or believing perfectly. It is not a reward for praying often or attending church regularly. It is a gift that comes before understanding, before obedience, and even before faith. Blessedness is God’s presence with us as we are, right now, in our brokenness.

And if this is true for us, then it must also be true for others. As followers of Jesus today, we are called to see the world through the same lens Jesus gives his disciples in Matthew. We are called to recognize that the kingdom of God is already present in those we encounter: in people who have never set foot in a church, in people who do not share our beliefs, in people who are struggling, angry, grieving, or searching. They are not outside God’s care. They are already held within it.

Imagine how our lives, our church, and our world might change if we truly believed this—if we trusted that blessing is already at work in us and in those around us. Blessing would no longer be something to earn, but something to recognize; not something to guard, but something to witness. Our faith would become less about maintaining an institution and more about living the way Jesus calls us to live: turned outward, attentive to others, and rooted in love beyond these walls.

Today, as we hear the familiar Beatitudes, we are reminded that these words are not conditions to be met, but truths to be received. They describe a reality that is true for all of us gathered here—and for those beyond these walls. Jesus proclaims to us that in our grief, in our longing, in our vulnerability—in every question that opened this sermon and echoed quietly in our hearts—God is already there. We are already blessed. So let us go out and live in this truth: grounded in our own blessedness, and attentive to the blessedness already present in others. Amen.