September 29, 2012
Title: Week 4 — Blessed are the Aching Visionaries and Those who wear Folly as their Cloak
Series: The King’s Speech
We continue our journey in The King’s Speech (Sermon on the Mount). Last week, we cast an overall vision for what these eight pronouncements of blessing, known as the Beatitudes, really are. We talked about how “blessed” is describing a current state of being, a present state of happiness and good fortune, and how it affirms a quality of spirituality that is already present. Jesus is describing a present reality of happiness in the midst of various circumstances whether they be poverty of spirit, mourning, or meekness. The people of the Beatitudes are fortunate in the here-and-now because they live in the assurance that God’s promises are being fulfilled, in part in the present and in the fullness in the future. God is not cutting deals with us or even making promises, but rather He is exploring the transformed reality of his kingdom as it breaks forth into the hearts and lives of his faithful people. We have seen what “poor in spirit” means, and now we encounter “mourning” and “meekness.” The domineering, the aggressive, the harsh, and the tyrannical are often those who attempt to own the earth by establishing their own little kingdoms. But Jesus says the kingdom, comfort, and the land belong to those who mourn and are meek. What does this mean?