Christ the King Epiphany Church, Wilbraham

The Rev. Martha S. Sipe

February 1, 2026 / Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany

Matthew 5:1-12

I have a confession to make:  I never really liked the Beatitudes.  I know, I know – that sounds like sacrilege.  It’s one of the most famous and well-beloved passages of scripture.  But I’ve never been a fan because the Beatitudes are often interpreted as a set of prescriptions for how to be a good Christian, a set of aspirational goals for living and behavior and state-of-mind.  That’s why some people, to be clever, I guess, call them the Be-attitudes.  In my mind, the Be-attitudes sound like this:  If you are poor in spirit, that is if you have an attitude of humility, then you will be blessed in the kingdom of heaven.  If you act mercifully, then you will be blessed to receive mercy.  If you try to make peace, then you will be blessed because you will be called children of God.  They’re be-attitudes:  if you can just be this way, then you will get the reward.  

I’ve got two problems with that interpretation.  One is that it doesn’t work with all of them.  Jesus says, “Blessed are those who mourn,” and no one aspires to grief.  It also doesn’t work with “Blessed are those who are persecuted,” because no one would set out to be persecuted.  Making the Beatitudes into Be-attitudes doesn’t make sense.

But my bigger argument with the Be-attitudes is . . . warning, I’m going to use a theological term here, but I promise I’ll explain . . . the Be-attitudes smack of works righteousness.  Pardon, my Lutheranism is showing.  Works righteousness says that I, by my own works, my own efforts, can get myself into heaven.  I, by my own good deeds, can make God love me more.  I, by having the right attitude – by being poor in spirit, and sad, and meek, and hungry for righteousness, and merciful, and pure in heart – by having the right attitude, I will obtain a blessing.  And that, my friends, is just a lie.  Works righteousness does not work.  God doesn’t play by transactional rules – if I do this, God will give me that.  No, it doesn’t work that way.  God blesses us by grace – overwhelmingly extravagant and one-sided love.  It’s got nothing to do with our efforts, our good deeds, or our righteous attitudes.  End of theological tirade!  ;-)

But just because I want to throw out the Be-attitudes, doesn’t mean that the Beatitudes don’t have exceedingly good news for us.  Because when we stop thinking of Jesus’ words as rules for how to live a good life we can begin to see them as statements of where God is and what God is already doing when life seems to be falling apart.  Jesus’ words remind me that wherever I am, whatever I’m going through, how ever much it feels like the world is just mucked up beyond belief, he is with me in the muck, continuing to bless me by his presence.

This is certainly what I need to hear in these difficult days:

• That when I’m feeling poor in spirit, that I just can’t take any more of the brutality of this world, Jesus is right there with me.
• That when I’m grieving a person, or a place, or even grieving that I no longer feel like I know who we are in this country, Jesus has not abandoned me.
• That when I’m meek, when I’m humble, when I admit that I don’t have answers for all of life’s questions, the One who does have the answers remains by my side.
• That when I’m hungry for justice, true justice for all and not just for some, Jesus joins me in that hunger and is working to satisfy it.
• That when I struggle to be merciful, to be pure in heart, to see even my enemies as those who are also beloved of God, the Beloved One will empower that love.
• That when I’m praying for peace, the Prince of Peace is near.
• That when it feels like the whole world is against me and everything I believe, Jesus has still got my back.
• 
  

This week, Bishop Fisher shared some words from his colleague, the bishop of Minnesota, the Rt. Rev. Craig Loyola.  He wrote, in part:

The greatest danger we face right now is not the very real threat to our safety.  It’s not even the erosion of democracy.  The greatest threat we face as a nation is the assault being waged on hope.  We must not give in to despair.  We must not be consumed by the very justified anger we feel.  The only way hatred can be effectively resisted is doubling down on love.  The only way darkness can be defeated is light.  The only way the forces of death can be overcome is by embracing, every moment of every day, God’s unstoppable life.

God’s unstoppable life.  Life with Jesus that persists in spite of all evidence to the contrary.  To me, that’s what the Beatitudes are all about:  the message that, in spite of our weaknesses and failings, we are, all of us, blessed and beloved of God.

And then there’s only one way to respond to God’s unstoppable life and Jesus’ unfailing presence, and that is to receive the blessings with gratitude and pass them on without excluding anyone.  Because there’s enough for all.  The hymn that we’re about to sing – don’t reach for it just yet – the hymn details how I pray that we will respond, as individuals and as a family of faith, to God’s unstoppable life and Jesus’ unfailing presence.

1 Build a longer table, not a higher wall,

feeding those who hunger, making room for all.

Feasting together, stranger turns to friend,

Christ breaks walls to pieces; false divisions end.

2 Build a safer refuge, not a larger jail;

where the weak find shelter, mercy will not fail.

For any place where justice is denied,

Christ will breach the jail wall, freeing all inside

.

3 Build a broader doorway, not a longer fence.

Love protects all people, sparing no expense.

When we embrace compassion more than fear,

Christ tears down our fences: all are welcome here.

4 When we lived as exiles, refugees abroad,

Christ became our doorway to the reign of God.

So must our tables welcome those who roam.

None can be excluded; all must find a home.

None can be excluded from God’s unstoppable life.