This week I’ve been thinking a lot about what the Beatitudes might have to say to us, here in Manhattan, Kansas, and now, just a few days before the midterm elections. Because, I don’t know about you, but I’m getting really tired of all the political ads, and of the bleak and hopelessly divided nation they present as a picture of us. I think we can do better than that, I think we should do better than that, because I think God certainly requires us to do better than that. And at this fraught time when we may be feeling poor in spirit, Jesus comforts us in the Beatitudes with a better picture, a picture of who we can be and the world we can create, when we are more fully like him. The promises Jesus made to his disciples in first century Palestine are the same ones he makes to us today, they are the eternal promises of the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom that is already and not yet. Present because Jesus is present, and we will fully experience it, when we are fully like him.
Jesus is speaking first and foremost to his disciples as he delivers the Beatitudes, and then to those who gather around them. The disciples have already decided to follow Jesus, they have left what they knew before, given up whatever livelihood they may have had, to follow a teacher, a Messiah, who was making some bold promises. But he was also warning them of the costs, letting them know what to expect in this kingdom they were called to.
"Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
They will mourn what they lost; family members who couldn’t understand their choices, friends and community members who turned their backs on them, the previous path they might have worked so hard to set themselves on. It would be understandable to mourn these things, and Jesus promises them they will be comforted.
"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
They can’t go charging around the countryside, making demands, claiming to be better than everyone else because they are with Jesus. They’re called to be gentle, not weak, but purposefully restrained, and humble. In a world where violence prevails, where might makes right, this will look like weakness and probably like losing, but Jesus tells them, in the end, that meekness will be rewarded with more than could ever be gained by might.
"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”
As they continue to follow Jesus, they will begin to see more and more of what the world looks like through his eyes, they will see the injustice around them, and they will yearn to act on behalf of those who have been put down and cast aside. They will work to put things right, and things will be put right.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.”
They will be moved by compassion to take care of those around them, without judgement, and they themselves will experience that same steadfast care and compassion, whether or not they deserve it.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.”
Their desire for justice, their acts of mercy will come only from their love of God and not from any wish for credit or glory for themselves, and for that they will know God more intimately than they have ever known anyone.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
They will work to reconcile broken relationships in their lives, act to resolve and heal conflict around them, and as they do, people will see Jesus in them.
"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."
This won’t make any sense to those around them. They will look weak, they will probably be taken advantage of, and definitely ridiculed; because they don’t understand, but somehow feel threatened, people will tell lies about them. And Jesus says none of this will matter, because they’ll be in good company, with all the saints in heaven.
In contrast to the picture of our world that is presented to us in political ads at this time of year, this is the picture that Jesus gives us, this is what is possible when we go out into that broken, hurting, divided world around us, and for no other reason than for the love of God and one another, we build God’s kingdom. Yesterday, I had a chance to step into this picture, a picture that is truly happening all around us all of the time, but was happening in a very specific way, in Salina, Kansas. We’ve been talking for the past few months about the work that we can be a part of with the 25 other congregations that make up the Central Kansas Interfaith Justice Organization. I know many of you participated in house meetings throughout September and early October, to share stories of your concerns for our neighborhood. Yesterday, those who took part in house meetings and wanted to become more involved in justice ministry, met in Salina to vote on our priority issues for the next year. We’ll be working on affordable healthcare and on mental healthcare. We also voted on a new name, so from now on we’ll be known as Heartland United. I don’t know the official numbers yet, but I want to tell you there were over 500 people from across Central Kansas, including 23 of us from St. Paul’s. I don’t say this to pat ourselves on the back, I say it to share my excitement at the glimpse of what is possible when people who love God turn out to work for God’s justice.
We’re calling ourselves Heartland United. I know it sounds a little like a soccer team, but that word “united” is very important. We are made up of 26 congregations across different faith traditions, but we are united in our love of God and our desire to do justice. Of all the things that excite me about this justice ministry, it is that unity that excites me the most, because the world around us tells us it shouldn’t be possible.
There are, in fact, so many ways that we can reject the dominant narrative that speaks to us of scarcity, and promotes hatred and division, this justice ministry is only one example. We know that Jesus calls us to something else, to follow him, to become more like him. We are called to a kind of transformation that is represented in the Beatitudes, transformation of ourselves and of the world around us. Transformation that comes when we act with humility, when we show mercy, and when we are motivated always by our love of God to work together to make peace, and to bring justice. As we face the coming election with all of its noise and uncertainty, we can rest in the assurance that our most certain hope and calling already remains in the promise of God’s kingdom, and that no matter the result, there is yet more work to do. Amen.
Cover photo: Photo of 678 people from 26 congregations together on October 31, 2026, at a meeting to choose the first two priorities of Heartland United. https://www.facebook.com/share/p/18oFfNzpaC/