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."
Sermon by the Rev. Carole Horton-Howe
On this All Saints day, I’m reminded that there are a couple volumes that the church publishes that relate to our celebration today. One is called “Holy Women Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints” and another, companion volume is called “A Great Cloud of Witnesses.” Both of these are several inches thick and rich with the stories of saints, with prayers and readings from Holy Scripture for each of them. They are arranged by date, by their feast day, so there is a someone to celebrate and a story to take in virtually every day of the year. If you are a book nerd like me, and if a good time for you is just sitting down with a dictionary or encyclopedia and turning the pages to peruse whatever is there – you’ll love “Holy Women Holy Men” and “A Great Cloud of Witnesses.”
These are our spiritual ancestors, our inspiration. And it is their stories we honor and celebrate today. Their stories begin within the Beatitudes. You don’t have to read too many of their stories to see that they universally begin within the heart of God. They are the poor in spirit, the meek, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted.
And their story is how they persevered, how in spite of it all, they moved through life focused on their love of God and God’s love for them. The saints are real-life examples of people who put those radical teachings into practice. They give us hope and a path to follow.
The Beatitudes are some of those verses that are familiar not just to church goers but in the wider culture as well. The Monty Python crew wrote into the script of “Life of Brian” lines like “blessed are the cheesemakers.” And it works because most 21st century folks hearing that recognize them as a play on what Jesus said. This is highly ironic since in the world of Matthew’s gospel, the Beatitudes were not familiar pearls of wisdom. Quite the contrary. The original audience would have been astonished at the words and ideas they were hearing from Jesus. The folks that Jesus was talking to that day were on the margins of society, a bunch of nobodies from the world’s perspective. But Jesus claimed that something surprising was starting and it was starting with them.
He starts by telling them, “Blessed are the poor and spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. What does that mean? Jesus was talking about a new kind of reality. From the crowd’s perspective, there’s is a world of violence and corruption where might makes right. But for Jesus, there was a realm where generosity reigns, where there's justice and peace, a world where love is the final word. He was telling them about God's heavenly reality, that heaven was coming to earth beginning with these people.
This crowd is made up of people who knew scriptures, who knew the fate of the prophets. They also knew that God promised that it would be through them given as a light to the world that God’s Kingdom would be restored over all the world.
There are a few different interpretations of the Hebrew word that the NRSV gives us as “blessed are you.” Some believe it’s best translated as “very happy” are you or “flourishing” are you, even “you’ve chosen the right path.” Perhaps one of those resonates with you more than the others. Whichever translation you prefer, these eight Beatitudes define a life aligned with God and God’s grace rather than worldly power, status of self-protection.
To be poor in spirit is to let go of ego by practicing active listening, admitting when you are wrong, and not tying your self-worth purely to career or possessions.
To mourn is to empathize with your own and the personal pain of others, with global pain without rushing past grief or numbing yourself to the suffering of others.
To be meek is to choose quiet strength, patience, and self-control instead of aggressive self-assertion or trying to win every argument.
To hunger and thirst for righteousness is to pursue fairness, truth, and God’s will in your community, workplace, and relationships.
To be merciful is to let go of grudges, offer genuine forgiveness, and show compassion to people who cross you.
To be pure in heart is to living with single-minded honesty, integrity, and undivided loyalty to what is good and true.
To be a peacemaker is to step directly into family arguments, social divisions, or workplace stress to build bridges and restore calm.
To be persecuted for righteousness sake is to hold steady to your values and kindness even when people mock, push back, or misunderstand you.
Now because we are hearing Matthew’s gospel this year, we have the Beatitudes from Matthew today. But I actually prefer the version from Luke. I prefer Luke’s version which is broader and speaks to how our lives are complicated. It adds a section of warning, “woe to you.”
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
‘Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.
‘Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.
‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.
But then there is the beauty of Luke’s version. Because for those who most recognize themselves in these “woe to you” verses, he gives them a way back, a path or redemption:
27 ‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. 31 Do to others as you would have them do to you.
In the stories of the saints, you see how easy it is to relate to them. They are mostly normal people living average lives – trying to get through the day, the excitement and the repetitive, mundane parts of life. Something happens to them – something extraordinary. A joy, a sorrow, a tragedy, a poverty of spirit - something that takes them out of their normal life, some moment where they can’t stay where they are, some moment where that have to make a choice.
And here’s what they invariably have in common: in making that choice, they turn towards God. In that moment they turn to God in need of God’s power to save, comfort, to strengthen. And they never turn back. From them on, their focus is on God. This isn’t always easy. But they don’t go back to their old lives. They keep striving for God. Because that’s where they are their best selves. Saints are not distant figures with supernatural superpowers; they are ordinary people who refused to let bitterness, greed, or violence sour their compassion. They show us what the Beatitudes look like in work clothes. Saints remind us that holiness isn’t reserved for a mystical elite; it blossoms in daily faithfulness—responding to difficulties with mercy and to emptiness with trust in God.
Such responses are not confined to the saints and beloved in the volumes of Holy Women Holy Men. There are saints among us. Look around. We’re surrounded by saints. Maybe the Church’s Commission on Liturgy and Music hasn’t gotten the word, but they’re among us.
If you take calculus at St. Francis High School in La Canada you’ll have to be in Mr. O’Connor’s class. Nobody looks forward to being in Mr. O’Connor’s class. When his students were interviewed about him and asked, “does the word love come to mind?” not a single student thought that was accurate. The truth was that Mr. O’Connor can be kind of a drudge. He tells them things like, “you don’t know what you’re doing.”
Mr. O’Connor shared his thoughts on teaching and learning in a recent interview: “it drives me crazy when people say that school should be fun. You can’t make school fun.” The 70-year-old Viet Nam vet says, “I’m not here to entertain anyone.” The students thought that’s all there was to know about Mr. O’Connor -- until a student named Pat volunteered to head up a student blood drive and went to a meeting at Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles.
Whenever he told someone he as a student at St. Francis, they would immediately say, “Oh you must know Jim O’Connor. Isn’t he wonderful?” Pat had no reply. Out of both disbelief and politeness he didn’t argue. But he started to understand why they said that when he found a plaque inside the blood donor center listing all the top donors including the record holder – Jim O’Connor.
Then he learned something even more astounding: when Mr. O’Connor isn’t torturing kids with calculus problems, he’s on a whole different mission: cuddling sick babies. Three days a week for the past 20 years, Jim O’Connor has come to the NICU to hold, feed, walk and comfort tiny babies. Nurses there know that when Jim takes a baby in his arms, it will quiet, relax and fall asleep with him. Jim has no kids of his own, but he has fallen hard for these babies. “I just like them and relate to them somehow,” he says. I don’t want them to be alone. I’m not a tough guy – but don’t tell my students.”
Sometimes you think you know someone but you don’t have the slightest idea. They did find out, though. Once Pat let the other students know about Mr. O’Connor’s softer, saintly side, he saw him in a new way. “I always respected him,” Pat says. “But now it’s at a new level. I want to be like him. He’s the epitome of a man of service.”
True holiness isn’t by flashy miracles, public fame, or religious talk. It’s more about habitual virtues like patience, humility, forgiveness and love. It’s not perfection but is grounded in practical signs of holiness in daily. That’s what we celebrate to today – saints in our history, saints among us and our desire in turning towards God to be like them, to do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Amen.
