THE BEATITUDES: HOW'S YOUR HEART?

Dr. Richard J. Henderson March 14, 2010

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Psalm 51:1-12 (responsive)
Matthew 5:7-8
Luke 10:25-37

Introduction

Two men are sitting in an adult Sunday school class. They're studying the beatitudes and the teacher gets to the sixth beatitude. He reads, "Blessed are the pure in heart" One of the men turns to his friend and whispers, "I'm glad he didn't say pure in mind!" The friend smiles and says, "Or pure in body!" They miss the point, of course, because the heart represents the center of life. The heart includes body, mind, and spirit.

But in another way maybe they are sensing what we sense. If we all make mistakes and are all sinners, how can we possibly be pure in heart? To be human, to fall short of God's will, means we aren't pure. Knowing what we are like, how can Jesus ask us to be pure in heart?

I

The word "pure" in Greek is "Katharoi." We get the word catharsis from this root word. It means pure in two ways: 1) to be clean, pure, or holy, and 2) to be undiluted, pure, focused, single-minded. Obviously the two definitions are related.

We hear Jesus' words, "Blessed are the pure in heart" and we think of a totally innocent person, an absolutely pure life. The word certainly has that connotation. Although not many of us who live in the real world would say that we were pure.

Remember when Jesus saw the men beginning to stone the woman caught in adultery? Do you recall what he said to them? "Let he who is without sin throw the first stone." The next line is fascinating: they went away, beginning with the oldest. Maybe the older we are, the more we are aware of our shortcomings.

Even the one who is ultra-pure and innocent, and proud of it, may suffer from the most difficult sin to overcome: self-righteousness. Who among us is pure?

II

The second definition of this word means pure in the sense of undiluted and single-minded. Pure in heart means that your heart is focused in only one direction. A class in a rural community church was studying the Ten Commandments and, as they studied each commandment, they made a symbol to represent what it was about. They had difficulty when they got to "Thou shalt not commit adultery." How do you represent that? In the end they pictured a large container of milk and someone pouring water into it. They pictured adultery as the diluting of something that was pure and wholesome.

The great philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, wrote a book titled, Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing. To be pure in heart is to be so focused that you want only one thing for your life, and that is God's will. This beatitude says, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God." They will see God because that is where the focus of their lives is centered. Their lives are honed in on God.

Lacking purity of heart means to be scattered, not knowing what's of value or what's right. It is to have the focus of your life blurred and confused. It is mixing together some of this and some of that.

Or lacking purity of heart may mean focusing our lives on that which is degrading or unhealthy. Impurity of heart results when what we care most about is alcohol, sex, or drugs, when the focus of our lives is success, money, being entertained, or being thought well of. We are weakened if we put these at the center of our lives. Ultimately they don't lead anywhere. It may be difficult to see God when your vision is cluttered by so many things.

Remember the story of Martha and Mary? Jesus comes to visit them and Martha immediately goes to the kitchen to begin preparing food, setting the table, getting everything ready for their special guest. Her sister, Mary, sits at Jesus' feet and listens to his teaching. Martha gets more and more furious that her lazy sister is sitting out there doing nothing while she is working her fingers to the bone. But Martha knows that Jesus is all about fairness; he can tell Mary to get out in the kitchen and help like she's supposed to.

Martha goes to Jesus and says. "I'm working out here in the kitchen alone. Tell my sister to come out here and help me." But Jesus surprises Martha by telling her that Mary has made the right choice. Here's what Jesus says, "Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things, only one thing is needed." Mary focuses on what really matters. As important as hospitality is in the Middle East, spending time with Jesus is far more important.

The pure in heart have their lives focused on God's will.

III

You may have noticed that the beatitudes are interrelated. Being poor in spirit relates to mourning and being meek. Those who hunger and thirst for what is right are poor in spirit and pure in heart. The meek and merciful have a lot in common.

An important part of being pure in heart is realizing what you've been given and offering that same good to others. Because God has shown mercy to us, we are to show mercy to others. Because God forgives us, we are to forgive other people.

Jesus tells a parable about a king settling accounts with his servants. The first one owes him Ten thousand talents, which is about $3 billion in today's money. Since he can't pay, the king orders him, his wife, children, and all of their possessions to be sold to make payment. But the servant falls down and begs for mercy. He says, "Have patience with me and I will repay you everything." You have to wonder if the king laughed out loud. You're going to repay $3 billion! But in the end the king does have mercy on him. He frees him and forgives him of his debt.

As that man is going home he comes across a fellow servant who owes him 10 denarii, or about $55. He grabs the man by the throat and demands to be paid. Using the exact same words, his fellow servant falls down on his knees, asks for mercy and tells him he will repay everything. But the servant won't forgive him and has him thrown in jail until he pays back the debt.

We don't have to look at this very carefully to see what it's saying. God forgives the enormous offenses of our lives and yet we refuse to forgive even the small affronts that someone has done to us. God pours out mercy to us; how can we withhold even the small amount of forgiveness asked of us.

IV

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. When you show mercy, you get mercy. Those who bless others with mercy will themselves be blessed with mercy. You get what you give. It reminds me of the Lord's Prayer: "Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors." Those who refuse to forgive should not be surprised when they are not forgiven. Those who don't offer mercy can hardly expect to receive mercy when they call for it.

This is something Jesus taught again and again. He said, "Judge not that you be not judged; for the measure you give will be the measure you get." What goes around comes around.

Conclusion

Jesus gave us an extravagant example of mercy in his parable of the Good Samaritan, which we read this morning. A man finds his enemy, who he is supposed to hate, lying by the road, robbed and beaten nearly to death. Rather than leave him there as others have, he offers extraordinary help. He treats his wounds, takes him to an inn, and pays all his expenses. The one he was supposed to despise, he treats with mercy and extraordinary kindness.

One of the connotations of the word mercy is a pouring out, like pouring liquid from a large pitcher. It isn't carefully dripped out or rationed; it pours, flows down, sparkles and splashes. Much of it seems to be wasted, but it all is absorbed somewhere.

Amen

© Richard J. Henderson 2010