The Beatitudes: Blessed are the pure in heart: for they will see God. (5:8)
I am continuing to act on my inspiration from Michael Longley who in a conversation with Krista Tippett on the NPR program “On Being” referred to Jesus “as a proto-socialist.” He went on to say, “And the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, are as good a system to live by as any that I am think of.” Because of that inspiration I have been revisiting the Beatitudes. Today I want to focus on: Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
In some ways I have always thought of this the simplest of the Beatitudes and, yet, upon reflection it may be the most confusing. All of them are worded such that the goal is unattainable but yet, I get the sense that Jesus never forget that we are human and, thus, can only approximate the goals. This one seems even less attainable that the others. All of us know from personal experience that it is impossible for humans to be pure in heart. The Greek work used here is katharòs which can also be translated as without admixture or we could say the absence of impurity. Which one of us can say that our hearts are completely without any unkind, impatient, lustful, jealous, or other negative thoughts? Certainly we can grow into a spiritual space which is more intentional about being the person which Jesus herein describes. Yet, we will not approach the purity with we attribute to our concept of God. We know the heart is the symbolic spiritual center of our being. The Greek work is kardia which is seen as the center of life for all animals. If we want to know if someone is dead, we do our best to determine if there is any sign of a pulse. If not, we determine that the person is dead or else the pulse is so weak that death is imminent. As such the heart becomes the symbol for our willingness to, in humility, love. We talk of opening our heart to allow ourselves to be loved as well as allowing ourselves to love. My understanding is that the Buddha would say that to be pure of heart requires that we open our hearts to unconditionally loving and accepting our own humanness including how that humanness is reflected in others. Opening our hearts is not a destination but a process which is never ending.
The third part of this Beatitude talks of seeing God. In the Old Testament in Exodus 33.20 and then again in John 1:18 and 1 John 4:12 one reads “No one has seen God at any time.” Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said when asked if he saw God on his journey, “There was only light, how could I see Him?”
Yet, here in this sermon Jesus tells us that the pure in heart will see God. Does He mean that the pure in heart will see God when they finish with this earthly journey or is he merely restating that it is impossible for us in this life journey to see God because we will not attain purity of heart?
Perhaps Jesus is simply reminding us that it is only in the complete purity that we can fully experience the light which the Prophet Muhammad talks about. If God is indeed light in this journey we will only approximate the purity of the light - the heart of what is the essence of the part of us which is divine.
Perhaps I and other theologians read much too much into this simple statement. Pope Francis during his visit to Sweden on All Saints Day 2016 proposed the following informal modern rendition of the Beatitudes.
1. "Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils inflicted on them by others and forgive them from their heart."
2. "Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them their closeness.”
3. "Blessed are those who see God in every person and strive to make others also discover him."
4. "Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home."
5. "Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others."
6. "Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians."
These seem very attainable and more in keeping with how Jesus is reported to have treated people. At times the disciples did not understand why he would be treating other “obvious” sinners with such unconditional love even though it was not apparent that they had renounced their sinful way.
Surely all of us can envision opening our hearts just a tiny bit more each day; can accept in all humility our own humanness and, thus, the humanness of all others. In this way we inch closer to purity of heart and the light which is God.
Written November 10, 2016
I am continuing to act on my inspiration from Michael Longley who in a conversation with Krista Tippett on the NPR program “On Being” referred to Jesus “as a proto-socialist.” He went on to say, “And the Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes, are as good a system to live by as any that I am think of.” Because of that inspiration I have been revisiting the Beatitudes. Today I want to focus on: Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.
In some ways I have always thought of this the simplest of the Beatitudes and, yet, upon reflection it may be the most confusing. All of them are worded such that the goal is unattainable but yet, I get the sense that Jesus never forget that we are human and, thus, can only approximate the goals. This one seems even less attainable that the others. All of us know from personal experience that it is impossible for humans to be pure in heart. The Greek work used here is katharòs which can also be translated as without admixture or we could say the absence of impurity. Which one of us can say that our hearts are completely without any unkind, impatient, lustful, jealous, or other negative thoughts? Certainly we can grow into a spiritual space which is more intentional about being the person which Jesus herein describes. Yet, we will not approach the purity with we attribute to our concept of God. We know the heart is the symbolic spiritual center of our being. The Greek work is kardia which is seen as the center of life for all animals. If we want to know if someone is dead, we do our best to determine if there is any sign of a pulse. If not, we determine that the person is dead or else the pulse is so weak that death is imminent. As such the heart becomes the symbol for our willingness to, in humility, love. We talk of opening our heart to allow ourselves to be loved as well as allowing ourselves to love. My understanding is that the Buddha would say that to be pure of heart requires that we open our hearts to unconditionally loving and accepting our own humanness including how that humanness is reflected in others. Opening our hearts is not a destination but a process which is never ending.
The third part of this Beatitude talks of seeing God. In the Old Testament in Exodus 33.20 and then again in John 1:18 and 1 John 4:12 one reads “No one has seen God at any time.” Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said when asked if he saw God on his journey, “There was only light, how could I see Him?”
Yet, here in this sermon Jesus tells us that the pure in heart will see God. Does He mean that the pure in heart will see God when they finish with this earthly journey or is he merely restating that it is impossible for us in this life journey to see God because we will not attain purity of heart?
Perhaps Jesus is simply reminding us that it is only in the complete purity that we can fully experience the light which the Prophet Muhammad talks about. If God is indeed light in this journey we will only approximate the purity of the light - the heart of what is the essence of the part of us which is divine.
Perhaps I and other theologians read much too much into this simple statement. Pope Francis during his visit to Sweden on All Saints Day 2016 proposed the following informal modern rendition of the Beatitudes.
1. "Blessed are those who remain faithful while enduring evils inflicted on them by others and forgive them from their heart."
2. "Blessed are those who look into the eyes of the abandoned and marginalized and show them their closeness.”
3. "Blessed are those who see God in every person and strive to make others also discover him."
4. "Blessed are those who protect and care for our common home."
5. "Blessed are those who renounce their own comfort in order to help others."
6. "Blessed are those who pray and work for full communion between Christians."
These seem very attainable and more in keeping with how Jesus is reported to have treated people. At times the disciples did not understand why he would be treating other “obvious” sinners with such unconditional love even though it was not apparent that they had renounced their sinful way.
Surely all of us can envision opening our hearts just a tiny bit more each day; can accept in all humility our own humanness and, thus, the humanness of all others. In this way we inch closer to purity of heart and the light which is God.
Written November 10, 2016
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