Preaching Paths 1 February 2026

Sally A. Brown, Professor Emerita, Princeton Theological Seminary

The Beatitudes, Matthew 5:1-12,  open the three-chapter “Sermon on the Mount” in Matthew (chapters 5-7). These promises of blessing to the “poor in spirit,” the “pure in heart,” the “meek,” mourners, and “peacemakers” have been beloved to Christians down the centuries. At the end of time, says Jesus, it shall be these, and not the powerful, the shrewd, or the ruthless who shall be blessed. The reign of heaven belongs to the humble in spirit (v 1). Mourners shall be comforted (v 4), the meek “shall inherit the earth” (v 5), and peacemakers “shall be called children of God” (v 9).

As a rhetorical form, beatitudes such as these are not unique to the ministry of Jesus, nor without parallel in ancient literature.* Greek and Jewish authors, well known by Jesus’ time, produced similar lists. They pronounced “blessed” those who possessed an obedient mate, a stable home, or great virtue. In addition, Jesus’ listeners would have been familiar (as he surely was) with OT wisdom texts that appear, in fact, to declare that having many children, prosperity, and a well-laid table is evidence that one is pleasing to God. Psalm 34 and Deuteronomy 28:1-14 are striking examples. To this day, “health-and-wealth” preachers draw on these and other texts in the Hebrew Bible, promising the flock that they are “meant to be” wealthy. To reap their reward, they need only to proactively demonstrate their generosity with a large gift to the preacher.

Texts in Torah and wisdom literature linking wealth to piety were popular in Jesus’ day; thus, Jesus’ Beatitudes would have been surprising—even shocking—for his listeners. Jesus declares that it shall be the pure in heart, the meek, and the poor who shall be blessed in the coming reign of heaven. In the next chapter (6:1-17), Jesus shall decry the ostentatious public piety of Jerusalem’s wealthy elite. It shall be the humble poor, who hunger not for wealth or luxury, but for righteousness (read: justice), who shall be most blessed at the last. Here, as elsewhere in the gospels, Jesus directly challenges the assumption, widespread in his day, that sickness and poverty signified hidden sin.

A good sermon can recover for 21^st century listeners the shocking reversal of taken-for-granted norms that the Beatitudes assert. One might begin by asking listeners whether they have dreamed of being more wealthy, of no longer lying awake at 3 AM fretting over how to pay for the children’s education or have the means to retire. Then we might point to the abundance of “wisdom” only a click away on our digital screens: pop-ups (stuffed with advertising) that disclose “the seven habits of the world’s most successful people” or “six easy steps to being a millionaire by age 30.” Then, after a pause, one might pair particular verses in today’s text with stories of specific persons of faith whose lives were characterized by humility, and even hardship. (Representative stories are always more compelling than sweeping generalities). Lives of the saints are a rich resource for such stories; but congregations may have, in their own histories, stories of humble saints. Finally, who are the meek, the humble, the poor, the peacemakers, those who hunger and thirst for justice in our own time and place? Perhaps only in coming alongside them shall we taste the blessedness of the reign of God.  

*See Mark Moore, “The Beatitudes: Is There Anything New Here?” https://markmoore.org/index_htm_files/Beatitudes.pdf.