Feb 2 2014 4th Sunday after Epiphany

Matthew  5:1-12

1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
 He said:
   3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
   for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
   for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
   for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
   for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
   for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
   for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
   for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
   11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

 “Finding Happiness”

Sermon on the Mount is not a do it yourself guide to happiness.  The Beatitudes describe how it is with happy people, not how to become happy.  How it is with those who have discovered the gift of happiness in the process of living.

Happiness is something we all desire, live for, seek out and desperately want.
Yet happiness is not something we can possess, take, create.

Happiness is a serendipity -”the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.”
It is a gift, a byproduct, a consequence of our living.  To pursue it is to miss it.

“Faces along the bar,
  Cling to their average day;
The lights must never go out.
  The music must always play.
Lest we should see who we are,
  Lost in a haunted woods;
Children afraid of the night,
  Who have never been happy or good.”  (Auden)

Happiness is wholeness from the inside out.  It comes from within when we come clean with ourselves and stop playing games.  It is born in true confession which opens our eyes to see what we otherwise couldn’t see, hear what we couldn’t hear, believe what we couldn’t believe.

It also comes by losing oneself in usefulness.  Happiness is found outside ourselves.
It is living for more then my own happiness.  It is being caught up in that which makes others happy.

Happiness is a gift.  Happiness is found in giving the gift.  It is to live by grace and to be a graceful person. Happy people are good people to be around.  Their happiness is contagious and it creates more happiness, for them as well as for others.

This is what the Sermon on the Mount is describing for us in words which are beautiful beyond words.