Sermon: Beatitudes of a Wholly Heart

Beatitudes of a Wholly Heart
Proverbs 14:20-21; Psalm 24: 1-6; Matthew 5: 7-8
by Rev. Carson Overstreet
Van Wyck Presbyterian Church
February 19, 2017

The poor are disliked even by their neighbors,
but the rich have many friends.
Those who despise their neighbors are sinners,
but happy are those who are kind to the poor. - Proverbs 14: 20-21

The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,
the world, and those who live in it;
for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.

Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the Lord,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. - Psalm 24: 1-6

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. - Matthew 5: 7-8

I am intrigued by the way in which each of Jesus’ beatitudes informs the others. Each blessing builds upon the next. I hope you are beginning to see that connection as well. Last week our sermon on the beatitudes for the meek and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness ended with God nudging us and even disturbing us to remember our highest calling: to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves, no matter the distance.

Pastor and author Fredrick Buechner says it this way:

In the Christian sense, love is not primarily an emotion but an act of the will. When Jesus tells us to love our neighbors, he is not telling us to love them in the sense of responding to them with a cozy emotional feeling. On the contrary, he is telling us to love our neighbors in the sense of being willing to work for their well-being even if it means sacrificing our well-being to that end.

This is at the heart of Jesus’ beatitude for those who show mercy. Now mercy is at the heart of God’s character. Even as Israel did not live in faithful obedience to God, the Lord upheld his covenant love saying, “Because your God is a merciful God, he will neither abandon you nor destroy you” (Deuteronomy 4:31).

In turn God’s mercy goes ahead of us to reveal how we are to live by God’s covenant example to not abandon or forsake others. We are to love mercifully as God has already mercifully loved us.

What is at stake for living out God’s mercy is remembering that we are tethered to our Creator and all God’s children through the gift of relationships. The tether of God’s steadfast and covenant love holds us accountable to honor the image of God in everyone, particularly those on the margins.

As Jesus holds the least of these at the heart of his ministry we can hear his teaching on mercy building from the wisdom of Proverbs, “Those who despise their neighbors are sinners, but happy – blessed – are those who are kind – the Hebrew actually says ‘merciful’ – to the poor” (Proverbs 14:21).

The merciful are those who sense God’s loyal and steadfast love guiding them. Therefore faith is lived one day at a time following God’s lead to offer acts of compassion to work for our neighbors’ sense of well-being.

Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy” (Matthew 5:7). The merciful are blessed by receiving God’s permanent joy for offering kindness to the poor and the least.

Adam is a young adult who lives in Marin City, California. Each time he walked into the coffee shop on the corner he noticed a young man who appeared to be homeless. One day Adam found the courage to ask the young man his name, which he learned is Tarec. And then Adam asked Tarec to sit with him at the table to share a lunch together.

As the two began to talk Adam learned that Tarec was born and raised in Jamaica. When Tarec was a kid, he dreamt of being a famous football (soccer) player. He was recruited to play in school but never got the opportunity because of some trouble he got into as a teenager. He moved to the States eight years ago and has spent the last 12 months living in a tent by the side of the freeway.

Tarec goes days without eating, sometimes just living off of the berries he picks. He spends 90% of his time alone. He has no friends or family in the States. Tarec shared it had been a month since he bathed. After their lunch Adam brought Tarec back to his apartment so he could enjoy a hot shower. Adam began to sympathize with Tarec’s situation and wondered, “How can you fill out an application when you haven't eaten or bathed in days?”

Adam felt compelled to give Tarec a hand up and sacrifice his time. He offered to drive Tarec around town the next week to fill out applications and even speak on his behalf to help him get a job. But before they could even begin job searching, Adam bought Tarec a new shirt and slacks. Adam was blown away at the immediate change in Tarec’s demeanor. His smile was radiant; he stood up straighter, and even walked with some swagger.

As they went to various stores to ask for job applications, they were told to fill them out online. Tarec does not have a computer so Adam took him to the local library. The experience gave Adam a new perspective as he watched Tarec struggle with the online process; how easily we take computer literacy for granted.

There is no way Tarec would have been able to do any of this without Adam’s help. Adam commented, “There have been many obstacles in my life where I have needed someone’s help to overcome them. We all need a little help.”

As we commit ourselves to follow God’s lead to offer concrete acts of mercy and compassion, the gift of faith begins to reshape our hearts in our devotion to God. Jesus says to the disciples, “Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).

Now the pure in heart are not perfect. They are mindful that God’s mercies are new each morning and they strive “towards the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:14).

Jesus knows the pure in heart “do not lift up their souls to what is false” (Psalm 24:4b) but they entrust their lives to God in such a way that they seek to live in loyal relationship with God and in solidarity with neighbor.[1] As the pure in heart live out their faith with intentions that correspond with right actions they are blessed to see God’s provision and care.[2]

Each and every day that Morrie Boogart wakes up, he has one goal in his heart and mind, one commitment if you will. That daily goal is to knit at least three stocking hats. From the moment he wakes up until the time he goes to sleep at night, Morrie knits hats for the homeless.

Morrie has knitted for the past fifteen years and his hands have made over 8,000 hats for the homeless.

Morrie is ninety-one years old and lives in a nursing home in Grandville, Michigan. His beloved wife passed away sixteen years ago. Morrie lost his son to cancer just six months after his own cancer diagnosis. He was not able to go to his son’s memorial service because he was receiving hospice care at the time. But knitting has kept Morrie going every day. It gives him a sense of purpose and lifts up his spirit as Morrie is immobile and restricted to bed rest.

Morrie says, “I just like [knitting]. My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be, but I can still do this. I have always liked helping people and I am not going to stop now. There are too many homeless people out there who need others to care about them.”

On his nightstand sits family pictures and a worn out Bible. Next to his nightstand are towering boxes filled with yarn. People from all across the world have heard of Morrie’s pure heart. He has received yarn from family as gifts, from people in the nursing home, and as donations from local churches and even from individuals he will never meet from as far away as Australia.

“Morrie teaches everybody that no matter how old we are, or what medical condition we may have, we can all give back in some way.”

Morrie’s daughter says, “We should all be as driven as my dad. What he’s done by [knitting all the hats and donating them to homeless shelters] has touched a lot of people, and it’s been the best thing that could have ever happened for him, given his circumstances.”

“If his health allows, his goal will continue to be to start and finish three hats per day, insuring that his ‘end’ might be a ‘beginning’ for those in need.”

Blessed are the merciful for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God. Jesus teaches us that a disciple is to walk in concrete acts of mercy because God’s steadfast and covenant love has already claimed us in the mercy and self-giving love of Jesus Christ.

As we walk in Christ’s Way and entrust our whole selves to God our hearts are being reshaped to be wholly. A wholly heart is one that is not divided by personal interests and multiple loyalties but one that makes room for devotion to God and to selflessly work for the well-being of others.

God uses our devotion to reshape us into the people God intends for us to be. God honors our imperfect faithfulness to partner with God so that the Kingdom might break in a little more with nothing less than joy. That joy is an awareness of God’s grace at work among us, through us, and for us.

May we be inspired by Jesus’ example of mercy and pure heart through people like Adam, Tarec, Morrie and those in our midst today. May the Spirit grant our desire to have faith like that – faith that looks like a wholly heart.

In the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sources Referenced:

[1] New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, “Volume III: Psalms” (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), p. 370.
[2] New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary, Volume III: Psalms, p. 370.
New Interpreter's Bible Commentary, "Volume VII: Matthew" (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2015), pp. 110-111.