Matthew 5:1–12

¹Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

²And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

³"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

⁴"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

⁵"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

⁶"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

⁷"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

⁸"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

⁹"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

¹⁰"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

¹¹"Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

¹²Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

For all the saints who from their labors rest, who by faith confessed Christ before the world. Behold today, Henry Kamrath, Gertrude Erickson and Clarence Neuenkirchen, with a multitude which no man can count, arrayed in white, with palms they stand. These are the saints of glorious fame who from the great affliction came and in the flood of Jesus' blood are cleansed from guilt and shame. They now serve God both day and night; they sing their songs in endless light. Their anthems ring as they all sing with angels shining bright.

They are those who came out of the great affliction but who now have received their crown of glory; who stand before the throne of the Lamb and serve him in his temple. They hunger no more; they thirst no more; the sun shall not strike them or any scorching heat. The Lamb is in their midst and he shall lead his sheep to springs of living water and every tear has been wiped away from their eyes.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven; blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Today we are poor in spirit, but the kingdom of heaven is ours. Today we mourn, but we shall be comforted. Today we are lowly, but tomorrow we shall inherit the earth. Today we hunger and thirst for righteousness, but tomorrow we shall be satisfied. Today we show mercy on those who revile and mistreat us, but tomorrow we shall receive mercy. Today we are pure in heart, and tomorrow we shall see God. Today we seek peace among men, and tomorrow we shall be called sons of God. Today we are persecuted, but tomorrow we shall receive our reward in heaven.

Today we suffer here; but our suffering is for a short time and does not compare with the glory that shall be ours. That glory has not yet appeared to us. Today we are God's children, but the glory that will be ours we cannot see it with our eyes. But we see it with our faith, because we know that when he appears we will be like him. It is the hope and expectation of all who are in Christ. One day we shall see Christ face to face and we shall be like him.

But today in this world, we do not see the glory of God or the splendor of his majesty. Today we are downtrodden by sin and death and separated from the God who made us. Today we live in shame and sin. Today death reigns in our mortal bodies. We suffer and die because we are sinners and the wages of sin is death. We are separated from God; we are separated from one another. Instead of love and caring, we live in anger, quarreling, and selfishness.

Then we look at the Beatitudes and wonder, who does this talk about? Blessed are the poor in spirit. Who is that? We are not poor in spirit. We are proud. We lift ourselves up. We want to make a show of how good we are; we want everyone to know and to praise us. We mourn, but only when we lose something. We do not mourn because we are sinful. We do not mourn in shame or despair for our souls.

Are we meek? No. We exalt ourselves above others and want to be served by others. Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness? No, we hunger and thirst for sinful pleasure. Are we merciful to others? Only after we get even with them. Are we pure in heart? No, we lust and think evil thoughts.

So who is this blessed man? It is none other than Jesus Christ himself. It is the eternal Son of God who came into our sinful, fallen world to exchange his glory for your depravation. He is the favored one of God, the one who sits on the throne of glory. Who is above all others, but he put aside his glory and came down to humble himself before men. It is Jesus who made himself poor in spirit, who mourned, who became meek and lowly, who hungered for righteousness, who was merciful, pure in heart and sought to make peace. It was Jesus who was reviled and persecuted and hated and despised and who went to the cross to die as a condemned sinner in your place.

He was blessed by God; favored by God; but he took for himself your humility, your lowliness; your sin and your death and your punishment, and exchanged them with you for his blessedness. And because he exchanged your sin for his blessedness, he went to the cross in your place. He was forsaken by God, his own Father, on account of your sins. He was rejected by all, even his own Father in heaven, and died alone and forsaken on the cross, in order to purchase the favor and blessing of God for you with his own innocent blood.

But in taking your lowliness and meekness and suffering for you, he exchanged his glory for your lowliness. In baptism you are joined to him in his death and resurrection and as he takes your sin and death, he gives you his life and blessedness. He was rejected and forsaken by his Father in order that you might receive the favor and blessing of his Father. He absorbed your sin into his own body which was crucified on the cross in order to exchange with you his righteousness and holiness. Your sins are forgiven because he has taken them away and nailed them to a cross. Your death has been swallowed up because he has taken your death and died on a cross. He exchanged his life for your death. He has given you eternal life. This is the miracle of baptism. Here in these waters the great exchange of his blessedness for your death takes place.

Today, you have exchanged your life for Christ's life. Baptized into Christ your lives take on the shape and form of Christ. Your life looks like Christ's life. You take on the characteristics of Christ. You take on his humility, his suffering and his persecution and his cross. Baptized into Christ you been blessed with the blessing of Christ.

Baptized into Christ you are the poor in spirit as Christ was poor in spirit; blessed are you for yours is the kingdom of heaven.

Baptized into Christ, you mourn as Christ mourned; Blessed are you: you shall be comforted.

Baptized into Christ, you are meek as Christ was meek; Blessed are you: you shall inherit the earth.

Baptized into Christ, you hunger and thirst for righteousness as Christ hungered for righteousness: Blessed are you: you shall be satisfied.

Baptized into Christ, you are merciful as Christ was merciful: Blessed are you: you shall receive mercy.

Baptized into Christ, you are pure in heart as Christ was pure in heart: Blessed are you: you shall see God.

Baptized into Christ, you are the peacemakers as Christ was the peacemaker: Blessed are you: you shall be called sons of God.

Baptized into Christ, you shall be persecuted as Christ was persecuted: Blessed are you: yours is the kingdom of heaven.

Still, this blessedness not yet been made visible. We know that when he appears we will see these blessings with our own eyes. This is our present comfort. This is our hope and consolation. In the midst of our humility and suffering we are not like those who do not have hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again. Through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. Therefore we do not grieve as others do who have no hope. We are heirs with Christ. Heirs of his sufferings in this present age and heirs of his glory in heaven. The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us and which is already revealed to those who are now with him in heaven.

Today we can see those who have died before us in the Lord standing around the throne dressed in robes made white by the blood of the Lamb. Those saints who have been glorified are one with us in Christ. We are all one. We feebly struggle, they in glory shine, yet all are one in Him for all are in Him through baptism.

We are, therefore, one communion, one church; those still on earth with those in glory. There is one church, one Lord, one baptism. And that communion is nowhere expressed more clearly than here when we gather around the Word of God in worship and receive the body and blood of Christ. Here we commune with Christ and all who are in Christ, the holy Christian church, the communion of saints. Here we worship the Lamb at the side of those saints clothed in white robes; together in one communion; one congregation. Christ is the head and we are the body together with the triumphant saints in bright array. At no time are we in closer communion with the dearly departed than when we all gather in worship around Christ's word and in the Sacrament; when for a moment of time, we enter into that heavenly banquet and eat the heavenly meal with angels and archangels and all the company of heaven. Let us laud and praise his glorious name, now and forevermore.

Amen.