On the 8th Day of Christmas...

On the 8th day of Christmas my true love gave to me, Eight Maids a-Milking
The Eight Maid a-milking are to signify the eight Beatitudes. Why 8 Maid a-milking I’m not sure, but seeing as milk is the basis for cheese it might have something to do with Cheese makers. …. 
For all fans of Monty Python, yes, I’m referring to the famous Sermon on the Mount which is misinterpreted, in the film “Life of Brian” as “Blessed are the Cheese makers”. A lady in the movie calls out “What's so special about the cheesemakers? “ And the reply is: “Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products”.

The highly amusing skit is a cleverly bridled comment about the way scripture is sometimes interpreted or mis-heard and then interpreted as if an authority on the subject, which makes it all quite funny, until we realize the finger is pointed at us… and then it is hilarious, but sobering at the same time.

Without the gift of the Holy Spirit we can easily fall prey to whatever the latest popular thought might be. In our Eighth article of faith we confess our belief in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, Who has spoken by the Prophets;

For many years people have been taught to trust authority figures without question, but the younger generations are being taught to think critically. In other words they are taught to think things through and decide whether what they are being told is true or not.
Unfortunately, young people are taught to question certain things and accept other things under the guise of it being ‘critical thinking,’ but many times it is simply following a new crowd and not actually thinking individually. Sadly, children realize quite early that they can be ostracized for thinking differently to their peers.

Yesterday we mentioned that the law of God is now, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, written in our hearts and on our minds. Jeremiah 31:34 tells us that, “No longer will they teach their neighbour, or say to one another, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."”

It isn’t that we don’t teach each other, but that each of us has direct access to God and to the knowledge that is in him – from the least to the greatest. We learn from each other if we are willing to respect God’s Holy Spirit in each other and experience the Holy Spirit’s gifts in our own lives.

We discussed the seven fold Spirit of God yesterday, but throughout the New Testament many gifts and fruit are spoken of that the Holy Spirit brings. The church has tried to organise these, calling some fruit and some miraculous gifts etc.. Most important is the message to the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.”

What this passage is telling us is that any gift that we have is not to be kept for ourselves. The purpose of the gift is for each other, for the good of the church as a whole. So, while I say that each of us has direct access to God, this is true, but we need each other and the gifts that each of us has in order to discern the will of God.

Most often I hear people talk about the Sermon on the Mount as a sermon about an up-side down way of living. That is, instead of conquering the earth with selfish ambition, we should be meek and peaceful. Of course, that is looking at the passage quite superficially.

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven! What do you think this means?
God does not want us to be sad and sombre, so if you were thinking that we need to have some kind of a suppressed inner spirit, guess again.
Blessed are the poor in spirit because these people are the ones who acknowledge their need. They recognise that they are lacking and need God. This is why theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who were too proud to hear what Jesus would say could not come to faith in him, but those who recognised that they were spiritually lacking and in need of a saviour are those who inherit the kingdom of heaven.

The crowd that Jesus was speaking to consisted of many religious, and they refused to see their spiritual poverty, so they could not accept the gift of Jesus. They were those who thought they could be saved by the efforts and religious activity.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. How many of you have experienced those Christians who are ALWAYS positive… and positively a pain in the neck? They seem to think that they must be happy all the time or else they are not real Christians, and then when they see that you are not happy they heap judgement and treat you with condescension.
When Joe died I was given a little church book about grieving that said that as Christians we do not mourn to the extent that others do. This made me pretty angry because while it had an element of correctness, that we do have hope, we hurt just as much. Even Jesus mourned when his friend Lazarus died - and yet he knew that he was going to raise him from the dead almost immediately.
Those with Jesus, who accepted, loved and followed him, would mourn his death. But they would be comforted. There is a real need for us to be genuine in our relationship with God. The Psalms and in Hebrews we are exhorted to not harden our hearts. Hard hearts are impervious, but soft hearts let God in.
Those who mourn, regardless of whether it is personal loss, or the state of society or any other thing, or especially our poor spiritual condition, are those who are honest about how they feel and this is important to be in honest relationship with God.

Blessed are the meek, ( gentle) for they will inherit the earth. First reaction to this is, “you’ve got to be kidding!” This makes sense only when we look at Jesus, who as Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 53:7 “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Like a lamb, gentle and meek, Jesus was led to the cross and was crucified. He rose from the dead and his inheritance is the earth which those who follow him will inherit with him. We are heirs of the kingdom of God and we pray his kingdom will come, on earth as it is in heaven.
But just what is this ‘meekness’?
“Meek” is the translated word for the Greek term ‘praus’. The meaning of this is strength brought under control. It was a term to describe a wild horse tamed to the bridle. Therefore, being meek describes one who has channelled his strengths into the service of God.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Righteousness only comes from God. When we have faith it is counted as righteousness. Righteousness begins with seeking God and if we seek God, we will find him. There is no righteousness apart from him.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. The Lord’s Prayer says, “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”… this requires mercy. We are shown mercy by God… great mercy and so we should be merciful with others. Blessed are those who are merciful because they, once again, have soft hearts that are free from bitterness and in those soft hearts is openness to God.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Don’t kid yourself – there is none pure in heart bar Jesus, BUT…. The sacrifice of Jesus and the completed Torah in Christ means that we can be counted as God’s own children. More than this – when God looks at us we are “clothed” in Christ and so we are clean. Do you remember Jesus words to his disciples when he tells them, John 15:3 “You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.”

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Ahhh! Here are the Cheese makers! I believe this is our call to bring people into a relationship with God. Just as the Angels proclaimed, “Peace to all on Earth”, because the sacrifice of Jesus would bring peace between mankind and God, so to we actively bring people to this condition of peace with God.
Now, the Church should be called the children of God, because ultimately our role as Church is to proclaim the message that Christ has restored our relationship with God, ie.-Reconciled us to God through this sacrifice on the cross. The word Angel means God’s messenger and we are to be like those Angels and proclaim the message to all.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This means being persecuted because of your faith and your right relationship with God. They crucified Jesus, and his followers should understand that a life following Christ will not be without challenges, hardships and outright persecutions.

We talk about the role of the Holy Spirit and the many faceted gifts, but we read that we are ‘sanctified ‘ by the Holy Spirit. This means that we are made spiritually clean and holy and set apart. ‘Blessed’ means to be made holy/ consecrated. To live the Beatitudes required the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.
On this eighth day of Christmas we reflect on the Beatitudes and pray for God’s Holy Spirit to actualize them in our lives.