Many people are not future-oriented. They are focused only on the present moment—concerned only about today, not tomorrow.
Such people do not put money away for unexpected expenses and live from paycheck to paycheck. They do not plan for their future retirement. They fail to consider how poor health choices today will affect their enjoyment of life in years to come. They go to work or school each day, but have no long-term career goals in mind that motivate their efforts. They make no attempt to form new relationships, forgetting that current friendships may fail the test of time.
As Christians, we are to be interested in more than just the present moment. We are to be concerned about the future, our eternal future. As we profess in the Creed, “I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.”
In this Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 5:1-12a), Jesus goes up on a mountain and there he begins to instruct his disciples. He begins this “Sermon on the Mount” by teaching them what we now refer to as the “beatitudes.”
Those beatitudes are future oriented. They tell us what we need to do today if we hope to be blessed with a future place in the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus explicitly refers to that kingdom three separate times in the first verses of his sermon.
He says, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven… Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you… be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."
The other beatitudes also indicate that there will be a blessed future for those who endure suffering in their lives, who are dismissed as unimportant, who work for justice and goodness, who show mercy to the undeserving, who seek to live in accord with God’s law, and who strive to put an end to the violence and hate that darken our world.
For those who have no belief in God and reject the notion of eternal life, the beatitudes make little sense. For them, living according to the beatitudes would be like planning for a future retirement that they will never enjoy.
Only those who believe in eternal life recognize the wisdom and guidance found in the words of Jesus.
Blessed are they who live according to the beatitudes today, for tomorrow the kingdom of heaven will be theirs.
© 2023 Rev. Thomas Iwanowski