A Short Death

I wonder if Lazarus was surprised.  I wonder if Lazarus had any sense of time as he lay in the tomb.  I wonder if he knew that he had been dead only four days when Jesus revived him.  Many questions come to our minds when we read the story of the Raising of Lazarus in John 11:1-45, the gospel lesson appointed for the 5th Sunday of Lent.  It seems a strange choice, this story of resurrection amidst the season of Lent, but then again aren't death and life always colliding in our walk with Christ?

(The following questions are taken from my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.  These questions supplement other fine sets of questions, specifically getting at what is at stake for law and gospel preachers.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word, in this case, Jesus, is prominently and authoritatively defeating death.  This is obviously a gospel function.  Indeed it is the sign extraordinaire that Jesus is the divine Son of God.  It is the sign that both causes many to believe in him, and his enemies to decisively move towards his elimination.

The prominence of illness and death is the presence of the Law here.  All will die.  Death leads to decay.  Decay leaves behind only dust.  These facts of life are an announcement of how much we need Jesus, thus they are the presence of the Law.  Also the words of both the sisters, and the words of the Jews are also words of Law as they articulate our natural fears. The sisters say, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died."  The Jews say, "Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying!"  The sisters speak of our fear of abandonment by God.  The Jews speak of our doubts about God's saving power.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no call to obedience here.  The call to obedience is the Word functioning to say "follow Jesus." We do not have that call here. The call to believe is not that word.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text? We have several choices in this text since the Word is speaking to a number of listeners.  We could identify with Lazarus, the one dead.  We too, as St. Paul says, are dead in our trespasses and sins, and Christ comes to make us alive.  We could also identity with the sisters who are grieving and wondering why Christ did not come and save their brother from death.  We too might wonder why God allows suffering and death to come to our loved ones and so we identify closely with these two women.  Another possibility is that we identify with the scoffers and skeptics who doubted that Jesus was who he said he was.  All these are good possibilities, but we will have to choose one.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The couplets we employ in thinking about this text will depend on whom we identify with.  If with Lazarus, then a couplet could be dead/alive.  If with the sisters, then we might think in terms of grieving/rejoicing.  If the bystanders who doubt, then our couplet might be doubting/believing.

5.  Exegetical work:  Raymond Brown,in his classic commentary on John's gospel speaks for a number of scholars when he notes that this story is really the fulcrum of the gospel.  He says, [This miracle] is so close to [the realm of the divine] that it may be said to conclude the ministry of signs and inaugurate the ministry of glory." (The Gospel According to John, p. 429)  Peter Ellis, quoting C.K. Barrett, notes that Lazarus' experience is really the experience of all Christians: "The pattern of the life of all Christians is determined by the movement from death to life experienced by Lazarus." (The Genius of John, p. 186)   Luther's contemporary, Desiderius Erasmus, also speaks of Lazarus' experience as one common to all Christians:  "[Jesus] could have brought [Lazarus' resurrection] about with just a nod that the buried man returned to life and came out, but the great shout is the mark of the great power whereby the sinning soul that is far from God's sight, entombed in the darkness of wrongdoing and decaying in the filth of its sins, returns to life and comes out into the light of truth." (Reformation Commentary on Scripture, NT, Vol. IV, p. 426)

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  There a number of fine analyses archived under 2005, 2008, and 2011 at crossings.org/text study.  Under 2011 for the 5th Sunday in Lent, Gospel A, Bill White centers on the disciple, Thomas, for his analysis, pointing out how we, like Thomas, can see only death when it comes to following Jesus.  Jesus, however, sees death and life for us as we follow him.  White thinks that this story is not about Lazarus' death and resurrection, but Christ's.  This might prove a very fruitful path to follow in preaching this text.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Led Into Temptation

Since we so often pray, "Lead us not into temptation", it is noteworthy that in Matthew's account of Jesus' wilderness experience in 4:1-11, the gospel lesson appointed for the First Sunday in Lent, we are told that "Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil."  There is no mistaking it; this is a purpose clause (i.e. the purpose of the Spirit's leading was to put Jesus in a place where he would be tempted).  This begs the question "Why?  Why would the Spirit want Jesus to be tempted?"  Could it be for our sake?

(The following questions are taken from my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted.  They are meant to focus the Law/Gospel preacher who wants to understand how the Word is functioning in the text as a guide to preaching a Law/Gospel sermon.  My guide is available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  This is a very unique text in that the perspective of the reader is one of "a mouse in the corner" - we simply get to watch the action from the sidelines.  The clue to our own place in this story is Jesus' identity as Son of God.   Immediately prior to this story in Matthew, Jesus' identity is made known as the voice from heaven at his baptism announces, "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased."  We too, at our baptism, are announced as children of God.  We too are tempted.  This text functions as Gospel, assuring us that because we "have been crucified with Christ" in our baptism and thus it is no longer we who live, but "Christ within us", the Christ within us is able to withstand the wiles of the devil.

2.  How does the Word not function in the text?  In the text itself there is not a word of Law, that is to say, there is not a word that explicitly exposes our need for Christ.  If however, we take seriously the fact that only as Christ lives within us can we have any hope of withstanding temptation, then this whole text is Law as it exposes our vulnerability to temptation. The three temptations of Jesus are common to us all:  temptations to indulge, to possess, and to impress.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  In almost all texts our role is to identify with the one whom the Word addresses. In this unique text, however, that would mean identifying with the tempter.  That does not seem like a helpful alternative.  In this situation we identify with Jesus.  We are the ones who find ourselves tempted.  We, like Jesus, call upon resources outside of ourselves to overcome these temptations.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by the text?  The most obvious couplet is, of course, temptation presented/temptation thwarted.  Another the story suggests is devil asserts power/Jesus claims power.

5.  Exegetical work:  The Greek text is very helpful here primarily because it shows us what kind of conditional phrase we are working with here.  Conditional phrases can either be condition-of-fact, condition-of-nonfact, or condition-of-uncertainty.  This is clearly a condition-of-fact. This is important in that when the tempter says to Jesus "If you are the Son of God..." he is not implying that Jesus might not be the Son of God, because that would be a condition-of-uncertainty.  No, rather the tempter is really saying, "If you are the Son of God - and you are ..." (Condition-of-fact).  I often translate such conditions using the word "since."  So here, "Since you are the Son of God, turn these stones to bread.  Since you are the Son of God, throw yourself off the temple pinnacle."  This shows us clearly that these temptations come to Jesus precisely because he is the Son of God.  Therefore this story reveals to us that there are temptations that will be uniquely ours as children of God!  Douglas Hare, in his fine commentary on Matthew (Interpretation Series) shows this connection by revealing the parallels between Jesus' temptation and the temptations of the Israelites in the wilderness. (p. 22f)   This is worth studying.  Gregory the Great, long ago, in his commentary on this text drew parallels to the temptation story in the Garden of Eden:  "Our ancient enemy rose up against the first human being, our ancestor, in three temptations.  He tempted him by gluttony, by vain ambition, and by avarice:  Taste it, you will be like gods, knowing good and evil."  (Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, OT, Vol. 1a, p. 56f).  Commentators down through the ages have seen the commonness of temptation.  Even Oscar Wilde had some advice:  "The only way to get rid of a temptation, is to yield to it." Ha.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Look, Look! Here is Christ!

Transfiguration Sunday, the final Sunday in the season of Epiphany, comes to us this year in Matthew 17:1-9.  Consistent with Jesus, the new Moses, Matthew includes some details about Jesus' transfiguration that remind us of the appearance of Moses in Exodus 34:29-30 when he comes down the mountain the second time with the stone tablets.  His face shines and all who see it are terrified.  We hear also the voice speak which we heard first at Jesus' baptism: "Listen to him," and again we know that obedience is required of this One.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but only as a way of getting at some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers. For more on this genre see my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  If the functions of the Word can be summarized as Law (You need Christ!), Gospel (Here is Christ.), or the Call to Obedience (Follow Christ.), then clearly this story is pure Gospel.  Here is Christ, the Transfigured One, the Son, the Beloved, the One who gently touches his disciples and says, "Get up and do not be afraid."  This story is an announcement of the Divine identity of the Christ, and given to us as pure gift.

2.  How does the Word not function in the text?  Although there is confusion and terror on the part of the disciples, this text does not really function as Law.  This text does not convict of sin or show us our need for Christ.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the disciples.  We are those who are confused by the Lord's glory.  We are the ones who fall to the ground, cowering at the voice of God.  We are those who need to be touched by Christ and to be told, "Do not be afraid."

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  "Listen to him!" is definitely a call to obedience.  What this means is a further question.  Since the text begins by setting up the temporal context, "six days later", we might ask, "What was going on six days prior to this event?"  What we learn is that Jesus  is foretelling his death and resurrection and assuring his followers that "if any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."  So, perhaps this is what we are called to listen to.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The whole event suggests several couplets:  cowering in fear/touched by Christ; confused about Christ/clear about Christ.

6.  Exegetical work:  Kurt Aland's Synopsis of the Four Gospels is often a great source of insight, as the stories of Jesus are put side-by-side in their original language, and differences between the four gospels shown clearly.  In this case we see that Matthew alone adds the detail that Jesus' "face shone like the sun."  This suggests a tie with Moses, seen in Exodus 34.  Matthew is also the only one to tell us that "when the disciples heard [the voice from heaven] they fell on their faces, and were filled with awe."  This also suggests a tie with Exodus 34.  Another interesting detail is Matthew's use of the Greek marker "idou" which is translated "behold" or "lo" or left untranslated.  This marker is in Matthew only, calling our attention, in verse 3, to the appearance of Moses and Elijah, and in verse 5 to the emergence of the bright cloud, and the sound of the voice.  It is as if Matthew is pointing us to these three verses and saying, "Look!  Look closely.  This is important!'  Another piece that can be seen from the original language is that the voice from the cloud uses the exact words used in 3:17 at the event of Jesus' baptism:  "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased," except here the phrase is added, "Listen to him."  This tie to Jesus' baptism, another theophanic event, is also crucial to take note of.

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Timothy Hoyer does an interesting analysis of this text using Peter's confusion regarding the Law and the Prophets as the starting point.  He shows how when we try to conflate the work of Christ with the work of the Law we are lost.  See the entire analysis archived under 2008 Gospel A at crossings.org/text study.

Blessings on your proclamation!

That's Unfair!

Matthew 5:38-48, the gospel text assigned for the 7th Sunday after the Epiphany, is the final passage in this first section of the Sermon on the Mount, and it is the climactic piece in Jesus' instructions in living in the way of a "righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees."  The last line leaves no room for doubt as to the seriousness with which Jesus takes the call to righteousness: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  How do we who are far from perfect understand this call?  That is the question with which we shall wrestle.

(The following questions are taken from my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted.  These questions attempt to explore some of the central issues for Law and Gospel preachers.  For more on this genre of preaching, my book is available at wipfandstock.com or through amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  This Word functions as Law.  It shows me my utter inadequacy in the face of Christ's demands.  If we take these demands seriously we will cry out, "But I cannot do this, Lord!  I cannot turn the other cheek, love my enemies, bless those who persecute me, and give to everyone who would beg from me.  And furthermore, I don't even want to!" This is exactly right.  This is our bondage to sin.  If we are going to obey this command we are going to have to die to ourselves. And this dying is the call of Christ.

Even the statement that our Father in heaven "makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous" is not good news to us.  "That's unfair!" we cry.  Indeed it is.  And yet that is precisely who the Father is, and we are called to be children of this Father.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  We might argue that the Word is not functioning as Gospel here.  I would argue that it is hidden.   The Gospel word is that same scandalous word that announces that God sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.  At first we don't want to hear this word, but then we hear the grace within these words.  "[God] does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him." (Psa 103)  This is a word of Gospel.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are, as always, those addressed by this text.  We are those who only want "what's fair".  We are those that insist that an eye for an eye is a good system, even though as Gandhi said, it leaves everyone blind.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience is always the Word functioning to say, "Follow Jesus." In a way, this whole text is a call to obedience.  It could be taken as such, if we recognize that before we follow Jesus, we will need to be crucified with him.  That is why this text first functions as Law.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Since this whole text is about giving up what is rightfully ours, the couplets should suggest this:  holding a grudge/freely forgiven; hanging onto my rights/released from all that binds me.

6.  Exegetical work:  Dietrich Bonhoeffer gets right at the heart of this text:  "By our enemies Jesus means those who are quite intractable and utterly unresponsive to our love, ... [but] ... Love asks nothing in return, but seeks those who need it.  And who needs our love more than those who are consumed with hatred and utterly devoid of love?" (Cost of Discipleship, p. 148)  "The love of our enemies takes us along the way of the cross and into fellowship with the Crucified." (p. 164)   Douglas Hare in his commentary (Interpretation series) notes that this passage is about renouncing rights.  He says that "the ultimate sanction appealed to is not the will of God ("Do it, no matter how difficult, because God commands it!") but the nature of God. (p. 60)  Another great source in understanding how forgiveness is always a call to renounce our rights is found in Walter Wangerin's book, As For Me And My House.  In the chapter entitled "How do we practice forgiveness?" he says this:  "The world says ... that it is your legitimate right, your dignity, and your duty to bring suit against the one who injured you, to press her until she has redressed the wrong, to accuse her, to punish her until her hurt at least is equal to yours.  This is just.  This re-establishes the order her sin destroyed. This place the burden of reconciliation totally and righteously upon the one who started the mess - and this is not forgiveness.  As scandalous as it seems to the world..., forgiveness places the burden of reconciliation upon the one who sufffered the mess." (p. 99)

Blessings on your proclamation!

Good Enough Righteousness?

Matthew 5:21-37, the gospel lesson appointed for the 6th Sunday after the Epiphany, is clearly a working out of verse 20 in this same chapter:  "For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  Jesus makes increasingly clear that, as he said, he did not come to abolish the law or the prophets, "but to fulfill" them.  This quickly disabuses us of any notions we might have of "cheap grace" (Bonhoeffer), and gives us reason to take seriously the ethical standards of following Jesus.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but only to unearth some of the issues most important to Law and Gospel preachers.  These questions are part of a method I lay out in my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  Jesus is clearly raising the standards for his disciples.  He is calling into question any nonchalance the community might have concerning the Law.  He is condemning even hidden sins, and calling all to repentance and greater integrity.  This Word then functions primarily as Law, alerting us to our need for repentance.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  Clearly there is no word of grace, no announcement of what God has done in Christ, no gospel here.  The Word which proclaims that Christ has been the One whose righteousness exceeds all other righteousness will have to be found elsewhere and brought to bear on this text.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  Throughout the Sermon on the Mount we are the listeners, the disciples.  We are the ones who are likely to be found saying, "I may not be perfect, but I never killed anyone," as though that is the standard of godliness for a follower of Christ.  We are the ones who need regular reminders that to follow Christ means to take on a higher standard of concern for the neighbor and God's world, not look for loopholes.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The Word functioning as a call to obedience is always the Word inviting us to live in a certain way in response to God's grace.  This text could be viewed as wholly that were it not for the repeated warnings about what failure to keep these laws entails.  Christ's followers are certainly invited in this text to the higher standard, but the text still functions primarily as Law.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The whole message of this text must be considered in order to come up with a helpful couplet.  Several ideas:  presuming/repenting; minimal standards/Christ's standards.

6.  Exegetical work:  Mark Allan Powell, in his insightful work on Matthew's gospel, God With Us; A Pastoral Theology of Matthew's Gospel, argues that "ethical formation" of Christ's disciples is paramount for the writer of Matthew's gospel. (p. 64)  Powell writes that for "Matthew, the teaching of the church is primarily concerned with ethical formation and this is to take place within the community of faith rather than in the world at large." (p.69)  "Matthew's readers are expected to accept what Jesus says in chapter 5-7 not because it makes sense or rings true existentially but because Jesus himself is the authoritative agent of God."  "Matthew's Gospel assumes that acceptance of Jesus' ethical teaching is predicated on prior acceptance of the christological doctrine expounded in the narrative." (p. 70)

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Chris Repp, in his analysis of this text, archived under Gospel A, 2011, does a nice job of pointing out the slippery slope that exists when we get caught up in "good enough righteousness."  He shows how Christ's commitment to exceeding righteousness frees us to be the people of faith we are called to be.  See the entire analysis at crossings.org/text study.

Blessings on your proclamation!

A Better Righteousness

It is no surprise that the emphasis on righteousness continues in Matthew's gospel, in which even the baptism of Jesus was done to "fulfill all righteousness".  This week's gospel text, Matthew 5:13-20, appointed for the 5th Sunday after the Epiphany, lays to rest any idea we might have that Jesus is antinomian.  Verse 17 says it explicitly, "Do not think [in case you are!] that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill."  Or, as some translators have said, "I have come to reveal  the true meaning of the Law."

(The following questions are an attempt to bring to light some of the fundamental concerns of Law and Gospel preachers.  These questions are taken from the appendix to my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  Jesus, the Word, is announcing a number of things in this text.  At the outset he announces the identity of the disciples:  they are salt and light.  This is to say, their identity in Christ is already established.  They are called to live up to their identity.  Next, Jesus announces that he has come to fulfill the Law thus his listeners are disabused of any notion they have that they may do as they please.  He tops it off by issuing a challenge:  "Your righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees."  These announcements function in different ways. The announcement of our identity in Christ is a gospel function:  We are given the good news that our righteousness is not what establishes our identity.  The Call to Obedience comes as we are called to live up to our identity as salt and light.  The announcement that our righteousness must be extraordinary functions as Law since it brings us face-to-face with our proclivity to do as we please, as well as our mistaken notion that a righteousness based on the rules of the scribes and Pharisees is sufficient.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no explicit Gospel word here which announces what God has done in Christ.  That we will need to bring in from different sources - probably Pauline.  Also an explicit word which instructs us in the particulars of being salt and light is not present.  Our imaginations will supply this.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?   As always in the Sermon on the Mount, we are the disciples, those who listen to these words.  We are those who are mistaken about the righteousness that Christ demands, and about how we are to live.  We are those who need to know that our identiy in Christ is secure, despite our unrighteousness.

4.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  The first two metaphors are our best guide here:  good for nothing/nothing but goodness; under the bushel/on the lampstand.

5.  Exegetical work:   Dietrich Bonhoeffer, in his classic work, The Cost of Discipleship, does a profound analyis of the Sermon on the Mount.  Here are a view quotes pertaining to these verses:  "There is a 'better righteousness' which is expected of Christians.  Without it no one can enter the kingdom of  heaven, for it is the indispensable condition of discipleship." "The call of Christ, in fact Christ himself... is the sine qua non of this better righteousness." (p. 135)  "There is no fulfillment of the law apart from communion with God, and no communion with God apart from fulfillment of the law."  (p. 138)  Luther devotes an entire volume to his commentary on the Sermon on the Mount. (Luther's Works, vol. 21)   Here are a few pieces from that work:  "[Jesus came] for the very purpose of correcting and conforming the teaching of the Law in opposition to those who were weakening it by their teaching." (p. 67)  "[Christ intends] to show [the Law's] real kernel and meaning... in antithesis to the glosses which the Pharisees have introduced, the shells and husks which they have been preaching." (p. 70)  The Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible defines the Pharisaic interpretation of the Law in this way:  "A perfectionism of purity and purification by the meticulous observance of the ritual requirements of the Levitical code."  (vol. III, p. 775)

6.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Cathy Lessman does a nice job of showing how when we "junk" God's law, God's law "junks" us.  The good news is that Christ throws himself on the trash heap at Golgotha thus producing in us the righteousness that only Christ can provide.  Look at the complete analysis archived under 2011 Gospel A for the 5th Sunday after the Epiphany at crossings.org/text study.

Blessings on your proclamation!

Two Kinds of Blessedness

Matthew 5:1-12, the gospel lesson appointed for the 4th Sunday after the Epiphany, is undoubtedly one of the most beloved passages in Scripture.  It often is preached on the Festival of All Saints or at funerals as a way of bringing comfort to those who grieve.  While this is an important function of this passage, there is much more than mere comfort offered here.  There is an invitation as well.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but only supplemental to many fine methods of exploration.  These questions come from my brief guide to Law and Gospel preaching, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, which can be purchased through wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1. How does the Word function in the text?  Obviously the function of this passage is to bless people, to announce who are the recipients of God's favor, who are those who can expect to be shareholders in the kingdom of heaven.  This is clearly a gospel function, an announcement of God's mercy.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no real word of Law here.  This Word is not functioning to expose our need for Christ.  We see our vulerability if we decide, for example, to endure persecution for righteousness' sake, but this is not a word of Law.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are the listeners, the followers of Jesus who come to Jesus as he sits on the mountainside teaching.  Of course, we are probably not able to identify with everyone whom Jesus calls blessed, but it will be our task to identify closely with one or several whom Jesus calls blessed.

4. What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?   The call to obedience is the Word functioning to invite us to live in response to God's gracious work.  In this passage the call to obedience is issued without an imperative voice in the second half of the passage.  Because God's reign is characterized by mercy, purity, peacemaking, and righteousness, we are invited to live lives characterized thusly. We are invited to be merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and those who endure persecution for righteousness. We are assured that we will be blessed when we do.

5.  Exegetical work:  Mark Allan Powell has written a wonderful study called God With Us; A Pastoral Theology of Matthew's Gospel.  I am indebted to him for the following insights into the Beatitudes:  Powell says that "the poetic structure of the beatitudes predisposes Matthew's readers to expect a pattern reminiscent of Hebrew parallelism." (p. 120)  He then goes on to point out that both 5:3-6  and 5:7-10 contain exactly 36 words, while 5:11-12 contains 35 words.  He calls these 3 sections First Stanza, Second Stanza, and Concluding Comment.  (p. 121-122)  The first stanza is to be "interpreted as promising eschatological reversals to those who are unfortunate." (p. 122) "Theologically, then the point of these first four beatitudes is not to offer 'entrance requirements for the kingdom of heaven' but to describe the nature of God's rule, which characterizes the kingdom of heaven." (p. 129)  "With the fifth beatitude... a second set of parallels is introduced.  All of the beatitudes in Matthew 5:7-10 are best interpreted as promising eschatological rewards to people who exhibit virtuous behavior.  The second stanze does not, however, represent a logical departure from the thought that undergirds the first, for the virtues that earn blessings are ones exercised on behalf of the people mentioned in Stanza One." (p. 130)  The final section is directed at us listeners.  The blessed ones are no longer only "those", but "you". This means that when we accept the invitation in Stanza Two, we might well find ourselves reviled and persecuted, "ironically deprived of justice because of [our] devotion to it." (p. 138)  These insights and many others are contained in Powell's fine book.  I would highly recommend purchase of this book as a source for insights into the entirety of Matthew's gospel.

Blessings on your proclamation!