In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The “Church Triumphant” is a term referring to the saints in
glory. These Christians have come out of the great tribulation, rest from their
labors, are before the throne of God day and night, neither hunger anymore nor thirst
anymore. The sun does not strike them, nor any heat, and God has wiped away
every tear from their eyes. The Church Triumphant are presently gathered with
angels and archangels in the eternal worship of the Lamb seated on the throne.
The Church Triumphant have shed their sin-stained rages and put on the white
robes won for them by the death of Jesus.
The “Church Militant” are the Christians on this side of
glory. We are the Church Militant, who are amid the great tribulation, who
struggle against our own sin, who struggle against the sinful world seeking to
claim ou r souls for hell, who must cling to the Word of God as a sure and
certain promise of eternity, who receive the Body and Blood of Jesus with the
eyes of faith but whose physical eyes see only through a mirror dimly. Our
white robes were won on the cross and given to us in Holy Baptism, but we must
await to don them until our own transition into the Church Triumphant.
These terms, Church Militant and Church Triumphant, are very
helpful. Militant reminds us that on this side of glory we are never without a
struggle. The Church is continually in battle. Individuals must daily fight
against sin – your own and the sins of others against you. As the Body of
Christ, the Church Militant must daily fight against false doctrine, against
the sinful world, and against the temptations seeking to snatch the sheep from
the flock.
Triumphant reminds us that the war is already won. Even when
there are days where sin wins the battle, the war is already ours. Christ has
held the battlefield and won the victory on our behalf. When Christ returns,
there will only be the Church Triumphant. Suffering, temptation, and struggle
will cease. War will cease. Spiritual war will cease. The Final Judgment is
final and will pronounce the Church Triumphant.
Do not be confused, however. There are not two different
Churches. Militant and Triumphant are two different battalions in the same
Church. The Church Militant and the Church Triumphant are still one Body and
Christ is our head. The Church Triumphant, those Christians whose bodies have
been committed to the earth and whose souls enjoy the nearer presence of
Christ, are not asleep nor transfixed in a zombie-like state of staring at
Jesus. They are alive and active. They are singing the praises of Jesus,
praying to him, and praying for you. According to the Revelation to St. John,
they are at least aware of the passing of time on earth if not aware to some
extent of the events on earth.[1]
According to St. Paul, these same saints are gathered with
us. “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily
ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race
that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.”[2] St.
Paul does not limit this surrounding of the great cloud of witnesses only to
the worship service. He seems to indicate that the saints in glory are present
with the saints on earth, even if the awareness of one another is only passing.
That said, the Church Militant and Church Triumphant are
closest as we worship the Lamb on the Throne together. The veil between the
sides of glory is thinnest during the divine service, which is how we can say,
“with angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven.” What’s more, the
Church Triumphant is not joining us in an earthly song. God would never be so
cruel as to ask the saints in glory to condescend to a worship created in the
imagination of man.
Rather, the Church Militant is exalted to join the Church Triumphant
in her song. We sing the song of heaven, “Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of
Sabbaoth!” This is the song of the Holy Angels and the saints in glory. We are
given to sing the eternal words of the heavenly worship each Sunday as we
prepare to feast on the Body and Blood of the Eternal Word. Blessed are we who
have inherited the Kingdom of God, we sons and daughters of the King.
The distinction of
the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant, which are united in the Eternal
Body of Christ, should help us to understand the Beatitudes. They are not a
checklist for getting into heaven. They are not a menu of the rewards for
specific deeds. The Beatitudes are a description of Christ and the virtues to
which all Christians are called.
Each of the Beatitudes is ultimately fulfilled in Christ.
Christ is purely poor in spirit, descending into our mortal flesh. Christ truly
mourns the sin of the world and condemnation of the wicked yet is comforted by
the Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Angels. Christ humbled himself to
born of a virgin. Christ hungers and thirsts for your righteousness. Christ is
merciful to forgive your sins by dying your death. Christ is pure in heart and
has seen the Father face to face from all eternity. Christ makes eternal peace
between God and man. Christ was persecuted for the sake of your righteousness
and was reviled beyond any contempt shown for man. Christ ultimately fulfills
each of the Beatitudes.
Jesus also spoke these words to his disciples. He spoke them
to the Church Militant. He is speaking them to you today. But again, the
Beatitudes are not a checklist of requirements and rewards. Our Lord is telling
us who it is He considers to be blessed and what the result of such blessing
is.
It is undeniable that the pace of our world has increased
tremendously. Information travels instantly across the globe. Not too long ago,
even this instantaneous information was slowed by the fact that you must sit at
a computer or television, attached to a wall, in order to receive it. Now it is
as close as your pocket. Physically, cars have gotten faster. Speed limits have
risen. What used to be a day trip is now only an hour or two away.
This rapid pace has dramatically affected our language. There
isn’t time to carefully consider your words because any hesitation will put you
behind the current thought. Emails and text messages expect a rapid response,
and it is viewed as an insult to tarry. Books are shorter. Sentences are
shorter. If you only have a few seconds to respond, your vocabulary must shrink.
A smaller vocabulary means you have less options of words to use to express
your thoughts. Less options mean less decisions. Less decisions mean faster
responses.
The problem is that as our collective vocabulary dwindles, the
ability to convey meaning also dwindles. We’ve assumed that synonyms all mean
exactly the same thing so there is no use in a variety of language. Small does
not mean the same thing as minute, even though they might be synonyms. Each has
a certain color, a slight deviation in meaning that gives the word a unique
meaning and helps you to communicate with your fellow man.
What does this change in our language have to do with the
Beatitudes, aside from acknowledging our difficulty with some of the
vocabulary? When was the last time you heard or read the word “blessed” outside
of the holy Scriptures? What did it mean? I’m willing to bet it didn’t mean
anything specific. “He led such a blessed life.” Usually this means that guy
got lucky.
Who does Jesus say are blessed? The poor in spirit; those
who mourn; the meek; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; the
merciful; the pure in heart; the peacemakers; those who are persecuted for
righteousness’ sake.[3]
These are the virtues extolled by Christ. These are the virtues which Christ
sees in His beloved Christians. These are also the virtues to which we ought to
aspire.
You hear, “poor in spirit” and likely think of someone whose
faith is a faintly burning wick. You probably think of this person as
struggling with his faith. Jesus says he is blessed. Why is he blessed? He is
blessed because he has faith. He is struggling against his sin and struggling
to understand how a just and merciful God could love a poor miserable sinner
like him. He is struggling against his flesh, trying to put of the old man but
always doing that which he knows he shouldn’t and failing to do that which he
should. He is poor in spirit, but he is blessed because the kingdom of heaven
belongs to him.
The Beatitudes and the entire Sermon on the Mount can be
classified as “wisdom literature.” This means it is intended to be read and
reread. It is intended to be pondered over. Ruminating on the Beatitudes
requires time. It requires a slow, lifelong effort. As a cow chews its cud, one
must continually chew on the wisdom of God, thereby slowly gaining the
spiritual nutrition offered therein.
Only by such rumination can you come to understand the Word of God, let alone such wisdom as is contained in the Beatitudes. It would be easy if there was a verse in the Bible that said, “Jimmy, you are meek because it is within your nature to put the needs of others before yourself, like when you chose to continue working 60 hours a week in the factory rather than take the high paying sales job which would require you to travel 5 days a week for the sake of your children.”
This would not require wisdom of Jimmy. It would not require
wisdom of you. Wisdom requires you to read the word of God, consider its
meaning, place it in the context of the whole counsel of God, and slowly see
the word of God blossom into the reality of your mind, body, and soul. This is
wisdom and this is wrought within you by the Holy Spirit.
Stop looking for the quick answer. Do not wait for a pastor
or radio preacher to tell you exactly what to do in every situation. You may
think that trusting the word of your pastor is the Christian thing to do but it
is trusting in man. Assuming that any man—clergy, academic, or otherwise—to be
correct in every situation is trusting the traditions of man as the word of
God.
Instead, go to the source, ad fontes. Search the word
of God and ruminate on it. Soak it in. Take responsibility for your own
salvation by going to the word of God and to the place where Christ has
promised to be with His people—the Church. Receive these words not so that you
can make your own decisions about what it means, but so that you can receive
the meaning of these words.
As part of this rumination, the Church looks to her saints,
the Church Triumphant. We look not to these saints to help us, to intercede for
us, or to make the definitive interpretation of the Scriptures. Rather, we look
to see how the Word of God worked in their lives, in their thoughts, and in
their hearts. We give thanks that God has worked faith in Jerome, Luther, and Walther.
We are comforted that if such great sinners as Peter, Paul, Mary, and Augustine
can be forgiven then we too shall be forgiven. Then we see the great works of
faith demonstrated by Martin of Tours, John the Steadfast, Al Viets, and so
many others, and we imitate these works.
We recognize in these works the blessings Jesus speaks of in
the Beatitudes. We take these examples into consideration when we ruminate on
the word of God as examples for how God’s wisdom may be faithfully shown forth
in daily living. Thus the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant are again
united in the working out of the faith as well as in the forgiveness of faith.
The comfort of the Church Militant and the Church Triumphant
is our unity in the Body of Christ. If we abide in his word, he abides in us.
If we abide in Christ, we abide together with Ron, Betty, Norm, Judith, Susan,
and Al. This unity with the saints in glory cannot be taken away. Our
experience of this unity can only grow as we too make our way into glory.
The Beatitudes progress from declaring those enduring
temporal suffering to those demonstrating spiritual virtues, only to conclude
in suffering persecution, reviling, and wicked deeds. The response to this is
to “Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”[4]
Your reward in heaven is complete unity with all the saints and eternal worship
of Christ. You will be like the glorified Christ and shall see Him as He is,
face to face. You shall see him and know him. Blessed are the saints in glory,
for their journey is complete. Blessed are you, for you are never alone.
Blessed are we, for together we sing the praise of Christ, who has washed our
robes and made them white in his blood.
In + Jesus’ name. Amen.
[1]
Revelation 6:9-10, “When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the
altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and
for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying, ‘How
long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on
those who dwell on the earth?’”
[2]
Hebrews 12:1-2.
[3]
St. Matthew 5:3-10.
[4]
St. Matthew 5:12.
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