The Sermon on the Mount (Bossuet)/Day 1
First Day
SUMMARY OF THE SERMON
Eternal happiness set forth under divers names in the Eight Beatitudes. — Matt. v. 1-12.
he sole end of man is to be happy,
and Jesus Christ came only to give
us the means of being so. The
source of all good is to place happiness where it ought to be; and the source of
all evil is to place it where it ought not to be.
Suppose, then, we have said, ‘I wish to be
happy,' we have next to see how we may
become so : — to see in what end happiness consists, and what are the means of obtaining it.
Now, we shall find the end set forth in each one of the Eight Beatitudes, for Eternal Happiness is the subject of them all, but described by various names. Thus, in the first it appears as a kingdom, in the second as the promised land, in the third as true and perfect consolation, and in the fourth as the fulfilment of all our longings. In the fifth, we find it as the final act of mercy that shall free us from every evil and bestow on us every good. In the sixth it is named by its true name, which is the Vision of God. In the seventh it is set forth as the seal set on our adoption; and in the eighth, once more as the Kingdom of Heaven. Here, then, we have the end throughout; but as there are several means, each beatitude proposes one of these to us, whilst all of them together must bring about man’s final happiness.
If the Sermon on the Mount is in itself the summary of all Christian doctrine, the Beatitudes are the summary of the sermon. For instance : — Our Lord tells us that our justice must abound more than that of the Scribes and Pharisees; but His whole teaching on the subject is contained in the one saying : 'Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after justice.’ For if they are really hungering for it, how abundantly shall they not receive it, seeing that it is always there ready to fill those who desire it for their true food? Then shall we keep even its smallest laws, like to famished men who will not leave a bit — not a crumb, so to speak — of their bread.
If we are commanded not to ill-treat our neighbour in speech, this will be a natural consequence of the gentle and 'peace-making' spirit to which the kingdom and rank of a child of God are promised.
You are not to look at a woman with an evil thought — that is, 'Blessed are the pure in heart'; and your heart will be pure when you have purged it of all sensual desires. Hence, those are happy who spend their lives in mourning and in a saving sadness rather than in pleasures that intoxicate.
'Swear not.,. let your speech be " yea, yea; no, no.”' This, again, springs naturally from meekness; for he who is meek is humble, and not too much attached to his own view, so as to be too positive; he says what he thinks simply, in a sincere and gentle spirit.
When we are filled with that spirit of mercy which shall draw down on us yet more abundant mercy than our own, we easily forgive injuries; and when we are meek and peaceable we readily yield to others, who may show violence, even more than we have promised.
It is not only because a man is meek, merciful, and peaceable that he loves his friends and his enemies, but because of that hunger after justice spoken of above, which makes him wish to have it for solid use, not for ostentatious display. We love fasting, too, when we find our chief nourishment in truth and justice; and fasting purifies the heart and destroys sensuality.
Our heart is pure, moreover, when we keep our good deeds for the eyes of God alone; when we are content to be seen by Him, and do not make virtue serve as a cloak for deceiving the world and attracting the notice and love of our fellows. A pure heart gives a single eye and a straight aim.
The poor in spirit avoid avarice and the seeking after possessions; the meek and the peacemakers judge not, because meekness banishes pride.
Purity of heart makes us try to become worthy of the Holy Eucharist, and prevents our receiving this heavenly bread as if we were dogs.
Once more, when we hunger and thirst after justice we ask — we seek — we knock; for we beg of God to give us the only true goods, and expect them from Him, when we aspire to the Kingdom of Heaven, the Land of the Living, and to nothing else.
Those who count themselves happy at being allowed to suffer poverty, grief, and misfortune for ‘justice sake’ willingly enter in by the narrow gate; and those who hunger for justice are not satisfied to say 'Lord, Lord!' with their lips, but feed their hearts on God’s Truth, and so build their house firmly on a rock.
The Beatitudes, then, form an abridgment of the whole sermon; but a pleasant abridgment, for in them the command and the reward are always joined. The Kingdom of Heaven, under its divers wonderful names, follows on the possession of righteousness — happiness, on the practice of it.