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For many centuries, the Beatitudes spoken by Jesus in Matthew 5:112 have been the Gospel reading appointed for All Saints’ Day. The word “beatitude” comes from the Latin beatus, which simply means “blessed.” Frequently the Beatitudes are described as “the definition of a saint.” If we follow that definition, then a true saint is one who is fully conformed to the way of life portrayed in the Beatitudes. But when you read the Beatitudes, it is impossible to see how any of us could be a saint based on the standards they set forth. They pronounce blessings upon only the poor in spirit, the meek, those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, those who mourn, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those persecuted for Christ’s sake.
How many of you would consider yourselves saints according to the criteria set by the Beatitudes? Have you always been poor in spirit, humbling yourself in the presence of God and others, or do you often have an arrogant and judgmental attitude? Are you perfectly meek, or are you ever prideful or haughty? Do you always hunger and thirst after righteousness, or do you have an insatiable appetite for your pet sins? Do you mourn over your great sins, or do you excuse them, or even celebrate them? Are you merciful as your Father in heaven is merciful, pardoning the debts of the undeserving, or are you ever vindictive and grudge-bearing? Is your heart pure or is it full of lusts, greed, and anger? Do you always promote peace or have you instigated conflict? And finally, have you patiently suffered persecution for your Christian faith, or have you run away from opportunities to suffer for Christ’s name?
“Lord, have mercy upon us!” That’s the only thing we can cry after examining our lives in view of the Beatitudes. A little later in Matthew 5 Jesus says, “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (5:48). Does it get any more demanding than that? We cannot just “try hard enough” to fulfill the standards of the Beatitudes and to “be perfect.” That’s clearly not good enough. The bar has been raised and we cannot reach it.
So, if there are no people who can live up to the expectations of the Beatitudes, then how could they be called “the definition of a saint”? Does this mean there really are no saints, and everyone who doesn’t live by them is condemned to hell?
Remember who gave us the Beatitudes. A saint is a “holy one,” and Jesus is THE Holy One of God. He is the definition of a saint, and He is the One speaking to us in the Beatitudes. He is the Ideal Man, God’s Chosen One, and He’s the reason the Beatitudes are blessings to us sinners rather than curses. God has had mercy on us by sending us His Son Jesus to fulfill the Beatitudes. He lived them out during His earthly life and in His sacrificial death on the cross. By His resurrection He has won an eternal life in God’s Kingdom of Heaven, and by our Baptism into Christ, God credits Christ’s righteousness to us and makes us beloved children of the Heavenly Father. We lost and condemned sinners are given the gift of sainthood completely as a gift. This is the Great Exchange, in which Jesus takes what is ours—sin, death, and the wrath of God—and gives us what is His—forgiveness, eternal life, and the grace of God.
The Beatitudes apply first to Jesus. He is the definition of a Saint. But then the Beatitudes apply to the Church—to all believers— who are called saints by faith in Jesus. We cannot drive a wedge between the life of Jesus and the life of the Church, because the Church will always be conformed to the life, death, and resurrection of Her Head. This must happen because it is God’s will, but we must also remember that our conforming to Christ will only be partial in this life. Strictly speaking, Jesus is the only living human saint, because the rest of us are both sinner and saint at the same time. Not one of us is only saint, and not also sinner. Believers in Christ actually are 100% of each; 100% sinner, 100% saint, all at once.
When you were baptized, your sins were forgiven through Jesus’ blood and you received the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn’t do His work in fractions; He doesn’t make us a bit holy, or progressively more holy throughout our lives. No, the Holy Spirit grants Christ’s holiness to each of you, making you 100% saint. At the same time, we retain our sinful flesh and so are 100% sinner. But because of the righteousness and holiness of Jesus, the Father does not count your trespasses against you and instead counts the righteousness and holiness of Jesus for you. That defines you as blessed by God, as a saint. Amen.
