It seems fitting that this Beatitude falls on the day before Valentine’s Day. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God is a lovely promise. Of course we all like to think of hearts around Valentine’s Day, too. What does ‘pure in heart’ mean, and who is Jesus referring to?
Commentators like Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
note, “The purity…is not…[like the Pharisees] outward and ceremonial, [nor
limited to]…sensual sin; but it excluded every element of baseness—the impurity
of hate or greed of gain, no less than that of lust.”
Jesus was especially critical of those who practiced outward
piety but didn’t have a true relationship to God. In Matthew 23 he confronts and
warns the religious leaders, The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’
seat… but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach…you
lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and
when others are going in, you stop them…Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but
within they are full of extortion and excess...you are like whitewashed tombs,
which on the outside look beautiful, but inside they are full of the bones of
the dead and of all kinds of filth...
The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were not ‘pure in
heart’. Yet, they were sure that they were doing exactly what God wanted by
following all the proper rules. Br. James Woodrum of the Society of St. John
Evangelist (SSJE) noted last January, “Jesus' message was that holiness was not
determined by being set apart as morally superior to others but rather by
exhibiting the highest attribute of God, what was known in Hebrew as chesed,
which is translated as loving-kindness or compassion. This is what Jesus
exhibited in each of these encounters with the Scribes and Pharisees. These
men, groomed since a young age to shepherd their flock, did not recognize the
characteristic that most defined the God to whom they belonged. This is
what pained Jesus so intensely...”
Jesus calls the Scribes and Pharisees “whitewashed tombs” because they didn't understand God's love and mercy. I
know I can fall into the trap of thinking that going to church and being
charitable and following rules is the key to being on God’s good side. I forget
to practice chesed. When I really examine my conscience, I find that
there are some dead bones lurking around. Those bones of festering biases and
hatreds which I try to keep hidden but secretly nurture keep me from
being ‘pure in heart’.
What can I do, what can we do to clean out those old bones? The Letter to the Hebrews counsels, pursue peace with everyone, as well as holiness, without which no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14). The Old Testament reminds us that we have a faithful God keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments (Deuteronomy 7:9). Love isn’t sentimental or soft and fuzzy, despite all the messages to the contrary around this time of year. Love is a deliberate intention to see each other through God’s eyes, even if we really don’t want to be friends. Like the penguin in the image, we may find it difficult at times (or often), but God asks us to persevere.
As Presiding Bishop Curry says regularly, “If it’s not about
love, it’s not about God.” Love, peace, mercy and more love—even for the
ones we would rather not like, maybe that’s the key to having pure hearts this
Valentine’s weekend.
Is there a festering bone or two you may want to clean out?
Who might you try to love, even if you don’t like them?
