Matthew 5: 1-12

Do you have happy genes? That's a question that arises out of some fairly new science. Perhaps you've heard about it. After all these centuries of trying to figure out what makes people happy, and drawing many wrong conclusions, scientists have discovered that there is a strong genetic component. I'm sure there are many more scientifically sophisticated ways to say it, but as I understand it, some people are born with happier genes than others. And this explains why happiness is so difficult to pin down, and often works against what our intuition tells us should be so.

Other studies have followed people who have had either amazingly good luck, or amazingly bad luck. Lottery winners, for example. Win a huge bundle of money - you know the figures, millions and millions of dollars in some cases. Studies show that within six months of winning the lottery, most of these folks have returned to the level of happiness they had before they won. Similarly, those who have experienced tragedy also tend to return to their 'happiness baseline' in six months. There are many exceptions to this; but all of us have met people who held their head up through some miserable circumstances, and people who seemed to have it all, and couldn't be happy.

So what does that say to us? We might as well stop trying, because no matter what we do, we can't influence whether we'll be happy or not? There's probably a lot of ways to answer that question, but one is to point out that there is something deeper than happiness -- something beyond the feeling of the moment - it is a spiritual quality of wellbeing that comes from something deeper in life.

. In those scientific studies about happiness, a couple things have been identified that seem to influence the happiness quotient. One of them is church attendance. Doesn't that make you all happier today? People who attend church report consistently a higher happiness level than those who don't. We might tend to say that is because God rewards those who attend church with good things. That's a mistake. A lot of people get bitter because of making that mistake. They say things like, Man, I attended church every Sunday; I tried to live right; I tithed my offerings; I served on that committee; I gave to the poor.. .and tragedy still hit my family. What's with that?

Going to church doesn't protect us from the normal course of life. Jesus said that the sun shines on everybody; stuff happens. What that statistic about churchgoers being happier reflects, I believe, is that churchgoers are more likely to be people who believe that no matter what happens in life, there is a deeper source of happiness, beyond the feelings of the moment.

And all of that brings us to this morning's scripture lesson, where Jesus, at the very first teaching of his ministry, as Matthew tells it in the Bible, describes what it means to be blessed. Not happy, even though some versions of the Bible use the word 'happy' as a translation of Jesus' word here - but blessed, deeply in our souls - experiencing joy and peace that transcend the moment, and fulfill all of life.

These blessings from Jesus - what Christians call the Beatitudes - can be roughly considered in three parts, which I'm going to label Longing, Living, and Lasting. This is vastly oversimplifying these teachings from Jesus - but the three L's may give us some handle on what Jesus is saying.

The first four Beatitudes have to do with our longing for God. To put it into context, I'd like to bring up two examples of longing that caught my attention this week. One was an interview on television. It was out in Santa Barbara, California, where the trial of Michael Jackson is getting under way. And this interview, I thought, was with Michael Jackson himself. But, it turns out, it was a Michael Jackson impersonator. This young man from England puts on make-up every day, on his face and hands, has had plastic surgery done, has bought a wardrobe to match Michael Jackson's, and now has spent his life savings to travel to California, where he will camp outside the courthouse, if he has his way, for the entire trial period, which is expected to be about six months. He was asked how much money he had spent on all this, and he said, with tears in his eyes, "I would have spent ten times as much." This is a passionate young man. His longing is to be there for his hero. -.

The second thing that caught my attention was an article in the newspaper about the Super Bowl. Specifically, it was about what it cost to attend the Super Bowl. Average cost for two -- $10,000. So, the article was saying, for the cost of attending that game, you could buy this car, add this to your home, paying for this much college tuition, this much health insurance, and so on. But, when we tune in to watch Donovan McNabb do his stuff today, we will see all the people who spent the $10,000 instead of doing those other things. Those are passionate people. Their longing is to be there at that game.

What Jesus is saying is that God blesses passionate people. God blesses people whose passion, whose longing is to live godly lives. The first Beatitude is, Blessed are the poor in spirit. Most interpreters say that can mean the poor in general, but more specifically it means, Blessed are those who know the poverty of their souls- how much they need God. The second Beatitude is, Blessed are those who mourn. Again, that can mean those who are in mourning for many losses in life. But most

interpreters believe Jesus is talking about those who mourn that they fall short of what God wants. Then comes Blessed are the meek - again, those who know that they need God, and long to be with him. And then, the most obvious Beatitude about longing - Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.

Impersonating Michael Jackson may bring some happiness to that young man; attending the Super Bowl may bring happy moments. But what Jesus is offering for those who long for God goes deeper than that: 'theirs is the kingdom of heaven.' 'They shall be comforted.' 'They shall inherit the earth.' 'They shall be satisfied.'

The next three Beatitudes have to do with our living. They have to do with how we conduct ourselves in life. Blessed are the merciful; the pure in heart; and the peacemakers. Once we are clear about the longings of our hearts, and receive the great spiritual rewards from God, we live differently than we did before. And I don't know if Jesus was trying to give us an exhaustive list of the results, but there are at least these three things, that are very rare in today's world: disciples of Jesus are merciful- they do not try to take vengeance, they don't snap back, they don't retaliate for the meanness of others. Disciples of Jesus are pure - they don't excuse bad behavior, they don't let others down, they don't keep bad thoughts, they hold to honesty and high moral standards. Disciples of Jesus are peacemakers - they try to resolve arguments; they work for justice; they don't fly off the handle.

And again, the blessings are great for this kind of living: they shall obtain mercy; they shall see God; and they shall be called the children of God. What blessings could surpass those?

Longing; living; and lasting. The final two Beatitudes are about faith that lasts - because living the life of a follower of Jesus means you will be reviled, and persecuted, and people will tell false stories about you because of how you act. Goody-Two-Shoes. Religious fanatic. Holier-Than-Thou. Jesus Freak. I know you got religion now, but we can still trust you to cut a few comers for the company, can't we? You're not going to get all righteous on us, are you?

Many will be the challenges to faith in this complicated world. After all, it is a faith which holds as its central symbol the cross - a symbol of humiliation and wrongful death. It is a faith where the faithful have faced lions in coliseums and burning at the stake. It is a faith that challenges the lynchpins of societies everywhere - money, power, and war. Don't think, said Jesus, that your faith is a ticket to being rich, popular, and comfortable on this earth. If this faith is truly expressed and lived out, there will be persecution, ridicule, and sacrifice.

But blessed is the faith that lasts, because people of such faith - longing for God, living in mercy, purity, and peace, and lasting through the tough times -- theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Rejoice and be exceeding glad. For great is your reward.

So we have within us a happiness gene. We may also have, scientists tell us, a gene for temper, a gene for religious feelings, a gene for morality. These may determine certain dispositions in our lives. Some people will want to use these genetic arguments as excuses - Hey! It's how I was made. But, guess what? It still comes down to personal responsibility and choices. And, as Jesus tells it, how you long, how you live, and how you last. Blessed are those who learn this.

After we share Holy Communion this morning, we will close our service with a hymn. It is one of the most famous hymn stories - Harold Spafford was in America, waiting for his wife and daughters to arrive by boat. Instead, word came that the boat sank, and everybody drowned. So he boarded a ship that sailed to the place of the tragedy, and there he wrote the words to the hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul." Where did that hymn come from? Certainly not from happiness, because that was the most tragic moment imaginable. It came from something deeper - a deep, deep faith that no matter what happens in this life, it is well when God is present in our souls.