Continuing the quest for knowledge, and specifically to
ascertain the defining characteristics of those that are “pure in heart,” who
are also those that will “see God,” it is now time to forward in the sermon to
the sixth chapter. It is there that one encounters the second and only
other use of “heart” in the course of this dissertation from the
mountain. This usage will prove to be quite beneficial in the quest.
It will not only impart knowledge, but also, along with so much else being said
here, inform the ethical, practical, and performative mandate in association
with the Christian’s charge to be the place where heaven and earth come
together---the Creator God’s will being done on earth as in heaven.
Interestingly enough, the
“Lord’s Prayer,” from which these words of the covenant God’s will, earth, and
heaven are lifted, constitute a portion of the preface to the second
presentation of the heart. It is worth mentioning that just as Jesus’
sermon began with a mention of the kingdom of heaven (5:3), so too does Jesus’
prayer include a mention of the kingdom of heaven within its opening
statements, as Jesus says “Our Father in heaven, may Your name be honored, may
Your kingdom come, may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven”
(Matthew 6:9b-10).
From there, it is not necessary
to travel a great number of verses before hearing the context for Jesus’
mention of the heart. Beginning in the nineteenth verse of this same
chapter Jesus says “Do not accumulate for yourselves treasures on earth, where
moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But
accumulate for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not
destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal” (6:19-20).
Given Jesus’ clear understanding that it is His God’s desire
that His will be performed on earth as in heaven, and given the context of the
kingdom of heaven come to earth that is everywhere present in Matthew’s
narrative as well as being the foundational structure for this particular
sermon, Jesus is not drawing a hard and fast dichotomy between the earthly
realm and the heavenly realm. Indeed, as it His intention to establish the
Creator God’s kingdom on earth, the seeming dichotomy between earth (usually
conceived of as the physical realm that is occupied by man) and heaven (usually
conceived of as the aspired-to final destination of Christians) actually
disappears.
It is paramount to hear Jesus speaking from within His own
culture and its conceptions, rather than from the position of a religious
culture that is overly and improperly defined by Greek (primarily Platonic) and
Enlightenment-driven thoughts of the separation of the physical from the
spiritual. Given the Jewish hope that the covenant God would establish
His reign through His Messiah, restoring His creation as an attendant feature
of the establishment of His kingdom, one would correctly hear Jesus speaking of
earth and heaven in terms of past and future. Treasures on earth would be
linked to the old world and the old way of doing things prior to the coming of the
Creator God’s kingdom that is heralded by the presence of Jesus, whereas
treasures in heaven are linked to the new way of doing things, in association
with the recognition of the God of Israel’s rule having come to earth.
It is following this talk of
treasure, and its earthly (pre-kingdom of God) usage versus its heavenly
(kingdom having come) usage, that Jesus speaks of the heart. He says “For
where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (6:21). Yes, the
disposition of one’s treasure reveals the disposition of the heart.
Clearly then, purity of heart is linked to the accumulation and disposition of
treasure in ways that are commensurate with the establishment and extension of
the kingdom of heaven.
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