The first Beatitudes, each exhibiting an absence of one of the four elements, illustrate aspects of our personal relationship with God. By contrast, the second four focus on an overflow of these same elements. The excess of these elements are illustrated in four attributes which affect others, allowing us to share with those around us the benefits of a restored relationship with God.
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The sixth Beatitude:
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
I've been looking forward to writing about this, one of my favorite Beatitudes, for a while. Finally, I get to talk about an Athenian celebrity, the philosopher Aristotle (384-322 BC). First, I'd like to apologize for the need to call down Aristotle, who is thought to be one of the most advanced thinkers of all time. I don't think Jesus had anything against Aristotle personally, or against any of the Athenian figures the Beatitudes bring to mind. I believe he loved them, but he saw their weaknesses. I think Jesus may have been gently drawing our attention to his own agenda, which confilcts with much of the worldly wisdom of Athens.
Athens wanted us to become godlike through our own efforts.
Jesus realized the Athenian plan wouldn't work. In fact, his work can only begin in us when each of us realizes the same thing. His teaching in the fifth Beatitude is both deep and subtle.
Aristotle, along with his teacher Plato, and Plato's teacher, Socrates, believed that the greatest activity God can engage in is thinking. God, to them, was pure thought. Flesh was impure, filthy, and needed to be cleansed so the spirit could be free to return to a godly state. The Greeks loved to make hairline distinctions between spirit and soul by defining them thus, and thus, and pinpointing their presumed locations in the human frame. They believed God was pure mind, so they devoted themselves to pure thought to become godlike.
Christ, who was both divine and human, was known more for action than for comtemplation. He was a living contradiction to Plato's philosophy. God does not just think, his life cried out. He intends to restore. And he carries out his intention.
The activity of thought or spirit in the Greek system was located in the head. The activity of intention, on the other hand, was located in the center of the human body, which was considered the heart.
Aristotle is known for his systems of ethics, particularly the Nicomachean ethics. I won't take the time to compare and contrast them with the Beatitudes in detail, but this system of ethics is composed of eight virtues. Aristotle's ideal is not to live out the extreme, but rather to obtain perfect balance. He presumes those who are ethical are also wealthy: his ethics begin with "Blessed. . . " but the Greek word which he uses, translated in English as blessed, is "eudamonia," which applies to earthly bliss. Christ uses the same eight-item format beginning with "blessed" in the Beatitudes, but he presumes human brokenness and substitutes a much stronger word for blessed, "makarioi," which indicates divine bliss.
Jesus is more extreme than Aristotle: he stoops lower, and he aims higher.
Purity is associated with rituals of cleansing: in this verse, the medical term "katharoi" is used, describing the primary means of healing the sick in Greek medicine. The idea was to flush out impurities to bring health to the body. In both Greek and Hebrew ritual, washing with water was a usual preparation to enter the divine presence.
Luke shared an important teaching of Jesus about the heart: that which is intended inwardly is displayed outwardly. "The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart." Luke 6.
How often is the evil we see in others simply a reflection of our own unkindness? The work of the sixth Beatitude is to purify our hearts with an overflowing of water, even to let the living water spill over to cleanse our perceptions of those around us. When we enter God's presence with a pure heart and clear vision, we will see ourselves surrounded not by evil, but by goodness. We are taught that a man cannot see God and live. But God will show himself to us through his children, who reflect his likeness. This is how we humans are able to percieve God.
Click here for notes on the seventh beatitude.