God's Policy Priorities--February 2, 2026

God's Policy Priorities--February 2, 2026

"When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he began to speak and taught them, saying:
  Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled..."(Matthew 5:1-6)

Every winter, Americans go through an annual ritual, as mandated by the Constitution, in which the current president of the United States addresses a joint session of Congress, along with the Supreme Court, special guests, and a watching television audience to inform us all about "the state of the union."  You know how this goes, I'm sure, even if you are not a regular watcher of the annual speech.  It is a bit of political theater, with pauses for applause, choreographed pageantry, and in more recent years, a prepared response from the opposition party as well. To be honest, I don't expect that a State of the Union address reaches as many people these days as it used to, since now our public figures are on television already all the time, as well as using social media, press secretaries, and pundits to push their perspectives on the other 364 days of the year as well.

But I will grant this about a State of the Union address, even in these late days of our republic: it's still a pretty good place to get a feel for the policy priorities of the current administration for the year ahead.  The things that get mentioned in this speech are the places that the executive branch will be giving special attention to or turning greater resources toward.  That doesn't mean that other areas which don't get specifically named in the speech aren't happening or are unimportant; it just means that the ones mentioned by the president are particular priorities. Sure, there will be unexpected events that might redirect or change the government's focus.  Sure, there will be pushback and opposition from the party on the other side of the aisle.  Sure, a set of priorities is not the same as getting legislation passed or getting action taken.  But if you want to know at the start of a calendar year what the current regime thinks is important, the State of the Union is a good place to start.

So, I mention all of this because the Gospel of Matthew gives us something with a similar feel and meaning here in the opening of the fifth chapter.  Jesus gives the first large block of teaching in the gospel here, which many of us heard in worship this past Sunday, in what we often call "the Sermon on the Mount." And because this is the beginning of Jesus' public ministry, this has the feel of being a sort of "State of the Union" for Jesus' mission.  Jesus has already begun telling people that "the kingdom of heaven" or "the Reign of God" is at hand; now he tells us what that means and what makes God's agenda different from the kingdoms and empires of the world.  In a very real sense, the Sermon on the Mount is like a State of the Union address. And beginning with the Beatitudes, Jesus reveals that God has a very different set of priorities from the need for power, status, wealth, and domination of the world's regimes.

The Beatitudes, in other words, are not a checklist for us of things we have to be or do in order to earn ourselves a spot in the Heaven Club; they are a list of policy priorities for the Yahweh Administration. And instead of seeking what the world calls "greatness" or "winning" or "strength," Jesus reveals God's heart for the hurting, the lowly, and the empty-handed.  That's especially clear in this first half of these statements of blessing.  Jesus doesn't say that wealth, abundance, or ambition are signs of God's blessing, but rather the opposite. God's priority is on showing kindness to the runs who are running on fumes... to the ones whose hearts are broken... and to the lowly and softspoken.  It doesn't mean that God doesn't love other people, not any more than a State of the Union speech names the only things a government will do in a given year.  But they both do point to priorities.  God's priority, you might say, is to lift up the ones who have been stepped on, the ones who are weary, and the ones who are aching for the world to be put right--precisely because they have experienced so much of what is wrong in the world. Howard Thurman, the great theologian of the 20th century who was a mentor for Dr. King, would say that God's blessing is turned especially toward "the ones with their backs against the wall" and "the disinherited."  Gustavo Gutierrez, a Peruvian theologian of the second half of the 20th century, used to talk about it as "God's preferential option for the poor." It doesn't mean that God doesn't care about others; it does mean that God's heart is for the ones who are most in need and hurting.  That's where God's policy priorities are focused, Jesus says.  These statements of blessing are not about what we have to do or endure in order to earn a spot on God's good list--they are declarations about what especially matters to God, and how God cares for those who are most often overlooked and underserved.

The Big Deals of the world's regimes have a tendency to focus on their own interests, their own power, and their own legacies.  They build monuments to their greatness, ignore the vulnerable, and try to accumulate more "stuff" for themselves.  That same tired list of priorities gets dressed up with new slogans and marketing in speech after speech, year after year, and we all know that nothing much is different when we hear it repackaged again out of the next person at the podium.  Jesus, however, turns everything upside down. He shows us what--and who--matters with special concern to God, in the hopes that our priorities will be shaped by God's.  He reveals what God is "up to" in the world, so that our character will be formed in the likeness of God's.

How will our hearts be turned toward God's priorities today--and how might we be attuned to the needs of those whose backs are against the wall right now?

Lord Jesus, realign our priorities to fit with your own.