Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

One of my favorite musicals to watch is The Sound of Music because of the hope offered
throughout. In this musical, there is a song about a flower and no, it isn’t “My Favorite Things”
either. Its Edelweiss. Edelweiss the pure, white flower of the Alps. Edelweiss with white blossoms so perfectly white that it perfectly blends in with the environment in it’s natural habitat, the highest, farthest, snowiest crags of the Alps. Edelweiss is so perfectly white that even after it is picked and pressed it will not discolor for many years, but instead stays white!

Like the rest of the beatitudes, this one is both physical and spiritual, corporeal and ethereal. The difference is that this verse was phrased in such a way that it told the hearer the most obvious, most dogmatic principle and told them to extrapolate the rest. “they/you shall see…” was a Hebraism, a common saying meaning “to fully enjoy the benefits of” because “seeing” something was used as a metaphor for possessing something. The pure in heart shall completely enjoy the benefits of God.

Physically, only the legally pure were able to go into the Temple and the Holy place. Only the
High Priest or his designate could go into the Holy of Holies once a year. Here Jesus alludes to
this. Only the legally pure were able to enter into the Holy place and to commune directly with
God, to enjoy His felicity and to have that special life-changing moment.

Spiritually, only the righteously pure will be able to commune forever with God in the place Christ went to prepare for us. Only the spiritually pure, who can only be purified by the complete and total acceptance of Christ’s gift for us and the utter surrender to Him and His will for us. If we do this, our lives will be continuously in that special life-changing moment, our hearts will be continuously seeing God and His mighty works no matter where we may be.

We are called to be Edelweiss pure and white, called to be washed, rinsed, and dried by the blood
of our Savior. We are called to strive to conquer the mountains of this world, to climb the heights
of the hills and descend the depths of the valleys only to climb once more to the peak to attain this simple flower. Jesus is our guide and our leader. He is our anchor in the treacherous climbs and our companion in the valley. While we are seeking purity, righteousness, virtue, Godliness, and His presence and likeness, He is right there with us yet like the two men on the road to Emmaus (Luke24:13-33), we only recognize it later!

Let us seek and hunger after righteousness, and then He shall spread His mercy on us. As we
share His mercy with those around us, He shall keep us pure in heart and purpose. Let us strive
for purity: purity of heart, purity of mind, purity of soul, and purity of strength!

O Holy Spirit, keep us pure,
Grant us Thy strength when sins allure;
Our bodies are Thy temple, Lord;
Be Thou in thought and act adored.