Holy Improvisation: A Jazz-Inspired Look at the Beatitudes
Holy Improvisation: A Jazz-Inspired Look at the Beatitudes
Matthew 5:1-11
February 15, 2026 Mardi Gras Jazz Worship Service
Rev. Cynthia Cochran-Carney, First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael, CA
Today’s reading is from Matthew’s gospel. The beloved Beatitudes. Nine blessings from the voice of Jesus. It is the preface to his Sermon on the Mount. It’s the charter for every word he ever spoke and every action of healing and seeing and lifting up, and welcoming and sharing a meal.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then 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.
"Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
"Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Matthew 5:1-11 NRSV
There is a scene in a Monty Python movie about Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Apparently, it was difficult for the characters to hear what Jesus was saying. Big crowd, no sound system. One person in the crowd says to another.
“What was that?”
“I think it was, “Blessed are the cheesemakers.”
“What’s so special about the cheesemakers?” another person asks.
“Well, it is obviously not meant to be taken literally.
It refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.”
Clearly, the comedians of Monty Python were making a joke, but I wonder if there isn’t some truth in it too. Because cheesemakers might as well be listed in the category of people who are blessed. This is a surprising list. It is not what the crowd would have been expecting – God’s blessing, the Holy One present with, holding, seeing. Blessed are they… Blessed are you…
I noticed a posting on social media where someone asked others to finish the sentence “Blessed are you who…” and the answers were interesting. Here are a few.
–blessed are you who remember to laugh even though you may want to cry.
–blessed are you who write books for us to read, compose music for us to hear, create art for us to view.
–blessed are you who speak the truth in love.
–blessed are the care givers.
The list could go on and on. And that is the point. We are called to be people who notice who Christ notices and holds close. Maybe we feel part of some those groups – those who mourn, those who hunger and thirst for what is right and true, those who seek to mend the broken and seek shalom, peace.
Jesus calls us to impart blessings, to be blessings, to proclaim blessedness, in situations one might least expect to call blessed. The people, the seasons of life, seasons of the heart when people are vulnerable and maybe invisible. And the soundtrack is in a minor key.
The Counter-Cultural Key and Rhythm
When you think of your good days and living daily life, you probably don’t think of being "poor in spirit" or "being persecuted.” Usually, we want smooth, upbeat songs in a major key version of life. But Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount, doesn't bring a symphony of a simple “don’t worry be happy” songs or a concerto of prosperity. I like to think he brings jazz.
And Jazz is often born out of struggle—out of the blues. It is music that thrives on blue notes, improvised melodies and these somehow make the music more beautiful and human.
The Beatitudes are Jesus’s melody. It is not the melody of empire or those who deny the value of people.
He calls us to hear an invitation to listen to these blessings, to know their depth, their rootedness in the experiences of the human family, and then improvise on them with our own lives. They tell us that the kingdom, the reign of God, isn’t about pretending everything is fine; it is about finding blessing in the broken places. Let’s look at a few of the Beatitudes.
The Melody: Blessed are the Broken
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
In the world’s jazz band, the message is - be the loudest trumpet, the one who has it all together. But the poor in spirit are blessed because they, we, are open, longing.
Blessed are the parched souls - God’s way of belonging and grace is especially for them, for us. Blessed are those at the end of their rope. Blessed are the bone dry, those who can’t fake it anymore. God’s way of life is for them.
Maybe we think - I want God’s way of life! I want to live beyond the striving and comparing, the judgment and the fear. I want to remember that we belong to God, Holy Mystery, and each other. I want to remember that love is real and it never ends. The way back into that that reality is not by determined will or strong faith, but through our own emptiness and longing and openness. I want to hear that melody of love and grace and mystery.
“Blessed are those who mourn...”
In the world’s band, there is no a place for tears of tender care for the vulnerable, no place in the band for the one who plays notes of empathy or compassion or standing with neighbors who are facing threats of violence.
Those who mourn - The blues. True jazz isn't afraid of sadness. Jesus invites us to bring our grief, our loss, and our brokenness into the song, promising that Christ accompanies us in the lament, and offers comfort in the many seasons of grief and loss.
Improvisation
“Blessed are the... the merciful... the pure in heart.”
Blessed are the merciful – mercy – compassion, love, caring, forgiveness. People caring for each other. Blessed are the merciful – acts of kindness. Looking at a person, a situation, a need. What can I do? What can we do?
Reminded of stories of schools in Minneapolis and other places – teachers and staff made food deliveries to students and families who were too afraid to go to school and parents afraid to go to work. They figured out what to do. Neighbors helping neighbors - planning, improvising, finding ways to join in that song of love and hope.
Like the spiritual life and faith, Jazz is not about playing from a rigid, unchangeable sheet of music. It is improvisation—taking the melody and playing it fresh, in context, in the moment. These melodies are rooted in compassion, empathy, justice and peace.
Too often we are hearing some leaders play melodies that are rooted in ego, greed, unrestrained power and racism. The sound is dissonant. It is very different from the melody of the Beatitudes.
Living out the Beatitudes is taking the core melody of God's love and improvising it in your own life.
When you are merciful, you are improvising on grace.
When you are a peacemaker, you are improvising on harmony.
This requires us to be "deeply rooted in spiritual practices while creating something fresh".
It’s not just following rules; it’s listening to the Spirit to see where the music should go next.
The Ensemble: Harmony in a Disjointed World
Finally, jazz is a not a solo endeavor . It’s an ensemble. The Beatitudes are not written to individuals. Jesus spoke them to a group of people. He used the plural pronouns Blessed are they… The final one is plural -Blessed are you – all of you - y’all.
The church is a jazz ensemble, where different instruments—different stories, challenges, and gifts—come together to create a harmony that the world hasn't heard yet. We enter into that call and response, responding to the melody of our neighbor's needs. In community. Our congregation invited people from the community to sing together yesterday – songs of joy and hope and love, oldies but goodies. Some newer ones.
In Finding the Groove: Composing a Jazz-Shaped Faith, Robert Gelinas writes –
'A jazz-shaped faith ... balances freedom with boundaries, the individual with the group, and traditions with the pursuit of what might be. I have discovered in jazz a way of thinking, living, communicating---a way of being ... a groove.'
Syncopation. Improvisation. Playing the blues.
Ensemble. You can't play jazz alone. We need community. We need connections. Both require practicing and playing in ensemble, which means listening to others, needing others, becoming who we are because of others.
This moment in our country and world is significant, and historical, and it is fraught. But friends, we live in a deeper reality, deeper than any moment, and with a further horizon. We can live and speak and act because we can listen for the eternal melody. The Holy One is in us and around us. We belong to God, and every one of us in it belongs to each other.
No matter what, this remains true: when we feel parched in our hearts and souls, God’s way of belonging and grace is for us. And when we express our heartbreaking grief we are lifted up on others’ arms. And when we’re at home in God’s grace, we find the whole world to be our home. When we’re brave and generous with mercy we ourselves are awash in mercy. And when our hearts are vulnerable and open, we are more attentive to beauty and love. we remember whose and who we are, persistent love-seekers and brave hope-bearers. Amen
Resources
Rev. Bill Carter, “The Politics of Vulnerability,” February 1, 2026 https://billcartersermons.blogspot.com/2026/01/the-politics-of-vulnerability.html
Rev. Marci Glass, “Dissolve Like Salt,” November 2, 2020 https://marciglass.com/2020/11/02/dissolve-like-salt-2/
Rev. Kara Root, “In on the Miracle,” Nov. 1, 2020 https://kara-root.blogspot.com/2020/11/in-on-miracle.html