Reflection
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
His disciples came to him, and he began to teach them.
Matthew 5:1
Reflection
Jesus’ mission of renewal called for an inner spirituality of surrender, prayer, mercy and compassion. Jesus was not a literalist nor was he superficial…. Blessed are those who have inner space to see and receive the truth of reality. They participate creatively in the unfolding reign of God. His ‘good news’ was a reality check, a wake-up call to the fact that humans can be unnaturally violent to one another, divisive, arrogant, and brutal. Jesus called his disciples to a new future, to form a new transformed earth a “kin-dom’ of equality and inclusivity. This new community required a new level of consciousness and participation”
Ilia Delio adapted from Making All Things New
Prayer
Thy kindom come.
Action
Study the Beatitudes. Compare them to the social norms that are presently operative. To what are we being called?
Suggested Reading
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.
Matthew 5:1-12
What must one do to be a good Christian?’ the answer is clear. We have to do, each in our own way, what Jesus told us in the Sermon on the Mount.
Pope Francis
The point is not that Jesus was a good guy who accepted everybody, and thus we should do the same (though that would be good). Rather, his teachings and behavior reflect an alternative social vision. Jesus was not talking about how to be good and how to behave within the framework of a domination system. He was a critic of the domination system itself.
Marcus J. Borg,
In Scripture, we find the Beatitudes, the signs of what it means to be a good human being, an ethical government, a moral country. The renewal of the United States depends, Jesus’ declaration of the Beatitudes implies, on us, on our own integration of these values in life — regardless of the system we see being bent out of shape or the toxic individualism that is poisoning it.
Joan Chittister
The influence of the Sermon on the Mount is truly past reckoning. Any rational human being with a conscientious mind is bound to be influenced by its exuberant content regardless of religious background.
Abhijit NaskarThe Beatitudes are no spiritual “to do list” to be attempted by eager, rule-keeping disciples. It is a spiritual “done” list of the qualities God brings to bear in the people who follow Jesus.
Ronnie McBrayer
The Sermon on the Mount seems dangerous. It challenges the whole underlying conception on which modern society is built. It would replace it by a new conception, animate it with a new motive, and turn it toward a new goal.
E. Stanley Jones