Matthew 5:1-12
1 Now when Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to him, 2 and he began to teach them.
The Beatitudes
He said:
3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Since we ate the forbidden fruit many years ago, we have been trying to get back the the Garden, the Tree of Life, and most importantly to our Father...Ever since our disobedience in Paradise, that happened in Genesis three, the rest of the Bible is about how God is trying to get back us back with Him in the Best Place in the Universe and to our Heavenly Spiritual Hosts...
We are given ideas and history in the Old Testament of God's People...He teaches us about Him and His people, and the hints of One who was to come to help us get back to the Garden...In the Old Testament Prophies He is called the Anointed One...So God at the Right Time God would send His Son to us to teach us more about His Father, and lots about His Son...His Son taught in a peaceful, LOVING Way, a most humbling of Way...He was always serving others, and helping others, especially those in need...He demonstrated to us on earth what relationships are all about and how helping others in need are important...
His Son would give us His First Sermon and tell us how He wants to sort out this sinful world...God has been trying to get His family and children back together since our Fall in Genesis chapter two, and the entire rest of Scripture is a Way to help us get back to Eden...God wants His children in harmony, and the world in harmony...God wants us to have a loving relationship with Him and all of our neighbors...This is His Greatest Commandment...
Bishop N. T. Wright tells us: "When God wants to sort out the world, as the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount make clear, He doesn't send in the tanks...He sends in the meek, the broken, the justice hungry, the peacemakers, the pure-hearted and so on."...
Wright adds: "Good Christian liturgy is friendship in action, love taking thought, the covenant relationship between God and is people not simply discovered and celebrated like the sudden meeting of friends, exciting and worthwhile though that is, but thought through and relished, planned and prepared -- an ultimately better way for the relationship to grow and at the same time a way of demonstrating what the relationship is all about."...