Matthew 5-7 A Thought for the Day - September 19, 2023
Last week, my body seemed to force me into an unexpected break. It made me ponder the idea of rest—a concept we often struggle with in our busy lives. Sleep, leisure, moments of silence, or even a guilty pleasure like binge-watching TV—they're all necessary at times, even though we may resist them.
In the midst of being under the weather, I found myself preparing a sermon. However, when I revisited it on Saturday night, I couldn't help but think, “This isn't quite right.” So, I did something I rarely do, mainly because my ADHD-prone mind tends to venture into rabbit holes of distraction.
After preaching two remarkably different versions of the final lines of the Sermon on the Mount (and why do that to start a sermon series on the most famous Sermon in the world), I confided in my wife, Melinda. I told her about my concerns regarding the sermon. I worried that perhaps I had given people too much to digest.
The Apostle Paul writes about offering “spiritual milk” to those who are like infants, not yet ready for solid food. Most sermons today, including my own, often seem to stick to a safe diet of spiritual milk—pleasant and comforting but not necessarily transformative.
But as I reflected, it struck me that Jesus' Sermon on the Mount doesn't conform to the standard formula for engaging sermons. It lacks the captivating stories designed to capture our attention immediately. Instead, it begins with blessings—profound yet enigmatic statements that leave us pondering their meaning.
The temptation to spiritualize the Sermon on the Mount is always there, to strip it of its radical call for a radically different way of life. Yet, this sermon is the very heartbeat of Jesus' gospel and the soul of God's kingdom.
Interestingly, there's no mention of what to believe in this sermon; it's all about what to do. We must believe that the One who delivers this sermon wants us not just to listen but to live it—to be, as he puts it, "the light of the world."
I won't be revisiting the two sermons I delivered on that day. I fear I might regret having given people more than they can handle. But sometimes, there's no way around it. Jesus demands much of us, yet his way is undeniably better than the paths society often leads us down.
His radical love, his unwavering call to forgive even the gravest of offenses, his emphasis on letting go of worry and our obsessions with wealth, and his constant focus on our thoughts and how they affect us—it's all good.
The Sermon on the Mount appears near the beginning of the New Testament as a testament to what Jesus expects from those who come to him. We can't avoid it, and it offers a transformative way of life—even if it's a way that stands in stark contrast to societal norms.
Jesus didn't offer spiritual milk; he likely didn't have the time for it. He went straight to the heart of the matter. So, I invite you to read it today: Matthew 5-7. It'll take just 5 to 10 minutes. Then read it again tomorrow. Building a life around the teachings of this timeless Rabbi, our Lord and Savior, may seem overwhelming, but in doing so, our lives will shine, and the shadows in this world will cower, for where light enters, shadows disappear.
Our world could use more light, and fortunately, Jesus looks at us and says, “I know precisely where that light will come from.”
With hope,
Garrett