The Sermon on the Mount Wk. 2

When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart.”

Jeremiah 29:13

So far…Matthew 5: 1 - 32

• The Beatitudes 3 - 12• Disciples relationship to the world 13 - 16.• Jesus is the culmination of God’s self-revelation

17 - 20• Disciples must respect life and work for

reconciliation 21 – 26• Disciples must not just avoid adultery, they must

have hearts free of lust. 27 – 30• Disciples must respect the marriage commitment

31 – 32

Question: Definition: GRACE

• We are given grace “An undeserved gift or help freely and lovingly provided by God but above all the utterly basic gift of being saved in Christ through faith.” Dictionary of Theology.

• So we may pray, “God, give me the grace to love you as you deserve to be loved.”

• Or we may say, “Well, I had to make a choice and by God’s grace, I made the right choice.”

Questions• What’s wrong with lusting after someone if

we don’t do anything? Didn’t God create us this way?

• What’s wrong with euthanasia if a person is suffering pain?

• There’s nothing wrong with divorce.• So many do’s and don’ts.• Surely all these laws were made 2000

years ago and can’t be relevant now. Too simplistic and unrealistic.

Today: Matthew 5: 33 - 37Disciples must respect the truth. Do not attempt to

guarantee the truth of one’s words by calling on the authority of God.

• “Above all my beloved, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “Yes” be yes and your “No” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” James 5:12

• Christians have understood Jesus’ words in a nuanced way; community may require an oath of someone for its own protection or to ensure that justice is done.

Matthew 5: 38 – 48 Disciples must not return violence for violence.• Jesus is not telling his disciples to let evil have its way. He is requiring of them that in

resisting evil they must not only refuse to do evil themselves, they must also continue to do good.

• An empowering of his disciples “Why are you so afraid to love universally? What have you got to lose?”

• “Love for enemies is the key to the solution of the problems of our world. Jesus is not an impractical idealist, he is the practical realist. Our responsibility as Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to live it out.” Dr. Martin Luther King.

• “I have never yet met an enemy whom I did not try to turn into a friend.” Nelson Mandela.

Matthew 5.

• “Do not overcome evil with evil but evil with good.” Romans 12:21

• “See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.” 1 Thessalonians 5:15.

Matthew 5Disciples must love as God loves.• Gr. agape: a commitment to value a person, a

love of choice.• Not eros – passionate love• Not philia – platonic love between friends• This kind of love concerns not feeling but

decisions: faithful commitment to the good of another. This love is from Christ; it is a participation in His love.

• “Be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God”. Ephesians 5: 1 - 2

The closing line of Chapt. 5

Matt 5:48

Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.

“You must have patience and not think that God our Lord requires what man cannot accomplish. And if one satisfies God, what difference does it make whether he satisfies men? There is no need to wear yourself out, but make a competent and sufficient effort, and leave the rest to Him who can do all He pleases”.

St Ignatius of Loyola.

Matthew 6

• Disciples and almsgiving 1 - 4

• Disciples and prayer 5 - 8

• “The Lord’s Prayer” 9 - 15

• Disciples and fasting 16 - 18

• A heart fixed on God 19 – 23

• You cannot serve God and wealth 24

• Trust in God 25 – 34 (Sharing)

Sharing

• Read Matthew 6: 25 – 34• What are some of the things that people today worry about

most?• Do you think it possible to trust God so much that one can live

without worrying?

Matthew 7

• Disciples are not to sit in judgment on others. 1 – 5“Do not do anything from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves.”Phil. 2:3

• Disciples are to be discerning 6• Disciples are to petition God with confidence 7 – 11• The Golden Rule : The Summary of the Revelation and

Spirituality of the Old Testament. 12• The Two Roads: Disciples must choose 13 - 14• False Prophets 15 – 20• Test of discipleship – doing the will of God.21 – 23• Disciples are to hear Jesus’ words and act on them.

Jesus’ teaching

The reaction of his hearers about his teaching:

• It did not come from any known school of thought.

• It was radically different from anything they had heard before.

• It interprets, it explains, it illustrates “with authority”.

The Source• Jesus’ teaching is not the product of human

learning and wisdom. • It originates from immediate contact with the

Father. From face – to – face dialogue with the Father. From the vision of the one who rests close to the Father’s heart.

• Again and again in the Gospels we read that Jesus withdrew to pray. This praying is conversation with the Father.

• This is Jesus’ filial existence from which his actions and teaching sprang.

• “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”John 14:9

He is all things; in as much as he judges, Law;in as much as he teaches, Word;in as much as he saves, Grace; in as much as he is begotten, Son; in as much as he is buried, Human;in as much as he is risen; God.This is Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever Amen