As our first week draws to a close, we move further into Matthew's Gospel. Our readings now shift from Jesus temptation, to the calling of his disciples, and finally to Jesus Sermon on the Mount. Now we don't know if Jesus actually gave this sermon as written in Matthew. Luke actually calls it a sermon on the plain. I have heard that the sermon might actually be just a collection of some of Jesus' greatest teachings that Matthew has collected in one place.
So as you read this great sermon, which parts most speak to you? Which parts of the sermon most challenges you?
As I reflect on the Sermon on the Mount, I am certainly most challenged by loving my enemies and praying for those who persecute me. By far, these are the last folks I actually want to waste my breath on. However, when I have prayed for those who have wronged me personally, I have found my attitudes toward those folks changed. I have found that praying for my "enemies" expands my understanding of who they are. I find I am able to no longer define my enemies strictly by that action or actions that they have perpetrated upon me. Rather, I am better able to see them also as a living, breathing human beings with faults just like me.
Keep up the good work.
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