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| Sermon on the Mount: Matthew 5 |
St. Paul’s letter describes how we have the triune life of God in us through the waters of baptism. Paul challenges us to remember who we really are: new creatures, sons and daughters of God our Father, called to live a God-like life.
In the Gospel according to Matthew, Jesus calls us to get our priorities straight. Our first priority: to live in a relationship with God. Our second priority: to see the face of God in our fellow human beings, no matter how hidden or shabby that face of God is in them.
Jesus calls us to live a life of discipleship. Not tomorrow or some future day, but today, here and now! Then we will experience what joy and happiness are all about.
Everyone wants happiness.
Many think that if they get enough money, fame, or power, they’ll be happy. But if so, explain how so many celebrities who “had it all” sedated themselves with drugs or other addictions.
Happiness has to factor into life: work with its stresses; relationships with their tensions; disappointments versus dreams; guilt about what one did or didn’t do; health or lack thereof. And ultimately, happiness has to factor into death.
Let’s remember that at one point in his earthly ministry, many followers left Jesus. Jesus then turned to his inner circle and asked, “Do you also want to leave?” Peter replied, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”
Yes, we become happiest by mastering the basics: I suggest we easily find them in the Beatitudes. Then with God's grace, we become the best version of ourselves.
In the opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes the kind of moral character we should have, in our relationship with God and our relationships with one another.
First, disciples recognize that only God can fill their emptiness. That’s what it means to be poor in spirit. We needn’t try to fill ourselves with earthly things. Disciples recognize who they are: fragile creatures whom an awesome Creator gifted with life. We realize our good fortune to be alive and are grateful and we owe this awesome Creator praise and worship
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Disciples yearn for healing from their brokenness and know only God can heal. They are gentle, considerate and unassuming. Disciples, above all, hunger for a right relationship with God.
The next beatitudes have to do with our relationships with one another.
Fortunate are they who forgive wrongs done to them and let go of their anger and resentment. God will be merciful to them. Fortunate are the pure in heart, who have integrity, openness, and authenticity in their relationships; they will see God face to face. Fortunate are they who are ready to suffer rather than betray their conscience, who try to do the right thing in all situations.
And finally, fortunate are they who don’t stir up conflict but try to be at peace with God, with themselves, and with others.
I pray that God will grace us to live the beatitudes so that we will become the best version of ourselves, disciples of the Master, always living in a right relationship with God and each other. Amen!
