Sermon Talk Back

 

For the last several weeks we have strolled, and sometimes stumbled, through the Sermon on the Mount.  We have encountered passages that invite us to consider the spices on the shelf of our soul ~ being salt and light in the world (Matthew 5:13-14).  We have been stretched by words that we wanted to resist or object to adopting in our lives about loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).  We have heard Jesus invite us to wade in the water in concrete ways of faithfulness, forgiveness, fasting, generosity, and prayer.  And last week, we heard the final image of Jesus, who suddenly became a building contractor, teaching and telling us to be careful where we build our lives. 

 

What part of the Sermon on the Mount from these morning meditations still sticks and stays with you?

 

What part of the Sermon on the Mount do you still wrestle with (like the teaching on divorce or worry)?

 

What part of the Sermon on the Mount frustrated you or fascinated you?

 

What did you hear in the Sermon on the Mount?

 

Notice, I am not asking you to rate or rank the Sermon on the Mount ~ which is our cultural default mode.  I am not asking you to give three stars or a thumbs up/down.  I am asking you, what happened in your soul as you marinated and meditated with me on these words?

 

Remember, this is not a Rubix Cube puzzle to solve.  You never finish the Sermon on the Mount.  I don’t think we can ever say, “Yup, mastered everything Jesus just said…now on to world peace.”  Jesus is expanding and expounding on what it means to love God, love neighbor, and love self.  That those are not three separate or segregated activities, they are twisted and tangled.  You cannot easily categorize and compartmentalize loving God, others, and yourself ~ they feed off one another.  Plus, life is not stationary or static.  For example, you may have a good day loving that annoying co-worker, only to have that particular individual frustrate and flummox you in an entirely NEW and creative way the next that sends you right back to square one.

 

Today, spend some time reflecting on where we have been and where you are at with Matthew 5-7.  You may want to go back and re-read the Sermon on the Mount one more time, just to refresh and renew and remember the vast ground Jesus covers in just these three chapters.  May God, whose love never lets us go, abide and awaken you to let this Sermon rummage, roam, and be release in your life this week.  Amen.