Submitted by Jack Chromey:
The Sermon on the Mount is full of meaning right from the start. The first word is “And”! This shows that the Sermon is a continuation, whereas we look at it as a whole unto itself.
“Seeing.” ‘There is more to seeing than meets the eye.’ In the New Testament there are references to seeing and hearing that go beyond the ordinary meaning of eyesight.
“The Multitudes.” When we picture the Sermon, we see Jesus addressing a crowd. However, the word here is Multitudes, not a crowd of people. Is the Sermon addressed to all people of all times, the “Multitudes?”
He went up into a mountain. JG Bennett points out that this says that he spoke from a higher level than the ordinary.
“When he was set, his disciples came unto him.” Did even Jesus need to collect himself and be set before speaking?
“His disciples came unto him.” Is he now addressing the Disciples?
The Beatitudes in The Sermon
“He taught them, saying,”
“Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they shall see God.” Plenty of encouragement here. Could it be that the previous three, or all the Beatitudes, are clues for moving up the mountain toward this Blessed state?
Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.
Here, usual world views are turned inside out. Where else do we find the words ‘Poor in Spirit’? In the ordinary world (the multitudes) being Poor in any way is anathema. What could this mean? One possibility is that seeing our spiritual poverty we turn to something higher, thereby turning away from our pride and self-image.
“Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” This seems easier to see. It is natural to want to comfort someone who mourns, and it is indicated here that the comfort can also at some point come from a higher source.
“Blessed are the Meek, for they shall inherit the Earth.”
This is beyond my understanding. I hold the statement open. I hope to understand it better at some point, but for now, I don’t know who ‘the meek’ are, and what it means that they shall ‘inherit the earth.’ It has not happened in any way that I can see.
“Blessed are they who Hunger and Thirst after Righteousness, for they shall be filled.”
This seems like two things. One is that it is the first call to action. Another is that it could represent the first step upward and a path for those in the first three Beatitudes.
“Blessed are the Merciful, for they shall Obtain Mercy.” The word Obtain jumps out here. Obtain Mercy. It seems to point out that Mercy is shared here in three ways. From above, through the Merciful person, and to those to whom Mercy is given.
“Blessed are the Pure in Heart, for they shall see God.” Plenty of encouragement here. Could it be that the previous three, or all the Beatitudes, are clues for moving up the mountain toward this Blessed state?
There’s More to the Sermon
The Sermon on the Mount has over 2500 words in it. I have only reflected here on the first 118 words. May your own reflections on the rest of it bear good fruit.
Jack Chromey has made it a Lenten practice to memorize and meditate daily on The Sermon on the Mount for some fifty years. This is the first time he has shared his reflections.
Thanks Jack. A very appropriate post for Easter Monday.
My thought, after a long time pondering this passage: Jesus left the multitudes in order to offer something more than what he had been sharing with many in Galilee, and on into Syria. He was the latest buzz, and he attracted not “just” disciples, but those who wanted to be in on the new teaching because it was the hot topic. His disciples were the ones enumerated in Ch. 4, whom he met at the Sea of Galilee, (and later Mary Magdalene, and the siblings in Bethany). He goes to the mountain with them to teach the ones who take his teachings seriously. Perhaps he needed to gather himself after temptations and travel, but also rabbis of the time taught sitting, with their students gathered around them, likely seated at his feet. My sense is that the Sermon on the Mount is teaching offered to disciples who will have the discipline to share it with the multitudes. The 12, and later the 70, share the teaching in the Sermon with others. It is a pattern for becoming the Beloved Community. The Beatitudes seem to me to me to be more about one’s inner work, the rest of the Sermon about how to live with others, to externally consider, following the teachings of Jesus. The disciples need to be wiling to undertake the “Upsdidedownness” of the blessings of Being in order to share all of the teaching of Mt. 5–7 with the rest of the world.
Thank you for being willing to ponder what Jesus asked of his disciples.
Thank you very much.