God’s Living Word Today - Monday, June 8, 2020

God’s Living Word Today - Monday, June 8, 2020

[1 Kgs 17:1-6 and Matt 5:1-12] 
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven......" [Matthew]

What might the final exam consist of when we meet the Teacher

The "Beatitudes" that begin the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel According to Matthew are some of the best known of all the teachings of Jesus. 

The first thing is that Jesus goes "up the mountain."  Matthew's portrait of Jesus presents him as a kind of "new Moses," with some new "commandments" ("You have heard it said.....but I say to you."  Moses received the Ten Commandments on a mountain.  When Jesus is "transfigured," this takes place on a mountain [Matt. 17:1].  When Jesus commissions the disciples at the end of this gospel, it is on a mountain. [Matt. 28:16].  In short, a mountain is a place of revelation, which means that when Jesus went up the mountain in today's passage, we are being warned that revelation is going to happen.

The second thing is that Jesus "sat down."  In Jesus' time, real "teachers" did not stand in front of a classroom.  They sat on something and their disciples would sit at their feet.  Jesus, the son of a carpenter from Nazareth, who had no recognized background as a rabbi or teacher, assumes a position of authority.

If we understand those two points, it can make a difference in how we understand the whole Sermon on the Mount!  If what Jesus says in that "sermon" is divine revelation and we recognize him as our teacher, then after reading the whole sermon, would we pass a test on it - not just on content but on our way of living?  If we are curious about what will be on the Final Exam, we can find it in Matthew 25:31-45: "When I was hungry......"  

Blessings 
Father Dennis