Matthew 5:21-37 The farther we get into Jesus’ sermon on the mount, I begin to imagine how the scene around him might have been changing, reacting to the things he was saying. Remember he was amidst a large crowd of people who had been following him. And he went up to the top of the mount, a little distance away from the crowd, to teach his band of disciples. But assume, also, that the crowds below could hear what he was saying. He begins his sermon with some jarring statements – the strange blessings – lifting up all the qualities that the world tends to find embarrassing, or even shameful. So maybe the people in the crowd raised their eyebrows in surprise, but they would continue to listen. Then he starts calling them salt and light, whatever that means. And he says they must exceed the Pharisees and Scribes in […]
Continue readingTag: Love one another
New Things
Revelation 21:1-6 ; John 13:31-35 I came across a news story last week about a woman who was found living in a car in the Target parking lot. You might wonder if that’s really even news. There are so many homeless people in our country, so many of them living in cars – and some of these may not even consider themselves homeless because at least they are not sleeping in the bushes. At least they have a car and the car is their home. Yet we know it is a far from adequate home. It was reported in the local newspaper, where it was considered to be newsworthy. Perhaps because it happened in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. King of Prussia is a fairly affluent suburban community outside Philadelphia. It has a very low rate of poverty. Life is generally pretty good. The shopping is excellent – King of Prussia is […]
Continue reading
