The challenge of the Sermon on the Mount

It is difficult being the rich and the children of God (Matthew 5-7)

Being there in the crowd with Jesus while he preached the sermon on the mount must have been an incredible experience. The people to whom he was preaching were the poor and outcast of the society and they needed to hear that they were not forgotten by the God who made them. They needed to hear that the values of the world were not the values of the Kingdom of God.

The harder question is what the rich of that society must have thought. Scripture makes it is clear that the Kingdom of God is not a place where the rich do well. On the other hand, in a global sense, Americans are the richest people in  the world. The simple truth is that we are not sure how to deal with that reality.

Personally, I am not sure how to wrap my mind around the fact that I have so much more than those around the world, yet I am called to minister with grace and forgiveness to this world. I would like to imagine that I am able to fulfill the demands of the sermon on the mount, but I know that I am not able to do so.

On the other hand, the words of Jesus’ sermon are critical. We are called to strive for peacemaking and grace, and by doing so we are going to have to endure the persecution (or at least be liable for persecution) of those for whom the world as it is is the world as it should be. There are so many people who benefit from the status quo. They are going to push back when the time comes, and we are going to have to be ready for it.

God, please equip us to be able to deal with that push back. Please equip us to be able to withstand that kind of persecution. Please help us to be able to get the work of your kingdom done right here in Dexter.

The kingdom of God is the very thing that we need to be spending our lives working toward. Help us to be able to do that work and help us to be able to bring that kingdom a little bit more into reality. Thank you for calling us to this place and this time. Thank you for giving us a job and a mission. Make us worthy of the kingdom you have designed. Amen.