Jesus is clear, though, right from the beginning paragraphs of this sermon, that the new routine will hurt. Not the pain of working muscles that haven’t been used for a while, though that is certainly true. These sentences are more like the warnings of side effects we hear during every medicine commercial. At the time […]

Try a thought experiment with me. Strip away the two-syllable pronunciation of blessed (“bless-ed”). Take away the expectations associated with the “If this, then this” formula. Write the beatitudes out as a letter to a friend. It might sound something like this: *** Dear friend. You want to follow God. But you feel like you […]

God. We know that you are telling a big story. Across lifetimes, across generations, you see how words to one prophet are true five hundred years later. In a first glimpse. And then are true thousands of years later. We are aware of our story. Which has frustrations that need to be addressed in the […]

Jesus says “Blessed” nine times in the first few sentences of chapter 5. We look at this list, which is often called “The Beatitudes,” and we try to figure out what Jesus meant. Actually, I think, we try to figure out how we can be part of the list. We want to know because we […]

When John was locked up, Jesus moved from Nazareth to Capernaum, a town at the top of the Sea of Galilee (a lake about twelve miles long and seven miles wide). It was a very short move. He started to preach, just like John: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” People were excited […]