Sermon on the Mount

(My Personal Translation/Expansion)

Matthew 5

Provided by the Episcopal Chaplaincy at Harvard

3 Fulfilled are those who don’t put all their spiritual stock in themselves.  They understand that they aren’t perfect and rely on God’s grace to write their name on the heavenly role.

4 Fulfilled are those whose sin causes them great sorrow.  Who look at their sin with tears in their eyes, sorry for what they’ve done, for the God who wipes away all tears will personally soothe their heartache.

5 Fulfilled are those who don’t have to always be on top.  By no means are they weak but they don’t have to be in the limelight to know their worth.  They might not hold positions of earthly power in the here and now but they will receive their reward when this earth is consumed and replaced with the new heavens and the new earth.

6 Fulfilled are those who long for righteousness as a fat kid yearns for cake.  I promise that their hunger for a clean slate will be satisfied in Me.

God's Mysterious Ways

My wife Leah tells me all the time (because she’s a forgetful storyteller…) about a particular game that her father would play with her and her sister when they were young. The setting for the game had to be just perfect. They had to be driving and it had to be raining outside. And then at just the right moment, perhaps the stars were aligned just right or something like that, Dad would stop the rain. That’s right, one moment the water drops were pounding on the windshield and the next they simply weren’t. It only lasted for a second but Dad’s power was undeniable. Of course, the two young girls were just absolutely astonished and perplexed as to how their father was able to control even the elements of nature.

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Turns out, years later his secret wasn’t as mystifying as they had first thought when they were younger. All it took was Dad being able to spot a bridge ahead and then to play it up when they passed under. No wonder it only lasted a moment!…

I think this story might, in some ways, parallel the manner in which God acts on our lives. Often, we see the work of His hands, be it in our marriage, or our jobs, or any other area of life, and at the moment of his working we’re astonished or perplexed. We don’t understand how God did what He did or more likely, we don’t understand WHY God did what He did. We can’t understand why God allowed something to happen. Maybe it’s with a job denial. Perhaps you lost a child. Or maybe recent events are forcing you into an undesirable position. All such situations solicit the desperate question “why?” It’s this not-knowing which we often times allow to cause us a myriad of anxiety. Instead of just trusting in God and putting our faith in Him, we spend time and energy stressfully trying to understand things that we weren’t really meant to understand in the first place.

So perhaps instead of always trying to “figure God out” and put a finger on exactly what he’s cooking up in our lives, perhaps our response really should be nothing but pure trust. And who knows maybe years later, in hindsight, you might find that the answer was as simple as going under a bridge. He knows what He’s doing.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” -Proverbs 3:5

The Holiness of God

In Jewish literature when a writer wanted to emphasize a particular point he would use repetition. This is done using repetitive ideas such as in Proverbs 4:14 which states, “Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil.” Other times they would repeat simple key words such as in John 5:25 when Jesus says, “Truly, truly I say to you…” In this passage Jesus was trying to emphasize the great depth of truth that his forthcoming words were going to hold and thus, was calling his hearers to pay close attention.


In like manner, we read in Revelation 4:8 of heavenly beings singing to the Lord and in their song they ascribe to Him the incredible attribute of being “Holy, Holy, Holy.” They call God “Holy” not just once. Not even twice. But three times. God is “Holy, Holy, Holy.” He is holy to the utmost. No other attribute of God is mentioned in the scriptures in such a superlative, emphasized way.

Holiness, therefore, is one of (if not the) primary defining attribute(s) of God. He is perfect in all his ways. He is without stain, without reproach. He is the saw that never dulls. He is the computer which never crashes. He is the seed that always blooms. He is the car which always starts (and never dirties, or needs an oil change, or blows a tire).

Having such a Holy God should absolutely floor us. It should move us to reverence and awe. Just as when Moses stood in God’s presence at the burning bush, he hid his face and removed his sandals because of the presence of God’s holiness, we too should “tremble before him” (Ps. 96:9). With this understanding of God’s holiness at the forefront of our minds, we should never doubt his majesty, his authority, and his supremacy all which flow from His absolute holiness.

So too, standing in the light of His holiness should lay bear our souls allowing us to gaze upon our own inadequacy. Ever feel like you’ve got it all figured out? Ever feel like you can do no wrong? Step for just a moment into the realm of God’s holiness and by comparison you will see just how much you need Him. Just as Isaiah, upon seeing God, exclaims in Isaiah 6:5 “Woe is me! I am lost…” so too we can see our lack through God’s eyes.
 
Most importantly, however, when we stand before the throne of that Most Holy God we come to know his love for us. For he says, “I see your sin. How can I not?” (Heb. 4:12). And then upon our request and obedience, He steps down from his throne, opens the door to our heart, enters in and shuts the door behind him, throwing away the key. Then, at that very moment, His holiness shines through every window of our being, completely overcoming every blemish with the blinding light of a Most Holy God (Heb. 8:10-12).