Sermon On The Mount

I enjoyed many of the readings in this section so far. However, my favorite is “The

Sermon on the Mount” as recorded by Matthew in the Bible. The Sermon on the Mount is

An enjoyable inspirational and dare I say comforting read. It serves as a charter of ethics.

There are many parallels between this sermon and some of the readings from the Old Testament.

The Sermon on the Mount provides a certain amount of comfort. The same comfort that

Genesis is trying to convey by establishing that God created order out of chaos. The beauties has

a rhythmic order that mirrors the story of creation in Genesis. Jesus is assuring the poor and

downtrodden that while they currently live in despair, God has arranged everything, and they

will be well

Consider, that on Mount Sinai, God appeared in the clouds and thunder

and spoke to Moses through a burning bush. Yet, in the “Sermon on the Mount”, God is

incarnate, taking the form of Jesus. This makes it seem that man has grown closer to God

or that God is more comfortable around human begins. Jesus’ appearance as a flesh and

blood person makes God more accessible.

I also found it interesting that the “The Sermon on the Mount” brought forward the

idea of free will. Jesus explains that the gate of the kingdom of God is straight and narrow

leading to salvation, unlike the gate of destruction, which is broad. In this it seems Jesus is

reminding us of our divine right of choice. What is interesting is that just like in Genesis both the wrong and right choice is

presented. The wrong choice is much easier to approach as the gate is

"broad." This begs the question: why give humans free will and provide them with choices if

their natural instincts inherently draw them to the wrong conclusion?

The line "Be perfect, therefore, just as your heavenly Father is perfect" is thought

provoking. I took this to mean that Jesus wants people to focus on self-improvement rather