Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A 29th January 2023.
Lectionary Readings: Micah 6 v1-8; psalm 15; 1 Corinthians 1 v18-31; Matthew 5 v1-12.
The sermon on the mount.
As we have seen before, Matthew echoes the life of Moses in the way he portrays Jesus. Jesus goes up a mountain and brings God’s teaching to the people.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up on the side of the mountain and sat down. (Matthew 5 v1).
Jesus then goes on to explain what really pleases God. “God blesses those people who ……. depend only on him, are humble, obey him, are merciful, make peace, whose hearts are pure and do right.” (see v3,5-10). Jesus also confirms God’s compassion for ‘the poor and for those who grieve’ (v3,4), and
highlights the themes of ‘Justice’ and ‘Mercy’ once again.
Jesus was continuing in the same vein as the prophets of old, such as Micah who said,
The Lord God has told us what is right and what he demands: “See that justice is done, let mercy be your first concern and humbly obey your God”. (Micah 6 v8).
The prophet Jeremiah said that what the Lord God likes best from us is ‘showing kindness, justice and mercy to everyone on earth’. (Jeremiah 9 v24b).
Our Psalm for today echoes the same theme. Who may stay in God’s temple or live on the holy mountain of the Lord? Only those who obey God and do as they should. They speak the truth and don’t spread gossip; they treat others fairly and don’t say cruel things. (Psalm 15 v1-3).
Jesus concludes his ‘sermon on the mount’ with a word of encouragement for his disciples, who he knows will face ridicule and persecution in the future because of their faith in him. “God will bless you when people insult you, ill-treat you, and tell all kinds of evil lies about you because of me. Be happy and excited! You will have a great reward in heaven. People did the same things to the prophets who lived long ago.” (Matthew 5 v11-12).
What happens if we just ignore or pay lip-service to the teachings of Jesus?
Hymn writer, Shirley Erena Murray, reflects on how she thinks God responds to humankind’s failure to follow the teachings of Jesus. (Singing the Faith 700).
God weeps
at love withheld, at strength misused, at children’s innocence abused,
and till we change the way we love, God weeps.
God bleeds
at anger’s fist, at trust betrayed, at women battered and afraid,
and till we change the way we win, God bleeds.
God cries
at hungry mouths, at running sores, at creatures dying without cause,
and till we change the way we care, God cries.
God waits
for stones to melt, for peace to seed, for hearts to hold each other’s need,
and till we understand the Christ, God waits.
Bible quotations are taken from the Contemporary English Version.