I called him saucy from the moment I first saw him, as if he were lauding it over his mate a touch of arrogance a sense of knowing best a surety in stance…
I saw her staring fixedly straight ahead, her demeaner almost submissive a sense of resignation of what is, is.
I laughed at my “arrogant” bird, every time I passed by, loving him and yet chastising him for his attitude, and I stroked the other gently with sadness that she seemed so cowed, not free to choose for herself.
But later, as I sat in awareness of God’s presence, I saw him differently, looking up to God with an expectancy on his face and stance an openness to hear a desire to respond to what he hears…
And now she seemed stoically stuck, less willing to be open to the possibility of change of taking a risk to leave the security of this place…
And I marvel how a change in my perspective— even the fact that I am seeing from a different place can change what I see…
A Change in Perspective:
Dominic and I have been sitting with the Sermon on the Mount for most of this year—familiar words that, as we have opened ourselves to the Spirit’s voice, have deepened and broadened and changed our perspective. We want to invite you to continue this journey with us from a different point of view as we unpack the remainder of Jesus’ words, not in chronological order, but looking through the lens of the Beatitudes.
I wonder if you, like me, have often read the Sermon on the Mount and dismissed Jesus' words as "too much", a bar too high to attain, and moved on to read something else. But these words form Jesus’ blueprint for life in this new Kingdom he is inviting us into…the practical outworking of the…well, I nearly called them “rules”, but Jesus called them “blessings”, each with its attached reward!
These are not meant to be mere external behavior changes, but an inward change of heart that embraces God’s love and acceptance of us and encourages us in our interaction with others, each precious person made in the image of God.
What does it mean to live in this kingdom Jesus is talking about? How does it work out practically in your life and mine? Is there a way to live that goes beyond outward compliance to “right” living and takes us deeply into the freedom Jesus knew as He walked here on earth in relationship with His loving Father, filled with the Holy Spirit, and caring deeply about those around him?
An Invitation to Look Differently:
So here is our invitation. Each week we will focus on one facet of Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 5-7 under the umbrella of the Beatitudes. Our longing is to personally live the reality of the teaching and to find the blessing in that and to gain a new understanding of what the reward of each means for us today. Heaven in the future, yes, but also heaven now, as Jesus taught us to pray in the center of this sermon, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done on earth AS in heaven.”
We are entering a new adventure with a sense of anticipation of the possibility of opening a new way of seeing Kingdom life, a new way of being in our world, a new way of loving God and loving others, a deeper understanding of how we can impact our hurting world. We plan to share our adventures with you in the hope that our experiences will resonate with you and act as a catalyst for you too to open to new ways of being.
Are you in? We do hope so!
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