Brother Fire

February 3, 2008 – Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A Zep 2:3, 3:12-13 Ps 146 1 Cor 26-31 Mt 5:1-12 According to the Gospel of Matthew, there were huge crowds listening to Jesus when he gave the Sermon on the Mount. But that hardly accounts for the millions and millions of people who have read the Beatitudes and are familiar with this famous Gospel reading – in some form or another. What I find most interesting about this scripture is that when Jesus was facing the crowds there is so much that he could have said and done during this sermon. Think about it: he had a captive audience. He could have very easily “wowed” us by pulling people from the crowds and healing them. He could have demanded that we worship and venerate him. He could have asked for donations. He could have announced that he was going to die for our sins. He didn’t though. Instead he humbly and quietly shared God’s Word. He was a teacher. And he started with how we are already bl...

In the Catholic world, we will be talking about the Beatitudes in a couple of weeks (4th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Cycle A, 2/3/2008) and I found this profound blog post, American Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Part 1 from the Justice & Compassion blog. It's a vivid illustration how we Americans have distorted Jesus' message in His name. Please take a look at it and comment. Peace.