A Sermon on the Mount Approach

I have been a life long liberal and had always been turned away from

Christianity because of the religious right movement as well as the
dialogue that came from the mouths of so many Christians I knew. 

In college, when I read the Bible with an open mind I was awe struck by the Sermon on the Mount.  Jesus begins with the Beatitudes:

‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

‘Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.

‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

‘Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

‘Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. (Matthew 5:3-11)

Jesus is describing his ministry and the ministry he wishes for us, his followers, to carry out.  We are to take care of the poor (in spirit and financially), we are to comfort those who mourn, be humble and merficul.  We are to strive for righteousness and pureness of heart and be mediators for peace.  Certainly a lofty task for each of us.

As I continued to read the Gospels I learned more and more about the actual teachings and actions of the man so many claim as their Savior from their sin.  I was awakened to the possibility that many of these Christian believers were missing a major point to being a follower of Jesus and merely had stressed a different component of being a believer. 

Jesus speaks predominantly about societal sin in the sense that God is on the side of the poor and the oppressed.  This all makes sense because it was the Jews who were being oppressed by the Roman Empire as an occupying force.

Upon my initial reading of these texts I knew that I wanted to follow these teachings and the examples of Jesus.  It was not too much longer before I took Jesus as my Savior for my  sins and for the socital sins that I am part of.  The scriptures pushed me to redidicate my life to correcting the injustices.  

This is were faith comes in at just the opportune moment.  It is here that in the fighting for justice and equality that faith takes you one step further than we can carry ourselves.  The hope of the unseen just and equal world is merely another step closer with each thing  we do.  And the love of this just and equal world is supplied by the love of God for each human being.