Beyond Expectations

If Jesus were to stand in the pulpit and preach on Sunday, what would he say? Take a moment and imagine that possibility. Would he preach fire and brimstone or God’s infinite love and mercy? Would he lift our spirits or convict our hearts? It’s an uncomfortable thing to think about. It’s something a preacher thinks about every single week. What would Jesus preach?

Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people. (Matthew 4:23)

The question is, what exactly did Jesus teach? In Matthew 5 we are given an example of Jesus’ teachings. We know it as the Sermon on the Mount. It begins:

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed, happy, and fortunate are all ways to describe the ‘poor in spirit’ according to Jesus. This opening pronouncement gives us a hint that whatever Jesus is about to teach, we might have a difficult time wrapping our minds around it.

May we keep our hearts open to what God would teach us in our world today.

See you Sunday!
Missy