This Lenten season, I have been reflecting on the Sermon on the Mount, considering each beatitude and the core values of our faith they illuminate. Of course, this great oration of Jesus cannot be fully understood alone without context. During Holy Week, it is good for us to zoom out and see that the core values of Christ must be lived out in our doing of the words our Lord and Savior preached.
On Maundy Thursday, Christ followers should recall the new commandment Jesus gave us: to love one another as our Savior has loved us. By this abounding love all people shall know we are disciples of Jesus the Christ.
On Good Friday, we remember Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice that demonstrated the wide, endless compassion our Lord has for us and for all the world. By the hideous death of the Begotten One on a cross, God reached us in our humanity and granted us everlasting forgiveness.
We are invited to respond by looking upon the Savior of the World and following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, bringing about the Eternal Kingdom in our wake. We must dedicate our whole selves and our whole lives to this holy mission.
Compassionate love is the ultimate Christian core value, at the center of all the core values we have considered during Lent. It is found in all the acts of Jesus. Perhaps for emphasis on this, the Sermon on the Mount as presented in the gospel according to Matthew is immediately surrounded with wondrous stories highlighting Jesus’ compassionate love for all. (Matthew 4:23-25, 8:1-9:38)
Compassionate love must therefore be central to the character of any true Christ follower. If compassionate love is not found in a self-professed follower of Jesus, we should be leery of that person’s testimony. The words of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount specifically encourage us to pray for these folks, to generously support them in earthly ways, and to help them see the light of God. At the same time, it also warns that we must not follow them, lest we be led astray into a false faith. This is especially true when it comes to powerful people in the secular sphere. Even if a person or an affiliated group of people seems great in stature, we should steer clear of orbiting their influence if they do not demonstrate compassionate love. (Matthew 5-7)
We must remember that ultimate authority is Jesus Christ’s alone, and we must follow the compassionate life of love and action that our Lord and Savior has set forth for us. Look unto Jesus and the way will be known to us. (Matthew 7:28-29)
Relevant Reformation 