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. The gospel attributed to Matthew emphasizes this by immediately surrounding the Sermon on the Mount with stories highlighting Jesus’ compassionate love.
Tag: Gospel
On Our Persecution
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets […]
On Our Peacemaking
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” (Matthew 5:9) If we want to be like Jesus, we must be peacemakers. Full stop. There is no way around this. In the beatitudes, Jesus says that the peacemakers are the blessed children of God. In this statement, Jesus is proclaiming a unique […]
On Our Mercifulness
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.” (Matthew 5:7) At face value, this beatitude seems so simple and obvious: to those who are merciful, mercy shall be given. It is a “reap what you sow” statement, a karma-style mantra, and a “what goes around comes around” mindset. Yet, for being such an easy […]
On Jesus’ Inaugural Address
If the gospel narrative attributed to Matthew is the most “political” in nature (which is the premise of my current series of reflections) we might compare Jesus’ monumental Sermon on the Mountain with that of an inaugural speech which a politician might give. (Matthew 5-7) The gospel writer(s) here view it of utmost importance to […]
On Joining a Movement
When Jesus discovered his first friends and followers along the shore, I doubt the five of them (Jesus, Peter, Andrew, John, and James) knew what they were beginning. What joys and sorrows were ahead of them. What miracles and horrors. What great number of disciples and deserters. What life and death waited for them. We […]
On Finding Your People
The gospel narrative attributed to Matthew boldly begins by proclaiming Jesus as a newborn future king, attesting to an earthly and heavenly birthright. As would be the case, those already with regional and religious authority conspire together to confront this would-be threat to their reign. Even Satan makes an early appearance to thwart the Savior’s […]
On Jesus’ Birthright
Only two of the four gospel narratives share stories of Jesus’ birth: Luke and Matthew. Each book gives us a decidedly different perspective on our Savior’s birth. Many of us, knowing the stories so well, have come to overlay the two narratives together. In so doing, we have muddied the payload intended by each gospel […]
On Christ the King
The Church Year comes to a close with the final Sunday being dedicated to Christ the King. It is one of the newest holy days on the calendar, having been added after World War I as a way to remind us that the kingdoms of this world are temporal and that the only Kingdom we […]
On Biblical Aspirations
Some churches and their congregants strive to “live biblically”, and while this is perhaps a noble sounding mantra, it can also lead us down a dangerous path far from the Christ-following faith towards which we are called. The concept of living biblically is one where Christians reestablish a rule structure in-line with specific commands in […]
Relevant Reformation 