The Sermon on the Mount

OBJECTIVE

To help the students understand that Following Jesus' teaching changes our hearts for good.

INTRODUCTION - 5 Minutes

The Sermon on the Mount is Christ teaching us how to be in the Image and Likeness of God. In other words we can say Jesus is teaching us what we should be like, which is, like Him. Therefore, He is also telling us who He is.

When man fell, he distorted his original image he was created in, which was the Image and Likeness of God. Throughout the Old Testament, God gave man a "law." The purpose of this law was not to give man "rules" to follow for the sake of God wishing to be in control. The reason for the law was so man may learn how to live the way he was created and intended to, which is... To love.

When the Word took flesh, He came and taught us the ways of salvation. To teach us how to live the way we were intended to live. He came to restore man in the Divine Law: "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." (Matthew 5:17).

In the Old Testament, God gave man a law while they were still in their infantile state. He comes and fulfills that law He once gave.

For example, a child in elementary school learns the subject of Biology, and relearning this same subject again in high school. In college, the student majors in Biology and takes more Biology courses. What is the difference between all of the Biology classes he's taken over the course of his education? With each year, the subject was taught in deeper context and more depth. So also it is with the law: The law is and has always been rooted in Love, but now He has come to fulfill the law, or in other words, He came to teach us Love in its perfection. Our goal is to receive our PhD in Love.

CONTENT (KEY POINTS)

The Beatitudes

"Blessed are..."

Poor in spirit - to know your weaknesses, to know yourself, and know what you lack. Also to be empty of ourselves (ego) outside things that God can fill you up.
Mourn - the knowledge of self will lead to knowledge of sin, leading to mourning for sins... a grace given by God.
Meek - the attitude of being content with both honor and dishonor. To not act based on emotions, but rather by God's grace who gave man "mastery over his passions".
Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness - we must redirect the passions and lusts of the body towards the things of the spirit with the same intensity, then we will be filled, not satisfied, but rather this filling in the spiritual, will only intensify our hunger.
Merciful - "Mercy is love set in motion, expressed in action". To be wronged and to feel bad for offending another person then praying for them is perfect mercy.
Pure in Heart - A pure substance is something not mixed with another substance. We are a substance created in the Image and Likeness of God. If we mix our natural substance with other impure substances (sin), then we have diluted the Image of God.
Peacemaker - Conflict is the antithesis of peace. Conflict only arises when there are two or more wills. Denying your will allows there to be one will of God, which ultimately will bring peace. Let us not only bring peace by denying our own will, but bring peace to our fellow brethren.

When reading Matthew 5-7 we find Christ saying multiple times, "You have heard..." (in vs.. 21,27,33,38,43). What He is saying is that He is aware of what you have heard from the society you live in or in the Law, but now He will correct/perfect it. (Ex. You have heard what it was said in 1st grade about Love, but now we are getting our PhD in Love).

In today's secular society, the teachings that Christ makes here would sound crazy to the average person, because we are taught to live in a world where "an eye for an eye" is normal. We live in a world that encourages us to selfishly step on others who are on your way to the top.

Christ encourages us to "give" rather than "get mine." He is not only telling us to give, but to go above and beyond giving. These are not things that God didn't already do, but rather He did them and is always doing them.

He created when He didn't have to
He loved us when we rejected Him
He lets the sun shine on the just and the unjust
He gave and gives Himself in totality to His creation when He was not obligated to (other than by His Love)

We recall that spiritual life is a constant effort to align ourselves with the Image and Likeness of God and to deny our will.

He tells us to Love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. Many people are always confused on how it is possible to love someone who hates you, but we must not confuse real Love with an emotion or feeling. To love our enemies is not to have a bubbly feeling or emotion towards them. To love our enemies in truth is to deny ourselves for them, despite the feeling of resentment. Although this is not perfect impassibility, it is this very thing that is a movement in Love. This means that you have the ability to do a certain action for yourself, but have chosen not to for the sake of another person.

Christ teaches us to do good for those who hate you; to go out of our way to actively return good for evil. Ex) the Good Samaritan helped a Jew but Jews and Samaritans are enemies. Yet in spite of this he went out of his way and tended to the man, not only for a short time, but he found him an inn, paid for his stay, then returned the next day to continue and care for him. This was self-denial, because he could have easily looked at the man lying on the floor and continued his way to perform his tasks

Christ teaches that we should "pray for those who spitefully use you" (Matthew 5:44). If someone hates us and wishes the absolute worst for us, we should not repay the same feeling or actions toward them, but rather we should pray for them. We should take them and present them to God for forgiveness.

When Christ was hanging on the cross, He prayed for the forgiveness of the very people hammering nails into his wrist and feet, mocking him, cursing him, and beating him. In fact, He did not only ask for their forgiveness, but asked for their forgiveness: "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do." (Luke 23:34).

Christ teaches us to turn the other cheek when slapped rather than saying an eye for an eye: "You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also" (Matthew 5:38-39). We should learn from Christ never to take revenge on those who mistreat us.

God teaches us that if someone asks us to borrow something, we should not just let them borrow it, but we should allow them to possess it indefinitely (Matthew 5:41-42, Luke 6:30). We should not think that anything we have belongs to us, we must not believe we are entitled to anything, because nothing we have was not given to us, so really we have ownership over nothing. Ex) St. Moses the Strong, when he was once a thief, entered into an elder monk's cell to steal his belongings. As he was doing so, he found the elder monk assisting him in stealing his own belongings. This monk shows us what it means not to believe we have ownership over anything.

Christ's emphasis in everything is to GIVE. We must give without even thinking. If someone asks for something, before they can say no, give it to them. We should also not just give from our abundance, because there is no denial of self in doing this. Rather, it should be from that in which we give. Give our time, give our ears in listening, give our effort, give our youthfulness, whatever it is we have, let us just give it.

Christ teaches us not to judge (Matthew 7:1-2). In judging a person, we are indicating that we believe we are better than them. In judging others all we are doing is finding our own sins in them, for the only reason we are able to spot it out in them is because we are familiar with it in ourselves. In judging a person, a person is thinking more of themselves and less of others. There must be a denial of the self by giving excuses to why they do what they do rather than quickly judging and asserting that they are evil.

LIFE APPLICATION

Evaluate yourself daily to have knowledge of yourself and find your shortcomings.
Try not to act on your emotions and passions but rather take a step back and see how you can deny your will
Think of whom you are upset with right now, or who is upset with you. Whoever it is, even if they wronged you, actively forgive them and go to them and tell them you are sorry. Do this quickly, for Christ said, "Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are on the way with him" (Matthew 5:25).
Find the areas in your life that cause you to fall or stumble and take them out of your lives. This can be so-called friends, hobbies, enjoyments, and places. This is why Christ said, if your right eye or hand causes you to sin, cut them out.
Think of the places or situations in your life that usually cause an issue or dilemma, those are usually the places God is using to teach you a virtue.
Read Matthew 5-7 regularly to keep yourself in check, see what you fall short in while reading it, and work on it

Final thought: "The Kingdom of Heaven is taken by force" we must put in a true and honest effort, and force ourselves to do these things because of our Love towards God.