In Mathew’s Gospel Jesus goes up on a hillside to preach the Sermon on the Mount. In Luke’s account Jesus comes down the mountain to preach the sermon on the plain.
A small detail but an important one as it gives us an insight into the kind of relationship that Jesus wants to have with us. He does not want a relationship that involves ‘distance’.
Jesus is present to us on the level ground on which we live our lives. The grace of God is not something “out there”, far removed from our daily lives.
Jesus walks among us. He is here now; in our homes, our work places, our schools, our community gatherings and of course in our Churches.
The kingdom of God begins here and now and we are called to help to make it happen.
The challenge is to make the ground we walk on level. Luke echoes the prophet Isaiah who called upon the Israelites to create a level highway for the Lord, the Messiah.
Jesus challenges the 12 apostles to the work of leveling, and he challenges us to the same task.
He is asking us to level the ruts made by selfishness, to remove the rocks of bigotry, hatred, jealousy, and self-righteousness.
The work of leveling is based on the principle of justice, peace and reconciliation.
Let us level the ground by working to reach out in service and affirmation to our brothers and sisters on the journey of life.
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Image: “scooting to level ground” by zach kowalczyk is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0.