4th Sunday, Year A

The gospel for this Sunday is the “Sermon on the Mount”, actually only the portion known as the Beatitudes. The disciples are gathered, but so too are people in general who have come to hear Jesus speak. The nature of the audience raises a basic question: what are the Beatitudes?  Are the general ethic that God asks of he People of God? Is is a message about discipleship? Martin Luther thought it was an impossible demand like the Old Testament Law.

As always, a lot going on in the gospel reading. Grab a cup of your favorite beverage and take a moment on the back porch with the Word of God. Some think it is a description of the millennial kingdom for when Jesus returns. There is not shortage of views of “what they are.”  And then we arrive at thee question of “what do they mean?”

As always, the living Word of God has a lot to ponder. Grab your favorite beverage and take some time of the back porch.

Full Text of the Sunday Gospel
Detailed Commentary

Image credit: Cosimo Rosselli Sermone della Montagna, 1481, Sistine Chapel, Public Domain