At the end of our reading last week, we heard: “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom,” and this week, we actually hear Jesus begin to teach. Our reading this week, is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. This is Matthew’s longest solid block of Jesus’ teachings. What we know as the Sermon on the Mount, encompasses chapters 5 through 7 of Matthew.
This morning we hear the Beatitudes, a series of sayings that declare blessings on certain groups of people. This type of saying is not unique to Jesus, Christianity, or even religion. But as you might guess, Jesus puts his own spin on this common form of wisdom statement. Listen now to Matthew, chapter 5, verses 1 through 12.