We Today we read the first part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount.

It really is surprising that His listeners didn’t turn around and head back down the hill for home, because what Jesus was advocating seemed almost impossible to practice, even today.

Did Jesus really mean that it’s better to be poor than have money.  To be sad, rather than happy?  To be meek, rather than stand up and defend one’s rights?  To be hungry and thirsty for a just world rather than to greedily grab all that one can?

These are certainly not the standards the world lives by.

But Jesus was an unabashed risk-taker.

In preaching these 8 Beatitudes, He turned the accepted way of seeing things right upside down.

He also went on to say: “Be merciful; focus your life on God (That’s being pure of heart), be peaceful, and try to make the world, at least your corner of it, more peaceful.

Then, after all that, Jesus adds that we should also be willing to accept the scorn, verbal ridicule, and even loss in one’s approval ratings that will undoubtedly come our way when we try to live His teachings.

Just think about it friends: the world we live in, the culture we work in, values power, settling scores, getting ahead, having monetary wealth, and being successful.

You might ask: “Well, gee, what’s so wrong about power, settling scores, getting ahead, having enough money to enjoy the best of our American standard of living, and being on a winning team?”  And the answer is nothing is wrong. With those goals in life, as long as they don’t become ends in themselves.

Power for the sake of power alone is abusive dictatorship instead of the ability to carry out responsibilities for others.

Like parents have power over their children, and teachers over their students, and police over the public.  Because they have responsibilities to carry out and meet toward each of those groups of people.

Settling Scores for its own sake becomes bullying, instead of good, positive conflict resolution that leads to peaceful progress, or at least co-existence, in the days ahead.  Getting ahead just for the sake of getting ahead becomes selfish ambition instead of the desire to lead others to a better experience of life - and that’s true in business, politics even church life.

Having enough money to enjoy the best of what life has to offer can become an obsession that turns into a false god and we worship the almighty dollar, so much so that we’ll stomp and tromp over anyone who gets in our way of getting more money.

That’s greed in its worst form.

Rather, Jesus calls us to be unselfish about our financial resources, treating money in the fashion of good stewards,

Looking after ourselves, yes,  But also looking after others with our time, talent, and treasure.

And being successful, whether independently or on a winning team is fine and wonderful, for it calls forth the best of our energies, skills, talents, and abilities that God gave us.

It turns bad, however, when success becomes just an ego-trip into star-power.

I think we don’t have to look too far in the pages of recent press coverage on certain Hollywood celebrities to find examples of that.

So yes, in the 8 Beatitudes, Jesus does challenge the status quo, the ways the public usually use to think and act.

But then He proposes an alternative to each.

And each alternative is rooted not in selfishness, but in humble charity.

And therein do we find the true and lasting blessings of life.

So, Thank you.