Jesus continues to preach the Sermon on the Mount with a further lesson in love and humility. Once more, Jesus teaches us about our proper relationships with God and with other people. This is a lesson against conceit and anger. It is a call to peace, such as can heal the divisions between people [ … ]

is astonishing to think that very, very few people in the western world do not live in a manmade environment. There may be acres upon acres of farmers’ fields and forests in front of us, and every acre is managed by people, often in situations of great anxiety as they worry about whether they might make some money from their work here. There is little in the way of wilderness remaining in our territories, and each day more is taken away. We may anticipate that, in very little time, all human beings will be living in an obviously man-made environment. It may be that our life on earth will become quite claustrophobic [ … ]

No-one lies on his death bed wishing he’d bought more product – more disposable or semi-disposable consumer trash. It may be that when we are confronted with the thought of owning nothing, we may feel straight away that there are things we treasure, which we hope to hand on to other people. There are beautiful things, indeed of such beauty that we know we don’t finally possess those things – we could not hoard them; they will be passed on to other people, and who knows how many hundreds or thousands of years they might give people pleasure [ … ]

In Jesus’ time, the swearing of oaths was common, and the casuistry surrounding such oaths was intricate. There were what we would now term loopholes – ‘perfectly’ legal ways of doing wrong. The letter of the Law, rather than the spirit, had proliferated – the whole of the Sermon on the Mount concerns this subject – and thereby our knowledge of the will of God had been deliberately obscured [ … ]

In Jerusalem, Jesus teaches in the Temple and is tested by the Sadducees and the Pharisees. These are tests concerning Scripture, concerning the Law, and concerning Jesus’ identity, i.e. concerning Jesus being God the Son [ … ]

The miracle of the calming of the storm made a powerful impression on Jesus’ disciples. It is recounted by all three synoptic Gospels. In each Gospel, Jesus warns his disciples of the troubles to come. Jesus tells his disciples that to be Christians is going to be difficult, hard work, at times fatal [ … ]

The young man of today’s Gospel verses is very rich. He has followed the commandments, and yet he and Jesus both know that he is not yet perfect. In addition to what the young man already knows of the Ten Commandments, there is now the possibility of perfection, which is to follow Jesus, to release oneself from the bondsmanship of earthly possessions – to sell it all, give it all to the poor, and follow Jesus.  It is a sad tale. The rich young man goes away unhappy. If this is the condition for finding perfection by following Jesus, he cannot do it [ … ]

Christ prepares to be crucified. This may seem very strange as we look forward to Advent, and these really are the events of Holy Week. And yet this declaration of Christ’s coming again can be seen as a wonderful culmination of the Church year. Christ’s promise of resurrection and eternal life marks the summit of Christian faith. The declaration of Christ the King, our knowledge Christ is King, is a wonderful thought to carry through the coming weeks of Advent as we prepare to celebrate Christ’s birth [ … ]

Jesus’ critique of the scribes and the Pharisees continues in today’s Gospel verses. The accusation is constant: they are hypocrites. The imagery in part remains constant: these hypocrites put on outward shows of purity, and yet their hearts are corrupt and their behaviour is corrupt. This imagery now develops. Woe unto you! For you are as painted tombs, all white and purportedly pure and true on the outside, while within the dead flesh rots […]