The Upside Down World

As we come to the reading of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel, we quickly realize Jesus is turning upside down the world's apple carts.  What He did physically with the cleanings of the Temple, He verbally did with these oft quoted words.  No one of his day, or ours, would regard the blessed ones to be the poor, those who mourn, the meek, the ones who hunger and thirst, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and the persecuted.  Before He finished the different phrases, the listeners were most likely already thinking in their minds, "It ain't so!"  As some are tempted to do today, there were those who regarded the ones Jesus described as dead beats,  pushovers, and door mats of society.   

Jesus had a way of using language that caused the listeners to stop and think, or they missed what He was saying.  The way He used words like poor, mourners, and persecuted challenged shallow and stereotype thinking then and now.  After all, who wants to be reviled and persecuted and who wants to be content with getting a reward in heaven?  Most of us want to be highly regarded by our peers and getting our reward not later, but in the here and now.   It is obvious Jesus wants Kingdom dwellers to re-think the way they think about the world in which they live.  

What is so often forgotten is that as the Jesus people of the world, we are in the world, but we are not directed by the world.  Our home is finally heaven.  The One who directs us toward that Home is not determined by society, but is the Holy Spirit.  Choosing to take the Sermon on the Mount seriously is like voluntarily stepping off the bank into a wide stream and then turning around to walk upstream.  Who among us is ready to continue this walk with Jesus?