Webster was anxious to have his say. He pointed out that the hypothesis that the “Sermon” was an anthology could be argued from the occurrence of several of its verses appearing in other Gospels, in a completely different context. “There are many examples,” he said. “Here’s one: the teaching in Chapter 7 about prayer appears, word for word, in Luke’s Gospel after the parable of the Friend at Midnight (Luke 11).” Much to Melanie’s relief, he continued with the concession: “It would be too much to go through all such examples but rather than take my word for it, check them out.” Several in the group, including Al, had followed his urging and now possessed copies of the Parallels, checked out Matthew 7 as he spoke and agreed with his findings.
But he was eager to show something else: the parallel section of Luke’s Gospel which now, thanks to PowerPoint, appeared on the screen:
Then fixing his eyes upon his disciples, Jesus said to them,
“Blessed are you poor, because the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who hunger now, because your hunger shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who now weep aloud, because you shall laugh.
Blessed are you when men shall hate you and exclude you from their society and insult you, and spurn your very names as evil things, for the Son of Man’s sake.
Be glad at such a time, and dance for joy; for your reward is great in Heaven; for that is just the way their forefathers behaved to the Prophets!”
“I am convinced that Luke’s version is closer to the original. Matthew tried to widen the application of the teaching.” He pointed out that “blessed are you poor” made sense as addressed to those who came out to hear him, while “blessed are the poor” seemed much more difficult, suggesting that poverty was somehow beneficial. It would be natural to try to escape this difficulty by making the change from “the poor” to “the poor in spirit.”
But by now, Al was barely concealing his impatience. “What you have said is interesting but is way ahead of where I am. I need to know what the very first verse means; what does ‘blessed’ mean and who are the ‘poor’ and then this ‘Kingdom of God,’ we haven’t got far in understanding that!”
Help was on its way! Several expressed opinions about the meaning of “blessed” and a consensus emerged that it was along the lines of being favored, or even honored, by God. Andrew, who was keen on the translation called the New English Bible, chimed in that the paraphrase, “Blessed are those who know they have a need for God” was the reading given there.
As for the “poor,” Martha claimed that it meant those completely without resources, those dependant on the charity of others. “It’s hard for us to envision third world poverty,” she said. “Try to imagine living on one or two dollars a day. Franz Fanon wrote a book, ‘The Wretched of the Earth’ and its title has stuck in my mind. Maybe, such people are praised because they are more likely to become dependant on the generosity of God,” she suggested.
As for the “Kingdom of God,” Melanie reminded them of some of the options she had laid out during the previous week’s discussion and urged them to be patient. “Perhaps,” she said, “the purpose of the Gospel is to lead the reader gradually into an understanding of the concept, even to know what it means to participate in something only gradually understood.” She urged them to look at the other verses and see how exactly alien to modern culture they were. Blessedness of the sorrowful and the meek falls uncomfortably on modern ears. She recalled Mark Twain’s dismissal of the Beatitudes as “immense sarcasms.”
She realized yet again how difficult it was to do any kind of justice to the whole chapter in the two hours available and regretfully clicked onto the next section:
“You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has become tasteless, in what way can it regain its saltiness? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown away and trodden on by the passers by.
You are the light of the world; a town cannot be hid if built on a hilltop.
Nor is a lamp lighted to be put under a bushel, but on the lamp-stand; and then it gives light to all in the house.
Just so let your light shine before all men, in order that they may see your holy lives and may give glory to your Father who is in Heaven.”
It was a relief to encounter something a bit more straightforward. She could get away with a reminder of the value of salt in the ancient world. Andrew made the helpful comment: “I am surprised that the statements are so definite. ‘You are the salt’ and ‘You are the light’ could be seen as a bit of wishful thinking.” He paused. “Or perhaps Jesus saw potential in unlikely people.” Stephen suggested that it might have been addressed to the disciples. “You can’t get more ‘unlikely’ than that”. Al apologized that they had passed over the section in Chapter 4 about the calling of the disciples. “Evidently they were an unpromising bunch,” he said.
Pushing ahead, Melanie displayed the next section:
“Do not for a moment suppose that I have come to abrogate the Law or the Prophets: I have not come to abrogate them but to give them their completion.
Solemnly I tell you that until Heaven and earth pass away, not one iota or smallest detail will pass away from the Law until all has taken place.
Whoever therefore breaks one of these least commandments and teaches others to break them, will be called the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever practices them and teaches them, he will be acknowledged as great in the Kingdom of Heaven.
For I assure you that unless your righteousness greatly surpasses that of the Scribes and the Pharisees, you will certainly not find entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven.”
It was easy to understand the idea of Jesus giving the Law its completion but there was much debate about the apparent insistence on keeping the Law in every detail. Stephen knew that there were six hundred and thirteen commandments of the Law. Melanie was afraid that he might want to recite them all. But he contented himself with the question: “Does this mean that modern day followers of Jesus should follow them all, including keeping the seventh day rather than the first? Should we all become Seventh Day Adventists? And what about the Kosher food regulations?” Martha wondered if this was part of the Sermon on the Mount comes from a very early period when Jesus thought of himself as nothing more than a reformer of Judaism. “Later in the Gospel,” she said, “Jesus brings a child forward as a model of the Kingdom. You know the bit where he says ‘unless you repent and become as this little child, you will never enter the Kingdom.’ The child is the least likely person to be meticulous in the keeping of the Law and its commandments.”
Again it was necessary to move along, with a reminder from Melanie that their discussions were meant to open doors on various possibilities and that reading during the week would make a big difference. “I sound like my Grade 9 English teacher,” she lamented.
So now it was time to look at the section which dealt with “anger management”:
“You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Thou shalt not commit murder’ and whoever commits murder will be answerable to the magistrate.
But I say to you that every one who becomes angry with his brother shall be answerable to the magistrate; that whoever says to his brother ‘Raca,’ shall be answerable to the Sanhedrin; and that whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be liable to the Gehenna of fire.
If therefore when you are offering your gift upon the altar, you remember that your brother has a grievance against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go and make friends with your brother first, and then return and proceed to offer your gift.
Come to terms without delay with your opponent while you are yet with him on the way to the court; for fear he should obtain judgement from the magistrate against you, and the magistrate should