Daily Retreat 09/13/06
2006 Sep 13 Wed: John Chrysostom, bp, dr M
1 Cor 7: 25-31/ Ps 44(45): 11-12. 14-15. 16-17/ Lk 6: 20-26
From today’s readings: “For the world in its present form is passing away.... Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.... Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours....”
The Sermon on the Plain
Most Christians have some familiarity with Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, Chapters 5-7 in the Gospel of St. Matthew, which begins with the eight beatitudes. Parallel parts of that sermon are presented in the Sermon on the Plain, found in Chapter Six of Luke’s Gospel. This discourse likewise begins with the beatitudes, although it’s a shorter list there of only four, and these are immediately contrasted with four “woes” which are not mentioned in the longer Sermon on the Mount.
Christ, like all good teachers, repeated Himself when necessary to stress important points, and because He preached to different congregations and in various venues, it’s only to be expected that the four Gospels often differ in recording details of His words and actions.
Some people unfortunately get perturbed about such deviations, fixating on such questions as whether Jesus really preached on a mountain, or was it a plain? Or was it a plateau? Did He teach about four beatitudes, or eight? Scripture must be taken seriously, of course, but such trivial preoccupations prove it’s possible to fall into a nitpicking attitude even with the Word of God!
1 Cor 7: 25-31/ Ps 44(45): 11-12. 14-15. 16-17/ Lk 6: 20-26
From today’s readings: “For the world in its present form is passing away.... Listen to me, daughter; see and bend your ear.... Blessed are you who are poor, for the Kingdom of God is yours....”
The Sermon on the Plain
Most Christians have some familiarity with Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, Chapters 5-7 in the Gospel of St. Matthew, which begins with the eight beatitudes. Parallel parts of that sermon are presented in the Sermon on the Plain, found in Chapter Six of Luke’s Gospel. This discourse likewise begins with the beatitudes, although it’s a shorter list there of only four, and these are immediately contrasted with four “woes” which are not mentioned in the longer Sermon on the Mount.
Christ, like all good teachers, repeated Himself when necessary to stress important points, and because He preached to different congregations and in various venues, it’s only to be expected that the four Gospels often differ in recording details of His words and actions.
Some people unfortunately get perturbed about such deviations, fixating on such questions as whether Jesus really preached on a mountain, or was it a plain? Or was it a plateau? Did He teach about four beatitudes, or eight? Scripture must be taken seriously, of course, but such trivial preoccupations prove it’s possible to fall into a nitpicking attitude even with the Word of God!
posted by FrPitstick | 9/12/2006
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