As we begin to celebrate the weekdays of the 10th week in Ordinary Time, both readings for our daily liturgy will change. In the first reading we will hear the story of Elijah the prophet from the First Book of Kings. We will also begin to read from the Gospel of St. Matthew.
Our continuous reading of the Gospel of St. Matthew begins with the very familiar “Sermon on the Mount.” While the various Biblical epic films that come out of Hollywood usually show Jesus preaching to a huge crowd as he stand atop a hill, the Scripture actually offers us a different view: When he saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’” (Matthew 5:1-3) If we read the same sermon from the Gospel of St. Luke, we find yet another perspective: “And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured. Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.’” (Luke 6:17-20)
Does the fact that the two evangelists record this story differently make any difference? Actually the content of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew) and the Sermon on the Plain (Luke) is essentially the same. However, the setting does, in fact, matter in the way we read this passage.
Matthew was a Jew; Luke was a Gentile. Matthew’s intent in writing his Gospel was to provide the Jewish converts to Christianity a way to look at Jesus. Luke’s intent was to address the Gentile converts. Matthew chooses to place Jesus seated on a mountain while Luke places him in the midst of a crowd on a stretch of level ground.
Matthew’s intent was to provide his audience with a picture of Jesus as a “new Moses.” Moses had taught from Mount Sinai, had passed on the Law from this impressive and commanding perch. Luke presents Jesus as an equal, as a man among other men and women. Matthew presents Jesus as a teacher of the Law. Luke presents him as one who is stressing God’s mercy and compassion. Perhaps most telling from either sermon is one specific line:
So be perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:48)
Be merciful, just as [also] your Father is merciful. (Luke 6:36)
As we continue to read from the Gospel of St. Matthew for the next twelve weeks, we need to keep Matthew’s intention and audience in mind. If we do, we may be able to understand a little better what Jesus is quoted as saying and how it needs to be applied in our own lives. Just one question can help us to begin: “Which do I find more desirable, being perfect or being merciful?”
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator