The sermon off the mount

I’m gonna be honest with y’all: there are some texts in the Scriptures that I get tired of preaching about because I’ve read and studied them so many times, and the Beatitudes are one of these.  I barely pay attention because I think I already know all there is to know—“Blessed are the poor, blah blah blah.” 

But if I have learned anything about the commitment to wisdom, it’s this: the very moment that I feel the boredom rising is a signal to pay even closer attention.  Because I think what I’m actually tired of is how the words of Jesus seem to fade into some spiritual wish list of attributes we’d like to have as long as it takes no conscious, focused attention or work on our part.  Like we’re hypnotized by the niceness of the world Jesus describes, but we cannot imagine a real pathway to get there. 

Which is why I like to find ways of exploring these teachings from a different perspective.  What if we took these beatitudes, the beginning of what’s called the Sermon on the Mount, and carried them with us OFF the mount, out into the real world?  What would it look like to live the beatitudes? 

Because the truth is there is no part of Scripture that’s boring or unnecessary, and having this attitude is like staring a gift without opening it to discover the treasure inside—why would you do that?  So I want to share some enlightening perspectives I’ve found. 

John Fugelsang, who is not a theologian but a faithful Christian who is also a comedian, explains in his book The Separation of Church and Hate, in a section titled “That Sermon on That Mount,” the essence of the beatitudes in a way that could be easily understood by people unfamiliar with Jesus’s teachings.  Fugelsang puts it this way:

“And get a load of these beatitudes.  Jesus opens the Sermon with a series of blessings that represent his foundational teachings and core values.  Each line begins with the word ‘blessed,’ which can also be translated as ‘happy,’ ‘fortunate,’ or even ‘lucky.’  Jesus pronounces his blessings upon specific groups of people.  He focuses on the poor and marginalized; he praises nonviolence and peace-making, radical love, mercy, and inclusion; and he pretty much takes down the status quo.  …

“Imagine the hecklers: ‘Meh, I didn’t trudge all the way up Mount of Beatitudes just to hear some virtue signaling from Woke Jesus.’

“The Beatitudes are Jesus’s own guide for ethical conduct in Christian life.  And you’ll never see a right-wing Christian politician or group fight to post these words on a classroom or courtroom wall.”[1]

Given that there are states passing laws to require classroom displays of the Ten Commandments, and courts still deciding on the constitutionality of these laws, this is not irrelevant to our current world.  I’m not saying it’s a great idea to post the beatitudes on classroom walls instead of the Ten Commandments, but how would it change the conversation to live by the beatitudes, in the blessedness of God? 

Father Charles Stroebel tells his life story through the framework of these very beatitudes.  Stroebel, who died in 2023, was a Roman Catholic priest and founding director of Room In The Inn, a ministry serving unhoused people in his hometown of Nashville.  In the prologue of his memoir, entitled The Kingdom of the Poor: My Journey Home, Stroebel explains it this way:

“The Beatitudes [are] the moral framework within which I have tried to live my life.

“I believe every one of us has what I call Beatitude Moments—totally unexpected, grace-filled experiences when one is filled with love.  We remember them as divine gifts from above—not simply memories.  We are humbled when we receive such moments, such gifts, and we want to share them with people who understand.

“This is why I have written this book—to share my Beatitude Moments with you: those blessings that cannot be proven and need not be argued about.  A Beatitude Moment is a grace-filled point and place in time that stays with you forever and is meant to be shared.  …We are all poor and we are all worthy of love.”[2]

Stroebel names each of his chapters after people in his life who taught him something valuable and became a Beatitude Moment, and he writes a unique beatitude-esque blessing at the close of each chapter.  In the chapter on Martin Luther King, Jr., Stroebel remembers being a college student at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. when King was assassinated on April 4^th of 1968, how he gathered with other fellow students who were frightened, disheartened, and grieving.  But the chapter doesn’t end with King’s death—it goes on, and I think it’s instructive for us living in this age of political unrest, high-profile deaths, and ongoing protest movements of many types. 

Stroebel writes:

“Easter fell on April 14^th that year…(read through the end of the chapter, until the editor’s note) “Blessed are those who try to do something even when they can’t do anything.  They shall keep marching on.” 

I think for those of us who are trying to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God and feeling like we must be failing, this is the Beatitude Moment for us right now—the blessedness of God shining through our stubborn faith.  We may not feel particularly blessed or happy or glad, but Jesus promises a great reward in heaven, and I believe we’ll see that great reward well before we ever get to heaven: God will grace us with glimpses of blessed community as we each find our place in God’s great kin-dom. 

At a clergy action on Friday afternoon, faith leaders from various denominations and faith communities spoke to encourage each other to keep moving forward in the march against injustices perpetrated by people working for Immigration and Customs Enforcement or ICE, and to encourage each other to find ways to support our immigrant neighbors who are targeted for unjust detainments and even deportation based on their immigration status or even simply their skin color or accent.  One of the speakers encouraged people to value even the smallest actions, saying if you can drive a car, you can be in the movement.  If you can knit a hat, you can be in the movement. 

As Father Charles Stroebel put it: blessed are those who try to do something even when they can’t do anything.  They shall keep marching on. 

The blessing becomes apparent in the trying, and in the marching on.  Which beatitude is for you?  And what blessings are still being pronounced in the world even now?  You are a tiny ripple of hope for this world, from the image of the prophets: part of the streams of justice that flow down.  How is God blessing you now?  How is God blessing the world through you and your witness?  How are the beatitudes, the blessings from God, still blessing us in this world even now?  Blessed are you. 

Amen.

Pr. Cheryl

[1] John Fugelsang, The Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person’s Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds, New York: Avid Reader Press, 2025, page 25. 

[2] Charles Stroebel, The Kingdom of the Poor: My Journey Home, Nashville, Tennessee: Vanderbilt University Press, 2024, page 1-2.