The Sermon on the Mount St Mark Coptic

The Sermon on the Mount St. Mark Coptic Orthodox Church Middle School November 2003

Introduction • Our God and King met us on the mountain to reveal and fulfill His law with His message of love. • When God spoke with Moses, Moses went up God’s mountain after fasting 40 days. In that time, God addressed only Moses directly. • In the Messiah, the incarnate God, Emmanuel, the Christ who is named Jesus has come down unto us and has talked directly and clearly with us.

Objective • Objective: To understand the moral • • standards given by Christ as attitudes in our hearts that help us to fulfill God’s will Memory Verse: “Think not that I have come to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to destroy but to fulfill. ” (Matthew 5: 17) Reference: Matthew 5: 1 -18

The Beatitudes • A moral code or system of principles, like • • the 10 commandments Consistent with the 10 commandments, but not behavioral laws, but rather. . . Attitudes in our hearts—to please God by a humble and loving heart. “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise. ” (Psalm 50[51])

A Blessing is. . . • • • A gift from God A gift of joy, holiness, grace To be set aside or sanctified To be rewarded—on earth or in Heaven To be chosen by your Father to inherit his kingdom (Gen 27: 23)

Outline of the Blessings 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. The humble will inherit Heaven. Those who mourn will receive comfort. The meek shall inherit the earth. Those hungry for righteousness shall be fulfilled. The merciful shall obtain mercy. The pure in heart shall see God. The peacemakers will be called sons of God. Those persecuted for the sake of faith in Christ will receive great Heavenly reward.

Poverty in Spirit “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. ” • Pride exhibits confidence in oneself, while humility demonstrates confidence in God. • The devil said, wanting to be great: “I will make myself like the Most High. ” (Isaiah 14: 14)

Poverty in Spirit (Cont’d) • Humility reminds us that we are all dependent upon God and not ourselves. “The rich and the poor have this in common, that the Lord gives light to the eyes of both. ” (Proverbs 22: 2) • Pride causes men to stumble, but humility is the first step in the journey to Heaven. “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get. ’ But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner. ’ I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. ” (Luke 18: 10– 14)

Poverty in Spirit (Cont’d) • “Pride is the first Sin” (Wisdom of Joshua 10: 15). • The poor in spirit is a person who fears God and repents and confesses his sins. He is never proud of his righteousness.

Spiritual Mourning “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. ” • Normally speaking, we mourn because of • losing a precious thing or person. However, a spiritual person does not consider things precious but seeks eternal life. “For Godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death. ” (2 Corinthians 7: 10)

Spiritual Mourning (Cont’d) • The humble person feels his sins and their weight, so the Holy Spirit leads him to the spiritual mourning. “All night I flood my bed with weeping…. ” (Psalm 6)

Spiritual Mourning (Cont’d) • David says to God, “Listen to my tears, ” and • • indeed God forgave David of his sins from the mouth of Nathan the prophet. David realizes, “Be at rest … O my soul, for the Lord has … delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears…. ” (Psalm 116: 7– 8) Repent, mourn, and weep—now, dear souls —so that you be comforted in eternity.

Spiritual Mourning (Cont’d) • St. John the Short mourned for every sinful • • • person, and repented himself for their sins. St. Arsenius wept so much for the sins of himself and others that his eyelashes fell out. St. Arsenius mourned the fact that he entered the holy life relatively late (at the age of 40). St. Moses the Ethiopian never felt satisfied with his repentance.

Spiritual Mourning (Cont’d) • The Lord Christ repented for the sins of the whole world, sweating blood in fervent prayer. Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there. ” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me. ” (Matthew 26: 36– 38) And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22: 44)

Spiritual Meekness Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. • Meekness does not mean weakness but means the power of the inner spirit that goes beyond this temporal life.

Spiritual Meekness (Cont’d) “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ” (Matthew 11: 29) • The reward is inheriting the earth, which can be interpreted literally. A meek person does not get only spiritual reward but also an earthly reward. It can be interpreted as the land of life “I cried out to You, O Lord: I said: You [are] my refuge, My portion in the land of the living” (Psalm 142: 5).

Spiritual Meekness (Cont’d) • “For whoever desires to save his life will • • lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. ” (Matthew 16: 25) “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. ” (Matthew 20: 28) A meek person finds it easy to forgive….

Hunger for Righteousness Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. • What does it mean to be hungry for food? § To really want to eat some food. • What does it mean to be hungry for righteousness? § To really want to be righteous: to actively try to understand what is right(eous) and to live that way even if it’s hard.

Hunger for Righteousness (Cont’d) • “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so • • my soul pants for You, O God. ” (Psalm 42: 1) “O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you. ” (Psalm 63: 1) “Sir, give me this water [of eternal life], that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw. ” (John 4: 14 -15)

Hunger for Righteousness (Cont’d) • The Holy Spirit takes us through this • hunger and thirst to unite with Christ so we are a filled only by Him. (John 6) “As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. ” (Psalm 17: 15)

Hunger for Righteousness (Cont’d) • There is no more righteousness than to be in love with God. • “Taste and see, how sweet is the Lord. ” (Armenian Communion Hymn / Psalm 33)

Hunger for Righteousness (Cont’d) • The Israelites were hungry and thirsty in • • the desert waiting for the manna—it was a matter of life and death to them. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the living manna, “I am the bread which came down from heaven. ” (John 6: 41) “For with You is the fountain of life. ” (Psalm 36: 9)

Mercy & Forgiveness • • “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. ” “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive. . . ” When we are filled with Jesus Christ, we start to become like Him. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. ” (Luke 9: 36) “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. ” (Luke 23: 34)

Mercy & Forgiveness (Cont’d) • Mercy is not only by giving to the poor but • in every aspect of our life. We should feel others’ pain and share it with them. “He who has no mercy deserves not the mercy of God. ” (St. Kyprianos)

Mercy & Forgiveness (Cont’d) • If you forgive someone who is unjustly hurting you, or if you help a person in need, rest assured that Jesus Christ will accept your act of mercy, for “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. ” (Matthew 25: 36)

Purity of Heart • • • “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. ” The eyes of the merciful see beyond the ordinary and the temporal world. “Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, without which no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12: 14). We can only see the Divinity with our hearts, “My heart said to You: Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Psalm 27: 8).

Purity of Heart (Cont’d) • The start of sin is through the eyes, ears, and • • other senses, which are connected to the brain. A bad thought can enter the heart often through the senses. What is our response? Do we take action, looking at something or doing something inconsistent with God’s will? For the pure heart, it is an extreme pleasure to obey the one you love. The pure heart will not be corrupted by the senses.

Purity of Heart (Cont’d) • “Who shall ascend into the hill of the • • LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? ” (Psalm 24: 3) “If You, LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, then who shall stand? ” (Psalm 130: 3) “But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appears? for he is like a refiner’s fire. . ” (Malachi 3: 2)

Purity of Heart (Cont’d) • Remember the story of the ruler who • • asked Jesus “what must I do to obtain eternal life? ” (Luke 18) Were the ruler truly convinced (as he indirectly hints, saying “good teacher”) that Jesus was good (that is, God), then surely he would have wanted to follow Him. But he was not convinced (see verse 19); that is to say, his heart was not pure.

Make Peace “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. ” • If you love your enemies, you will try to resolve conflicts and make peace with them. • God is The Peacemaker. If we cannot stand to see rifts tear God’s family apart, then we are His sons.

Make Peace (Cont’d) • “By this all will know that you are My • disciples: if you have love for one another. ” (John 13: 35) “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. ” (John 14: 27)

Persecution “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ” • When we become the sons of God through • being born of the Spirit in baptism, we do God’s work, which is peace. However, the Devil immediately starts persecuting us and tempting us. (Jesus in the desert; the beast ready to destroy the new baby as soon as it is born in Revelation)

Persecution (Cont’d) • The apostles accepted persecution with • • happiness “So they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name” (Acts 5: 41). What are some ways that you could be (or have been) persecuted for your faith?

Persecution (Cont’d) • What is Persecution? Imagine that there is someone in your class whom people dislike. § Everyone is mean to that person. • You know that if you show respect toward that person, your classmates will make fun of you. § But nevertheless you respect that person and show him kindness, and now others are being mean to you. § You are being persecuted for your faith.

Persecution (Cont’d) • Imagine that your classmate finds out that you are Christian and says, “You must be a complete idiot, because only stupid people believe in that dumb, old religion. Smart people believe in science and know that Christianity is just a bunch of made up stories. ” § You are being persecuted for your faith. § Incidentally, many deeply intelligent people are Christian (e. g. , Sir Isaac Newton). • They who persecute you are liars—they must lie since they are persecuting sons of the True Light. Do not conform yourself to the world or be subject to the pressure of persecution!

Life Application • Try to adopt one of the virtues addressed by the • • Lord and practice it in your daily life. For example, you can try to be a peacemaker and not get involved in fights or arguments. Better still, you can try to listen and understand others’ points of view before politely and respectfully sharing what you think. Read the Sermon on the Mount many times and memorize it.