Easter Prayer: Sermon on the Mount

This is the first prayer in a series of Easter prayers, featuring photos from my friend’s recent trip to the Holy Land.

Today’s photos were taken at the actual site where the Sermon on the Mount was preached.

How quick we are to forget your teachings, Jesus.

So much like your people in the days you walked this earth,

we forget your words and forsake your authority.

Once you sat on a hillside,

teaching your disciples and anyone who cared to listen.

You taught about blessings for the poor, hungry, downtrodden

rather than the great, mighty, and powerful.

You said we are the salt and light of the world

so valuable to you, yet so rejected by those who don’t understand.

You taught us ways to stop hurting each other.

You warned us against the heartbreak and division

of anger, adultery, divorce.

You asked us to do hard things:

turn our cheeks, walk another mile, love our enemies.

Give in secret, you said.

Pray without pretense.

Forgive others. Live lightly. Be pure.

Don’t worry.

Don’t judge.

Keep asking, seeking, knocking.

Do unto others as you would have done to you.

Follow a narrow path.  Produce good fruit.  Be true and faithful.

Build on a solid foundation, you said.

And you were that solid foundation,

the stone the builders rejected

when the hosannas turned to shouts of hatred.

Why is it so hard for us to remember, Lord?

Why do we ignore the very words that give us life?

Let this Easter be different, Jesus.

Let your word be enough for us.

Plant your words like seeds in our hearts.

Nourish the seedlings and help them grow

green and verdant

like the hills where your great sermon was preached.

Questions for reflection:

What part of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 & 7 is most relevant to your life right now?

How can you nourish the seed of God’s word in your heart?

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