We were in the middle of a deep cave in Papua New Guinea when our guide said, “I will leave you now to bring the others.” When he disappeared around a bend, taking the only flashlight with him, the darkness was complete. We dared not move from where we stood for fear of falling over or into something that could harm us.

It is a common way, if being in many cultures, to wish a person God’s blessing when they sneeze. A practice of uncertain historic origin, it may derive from the attempt to quell the bubonic plague or it may have found it’s roots in a sense that something of one’s soul departs a person when they sneeze. In any case, to this day it is considered polite to wish a person blessing and not cursing whenever they are sneezing.

Christians are often criticized as extremists. Normally when I hear this I feel offended. When Jesus makes the claim, it is harder to reject.

We really are extreme – at least we ought to be. Perhaps not in some of the ways we are perceived to be, but as faithful citizens of the kingdom of heaven, the label seems appropriate.

Christian living takes us to a place above and beyond anything we might have imagined here on earth. Jesus asks a lot of us.

These verses represent one of the most striking constructions in all of Scripture

Reflections from a young father listening to the Sermon on the Mount

. . . It was a warm day. Sitting with hundreds of people from the surrounding villages we strained to hear the voice of Jesus. He was talking clearly to his twelve key disciples, but we could hear it too!

Reflections from an older male community leader listening to the Sermon on the Mount.

. . . It had been a long walk to this hillside to hear this radical young rabbi. I didn’t want to go, but everyone told me I had to hear him. There were more people than the population of our whole village sitting on the side of the hill. We waited. Then we saw him. He was unassuming, but commanding at the same time.

As the pilgrims’ song carries them closer to the city of their God, they begin to dream about what God’s blessings will look like when they reach Jerusalem and peace. I wonder if, right now, you were asked to describe what God’s blessings look like in our world—what you would say?