The Lectionary Texts for January 29, 2023:
- Micah 6:1-8
- Psalm 15
- 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
- Matthew 5:1-12
Steven Curtis Chapman’s song The Mountain is very appropriate for the Gospel text today. I love these words:
You bring me up here on this mountain
For me to rest and learn and grow
I see the truth up on the mountain
And I carry it to the world far below
So as I go down to the valley
Knowing that You will go with me
This is my prayer, Lord
Help me to remember what You’ve shown me
Up on the mountain
Up on the mountain
The Gospel text speaks to the mountain top experience leading into the Sermon on the Mount. The mountain references in the Old Testament and in Matthew help frame the text as a place to meet God, the ruler of the Kingdom of Heaven, and to get instructed on life in the Kingdom.
The Gospel text reminds us that the Sermon on the Mount is the New Law from God, for living life in the New Kingdom. And it begins with the Beatitudes, which prepare us for the full expression of what it’s like to live life in the Kingdom of God
