Responses to Sermons on Matthew 5:1-12 from RLD

To Sung In

1) Good contrast between the kingdoms of earth versus the kingdom of heaven.

I appreciate your careful preservation of the verb tenses.

2) Be careful not to associate South Korea (or any human society) too closely with the kingdom of heaven.

3) The use of the word "honored" is helpful, but you might want to make a connection with the meaning of being "called," which is a closer translation of the Greek. This connects to Paul's theology of calling in 1 Corinthians.

To LRG

1) I appreciate your connection to Matthew's ending in chapter 28.

I also like the contrast of grasping/mastery imagery with stewardship/servant imagery.

2) Can you separate one beatitude from the rest in this highly structured text? I wonder if the meaning of one blessing flows into and changes the others.

To CJM

1) Good use of beginnings metaphor. God is the beginning, and the invitation always comes first.

2) I think the beatitudes are a part of the "real meat" of the sermon. The relationship with God is the meat.

Is this an invitation or a proclamation, or both?

3) Do you work with the content of poor, meek, mourning, etc. Perhaps this is self-evident as you reread the beatitudes in II, but maybe not.

To RKF

1) Good reminder of the idea that these are meant to be contrary to us. God's ways are not our ways.

2) I'd like to hear more development on the meaning of the beatitudes.I like the brief rewordings, but they leave me wanting more. Maybe on just one or two of them you could go deeper.

3) You say this text is about the good news, but why is it good news? I can sound pretty bad when I'm told my grief or poverty of spirit is good.

To DE

1) Great connection to Isa. 55.2. I hadn't made that connection.

2) Is this text about doing righteousness or hungering for righteousness?

3) You might spend a little more time on the promise that they will be filled. They hunger now, but God will fill that hunger. Neither of these things tells us to actually do anything.