Insurmountable

"I have come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets," Matthew 5:17.

So says Jesus. We find the Law hard. We find in the Law harsh reminder of our failure. We find its curses insurmountable. Yes, the Law holds the necessary ideal for us to have communion with God. Yet, we find its reminder of our sin a block to that fellowship. But Jesus has come, and he has fulfilled the Law's demands for sharing in God's mercy. He's our Man representing us in the presence of God. And. He's our Sacrifice against the wages of sin. And. He calls us to repent in faith. So we do. New covenant.

We visit with a brother or sister today in a new life of the Spirit. And together we offer the sacrifices of thanksgiving that praise him.

Pre-Prepared

"Shine!" Matthew 5:16.

Yes! Jesus says, Shine your light! Right in front of people! Shine your good works! Shine so people can see! Shine all those God works! So that they can see Jesus! Jesus blazing through us! Yes! So that they will glorify our Father in the sky!

We meet with a brother or sister doing the good works God pre-prepared for us. And together we manifest the light of Christ to the praise of God, our father.

Ritual

"Why do we fast, and you do not see it?" Isaiah 58:3.

So we say to God: God, we do all this religious stuff and you don't even notice. And God says: Here's the religious ritual that I want: Untie the ropes of injustice. Free the oppressed. Break bread with hungry people. Bring the homeless home with you. Share clothes with exposed people. And in this way, says the Lord, your light will shine like the dawn. And the glory of the Lord will keep watch over you. Thus saith the Lord. Kingdom of God.

So when we share with a brother or sister today God notices and blesses. And together we give thanks and glory to Christ who shared his everything with us.

Preserves

"You are the salt of the earth," Matthew 5:13.

Jesus resets what it means to live as true humans on this planet. True humans live as citizens of the kingdom of God. In this capacity, true humans reflect the characteristics of the Man of men, of the Master, Christ Jesus. Christ shines through his people who thereby light the world. They produce for the rest of the world its valuable taste for God. If we will not repent so as to serve as light and salt, our whole endeavor becomes worth being thrown out and trod upon. Repent, said Jesus: Kingdom of God!

As we visit with a brother or sister today we encourage one another into the Way of Christ. And together we give thanks to God who preserves his own into eternity.

Shine

"You are the light of the world," Matthew 5:14.

People who repent in Jesus's call to his kingdom. People who receive God's blessings in poverty, mourning, meekness, hungering and thirsting, mercy, purity, peacemaking, doing the right thing, being insulted and persecuted, all these things for the sake of Jesus. These people are the light of the world. New covenant. God's new society.

We visit with a brother or sister today delivered from the domain of darkness, transferred into the kingdom of Christ. And together we say, Thank You!, to God, for letting us shine like Jesus.

Prophets

"Get happy! Be glad! because your compensation is sky high! They persecuted the prophets who came before you just like that, too!" Matthew 5:12.

Jesus does it again: turns our experience upside down. He calls us to repent. Even to change the way we take things. We've got to get this, that we belong to his kingdom. And the rules of his kingdom don't mesh with our past experience. It's hard to rejoice in the middle of insults. Sure it is. (That's why it's called repentance - as they say, If it was easy, everybody'd do it.) God has made a new treaty - his kingdom is real. And we live by its new rules right now.

We visit with a brother or sister today orienting ourselves to the new life of the kingdom. And together we give thanks to God for doing something about the mess we humans made in doing it our way.

Association

"Blessed are you when they mock you and they persecute and they say all sorts of bad things lying against you because of me," Matthew 5:11.

Repentance becomes more than simply fine tuning a generally righteous life (I mean, that's the way we humans think of it, right?). Rather, repentance becomes the root change from a death-dealing lifestyle to the radical call of the Lord, Jesus, into his kingdom's life-giving conduct. That change challenges the sons of disobedience. These recognize the Lord at work in his people and attack him through them. Jesus says to his own: Good for you! Well done, faithful servants!

We meet with a brother or sister today and find joy in real association with Jesus. And together we give thanks to God for his triumphant new life in Christ.

Rules

"Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the skies," Matthew 5:10.

God made a new covenant with humans. God formed a new treaty in order to establish his kingdom among human hearts. In that agreement, God forgives all sins and transgressions any time people repent from self-centered pursuits toward God-centered motivations. When people receive the sacrifice of Jesus as the means to forgiveness. When people receive God's grace through faith in Christ. And in this transformation, people begin a new way of life, participants in a kingdom where God's rule rules. Where righteousness dwells. So when they are driven out from other relationships, they own the kingdom of heaven, indeed.

We visit with a brother or sister today bound in an eternal relationship of righteousness. And together we thank God for his righteous rule.

Surpasses

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God," Matthew 5:9.

So Jesus went around preaching the Good News: Repent! The kingdom of God's almost here! Jesus's Sermon on the Mount details what it means to repent. It means a foundational change from the world's shifting sands to the bedrock of God's kingdom: faith in Christ. Yeah. Engage the things of peace, not things of war and strife. Peacemakers (not the gun) receive adoption as God's own kids.

We get together with a brother or sister today in the peace of Christ that surpasses reason. And together we give thanks to God for his new treaty with us in the cross of Christ.

Single-minded

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God," Matthew 5:8.

Pure in heart. Compared to what? Compared to skeptics. Well, yeah, sure, of course: skeptics. But more to the point: compared to ... well, you know, those folks who feel that they're in the hidden know, that they know the real, self-serving motives of others? Yeah. Compared to that. Compared to the serpent who deceived Eve into thinking God intended to keep people subservient to himself when they could, instead, be equal to God. Pure in heart. Who take God at face value. Will see the face of God.

As we visit with a brother or sister today we redouble efforts to repent from double minds. And single-minded together we give God praise from hearts purified by the blood of Jesus.

Perpetrator

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy," Matthew 5:7.

Ever hear of a person who was wronged extend mercy toward some despicable perpetrator? (Sure. Of course. We all have.) And having heard of such a thing, have we ever thought to ourselves: Well, not me! I would've made them pay big time! (Sure. Of course. We all have.) Jesus says: Repent! The kingdom of God is not like the kingdoms of this world. New covenant. Different rules.

When we meet with a brother or sister today we extend mercy, and receive mercy. And together we give thanks to God whose mercy in Christ triumphs over judging.

Satisfies

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled," Matthew 5:6.

So Jesus's big message was: Repent! The sky kingdom's about here! So. What does repentance look like? What's life in the kingdom like? (Well, that's we're talking about, right?) Looks like this: Persevere for what's right. Press in to justice. Conform to God's will. Seek out noble action. Rather than ... whining about how terrible things are today ... about how good the good old days were ... giving up ... what's the use? No! God's paying attention; God satisfies the pursuit of justice. Oh, yes, indeed.

We visit with a brother or sister today and remind each other of the banquet feast. And together we give thanks to God for satisfying justice at Jesus's cross.

Banty

"Blessed are those who are gentle, for they shall inherit the earth," Matthew 5:5.

Repentance concerns change from our rough and tumble ways to gentleness. From ready and waiting for a fight to kindness. From Don't tread on me, to meekness. Hmm. Now. This does not sit well. It sounds a lot like having no backbone, like being a wimp. Well, perhaps. Or. It could sound like a carpenter who holds the cosmos and the little bitty babies in his hands, who then yields those calloused hands over to be nailed to a cross by banty rooster men.

When we see a brother or sister today, we exercise the gentleness of wisdom. And together we give thanks to God for bequeathing us Earth's wealth.

Heralds

"Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted," Matthew 5:4.

New covenant. God initiates a new treaty with his people. He renders blessing even through the events that once undid us: we once wept, and wept alone; found no surcease of sorrow; unbearably deep loss. But no longer! God heralds hope and comfort despite the sorrow. Indeed. We mourn yet. However. We mourn trusting in the expectation that he will wipe away all tears. We repent in the anguish of unforgivable misdeeds. And in turning around, we find forgiveness for our souls. New testament.

We meet with a brother or sister today and comfort each other with the comfort in which we ourselves have been comforted. And together we say to God: Thank you!

Displacement

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, because the kingdom of heaven is theirs," Matthew 5:3.

Repent! Says Jesus. Change! Turn around! So. What does repentance look like? It looks like pride and arrogance and privilege and power of the world giving way to humility and shame and displacement and weakness. Looks like someone who finds God's grace sufficient for them. Who finds in their weakness agency for God's power, Creator of worlds. Indeed, who finds their greatest strength in their weakness.

We visit with a brother or sister today in our poverty to find the blessing of God's kingdom. And together we give thanks that Jesus became poor to make us heirs of his kingdom's glorious wealth.

Consummation

"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand," Matthew 4:17.

Yes. Again. That's Jesus's message. But isn't that time over and done with? Nope. Not at all. God's invitation to the world, and to his children, continues: Repent! Why? because we (humans) get complacent. We think: Nothing's changed, it's all the same as ever. Or, we think: We've changed enough, we're righteous enough, we're better than that other guy. So God's imperative continues: Repent! Be ye holy (says God) even as I am holy!

So we meet with a brother or sister today on our knees before our Father. And together we repent in gratefulness for his kingdom already breaking into our lives, awaiting consummation in the age to come.

Blotted

"Repent, therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out," Acts 3:19.

Change course! Turn again! Why? So that our sins may be erased. Wiped away. Blotted out. Yes! Why else repent? So that refreshing times may come. Resting times. Relieving times. Where do these times come from? From being in the presence of God. From being right there in front of his face. Why else repent? So that God will send us Christ, Jesus, from the sky and make everything completely right again. Yeah. That's why.

We meet with a brother or sister today and thankful together we recommit with each other to turn again from the world's ways to the way of God through Christ.

Change

"Bear fruit in keeping with repentance," Matthew 3:8.

Repentance means more than regretting some action, being sorry for what we did. It certainly includes that. But means more than that. Repentance is change. Change of course. Change of direction. Repentance is turning around. It means going to town but then turning around and going back home. It means that our lives do not stay on the same track. It means to change behaviors of mind and of body. Change from greedy pursuits (idolatry!) to serving royal pursuits worthy of God's kingdom. It means producing fruit that evidences change.

We visit with a brother or sister today to encourage in each other manifestation of godly change. And together we give thanks to God who receives repentant lives as his own.

Teachings

"Repent and believe in the gospel," Mark 1:15.

Ever wonder what the big picture of Jesus's preaching was? Well. Wonder no longer. That's it. (People who read the Good Book know this.) He said: Time's up! God's kingdom's almost here! Repent! Believe in the Good News! Yes. All the rest of Jesus's teachings relate to that message. And when he sent out his followers to preach, they gave that same message: Repent! And even on Pentecost, the first thing that people should do? Spirit-filled Peter answered: Repent!

We visit with a brother or sister today determined to change our worldly ways. And together we give thanks that God empowers us toward profound repentance.

Repent

"Repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations," Luke 24:47.

So. The Hebrew Bible wrote that Christ must suffer and then rise from the dead three days later. It also said repentance and forgiveness in Christ's name must be preached to all nations. And that that preaching would begin in Jerusalem. And it did. And it continues to go out to all nations of earth. The message: Repent! Unless you repent, you will all perish. The message: Salvation in the living Christ!

We visit with a brother or sister soberly today in God's invitation. And together we give heartfelt thanksgiving for God's grace powerfully following repentance.

Twelve

"The names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed on the gates," Revelation 21:12.

Yes, twelve gates through the high wall of the heavenly city. Named for Israel's twelve tribes. And the foundation of that city's wall? Twelve foundations: named for the Lamb's twelve apostles. So. Twelve tribes of Israel, twelve apostles of the Lamb. The holy city, Jerusalem of the sky (not of earth!). The Bride of the Lamb. The city made without human hand coming down from heaven. Whose maker and builder is God. God has rejected no people. By faith in the Lamb, the peoples bring their glory into it. The city's temple is God. God's glory is the light. The Lamb is the lamp. New covenant in the blood of the Lamb, witnessed to all peoples by his apostles.

We visit with a brother or sister today honoring God in his temple. And together we give praises to God and to the Lamb alone worthy to read our names into his book of life.

Look

"If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation," 2 Corinthians 5:17.

Happy New Creation! Look! The old has passed away! The new has come! We used to see Christ with old eyes, through a veiled, old covenant, in line with old-world experience. But no longer! God grants us reconciliation with himself through Christ, we participate with him now in a new righteousness born from above, of God in a new world, and we become his instruments with the message of reconciliation. He makes all things new! Jewish culture, Gentile cultures, no matter no longer. All that counts now is God's new creation in Christ Jesus. Eternally new covenant.

We meet with a brother or sister today participants in God's new creation. And together we give joyful thanksgivings to God for his new will for all humankind in Christ.