Faith's Wisdom - The Beatitudes - Part 1

In this talk, we take a look at some of the teachings given to us by Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount. The sermon begins with the Beatitudes but goes on to consider other aspects of living.

Photo by Amit Lahav on Unsplash

Transcript

Dear friends,

Often it seems that meditation has an eastern flavour,

And many of my own meditations seem to reflect a Buddhist point of view.

There's no problem at all with this,

But it is useful to remember that there is wisdom available to us in many different traditions.

So I thought it would be good to direct my attention today to what we might find when we look at some of the teachings of Jesus.

The most well-known of these teachings is probably the list of what are called the Beatitudes.

These are part of the Sermon on the Mount.

You may remember something along these lines.

Now when Jesus saw the crowds,

He went up on a mountainside and sat down.

His disciples came to him and he began to teach them.

He said,

Blessed are those who are persecuted in the cause of right,

Theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you,

Persecute you,

And falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

Rejoice and be glad,

Because great is your reward in heaven.

For in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Much more is offered in the Sermon on the Mount.

And here are some paragraphs that you might like to reflect upon.

You are the salt of the earth.

But if salt loses its saltiness,

How can it be made salty again?

It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.

You are the light of the world.

A city built on a hill cannot be hidden.

Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl.

Instead they put it on a stand and it will give light to everyone in the house.

In the same way,

Let your light shine before others,

That they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Jesus had this to say about taking an oath.

But I tell you,

Do not swear an oath at all.

Either by heaven,

For it is God's throne,

Or by the earth,

For it is his footstool,

Or by Jerusalem,

For it is the city of the great King.

And do not swear by your head,

For you cannot make even one hair white or black.

All you need say is simply yes or no.

Anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

And what does Jesus say about repaying wrong with wrong?

You have heard that it was said eye for eye and tooth for tooth.

But I tell you,

Do not resist an evil person.

If anyone slaps you on the right cheek,

Turn to them your other cheek also.

And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt,

Hand over your coat as well.

If anyone forces you to go one mile,

Go with them two miles.

Give to the one who asks you.

And do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

There is much wisdom and advice for life contained in religious teachings from various traditions around the world.

These teachings can provide us with guidance on moral and ethical principles,

Personal conduct,

Relationships,

And the search for meaning and purpose in life.

I hope you have found these ideas from the Beatitudes to be helpful.

Something to be thought about,

Questioned maybe.

Do you agree with them?

Do you think they go too far?

My plan is to take a look over time at advice for living that is offered to us in the Christian and other traditions.

It will often be found that the same teaching comes to us in different formats.

For example,

Almost everywhere you will see the Golden Rule,

The instruction not to do to another person anything that you would not like done to yourself.

Is reputation like this a waste of time?

It's no harm at all.

It probably does us much good if we see old wisdom coming to us in new forms.

We can all do with hearing a little bit of good advice again and again.

Namaste.

Reviews

It’s good to hear old wisdom through new interpretation, thank you Tony 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

A gem 💎. There's much to be gained in meditation, in any religion 🙏

Thank you for reminding us the main teachings of Jesus . 🙏

I've heard The Sermon on the Mount many times, but today the blessing for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness really spoke to me. What a beautiful reassurance that those yearnings will be satisfied. (My guess is that it will be in the afterlife .) Thank you.

Thank you Tony. Lovely reminder. Appreciate this.
🙏💖🕊

Beautiful and powerful! Ty, dear Tony. Blessings 🙏🏼👑👼🏼♥️♥️♥️♥️

Not sure about meaning to turn the other cheek. A priest gave another interpretation of what that meant in those times. But, I forgot what he said.🤣

I love this talk Thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights ❤️🙏

Thank you, Tony. It's great to hear the Beatitudes and the other wisdom teachings today. 🙏💝

This spoke directly to my heart today. Thank you, Tony

As always so insightful old ways are always worthy of repeating in any way, shape or form if it is wise and uplifting or is a reminder to us all as always much thanks!!! I’d be very intrigued to hear your insights on other spiritual paths that are less traditional such as the pagan paths for I am a solitary practitioner of the craft and folllow my own eclectic spiritual path than leans toward the earth religions I so enjoy your offerings here MANY THANKS 🙏 All good things…

This was wonderful Tony... Yes indeed, most religions have similar beliefs, with different teachings and philosophies. I’m looking forward to part 2. Thank you. 🙏🏼

Tony 🙏🏼🍀
I enjoyed this talk. There is so much to consider, question yes ! and reflect upon.
You may be aware of that saying used to describe a persons personality. If they’re a bit horrible they’re referred to as ‘too salty’ . Could this be where the saying comes from ?
I also like Buddhism and find it more user-friendly.
I like your plan to look over time at various religious teachings.
Hopefully this will raise good discussion in the Circle ⭕️
🍀💚🙏🏼

Thank you Tony I always appreciate your kindness and prospective in your meditations. Have a blessed day my friend . 🙏🏻💕

Thank you for these beatitudes looking forward to more

A good reminder that truth is one, paths are many. Thank you Tony 🙏🏻🌺

Excellent Tony
I did a study for teacher training comparing Bagavad and the Bible
Very enlightening to see similarities
I look forward to hearing your thoughts

I very much appreciare the attention you pay at the Sermon of the Mount and the Beatitudes. The very best that Christianity has offered us. Best wishes! Namaste 🤓🙏🏻

All paths lead to peace and love. Thank you, Tony, for presenting these teachings of Jesus : the Beatitudes.

Such a good Christian lesson!

The beatitudes remind us on being Christ-like. And there are so few Christian meditations on this app! So bless you for continually creating fresh content that is Christian based. Thanksgiving Eve here in America, so no time better than to hear the lessons and have the gratitude.