{"id":5598,"date":"2019-06-16T08:00:45","date_gmt":"2019-06-16T00:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5598"},"modified":"2021-10-15T16:04:02","modified_gmt":"2021-10-15T08:04:02","slug":"226-mount-of-beatitude-peace-and-radicality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jeffangiegoh.com\/?p=5598","title":{"rendered":"226. Mount of Beatitudes: Peace and Radicality"},"content":{"rendered":"

3\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

4\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

5\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

6\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

7\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

8\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

9\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness\u2019 sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

11\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBlessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely[a<\/a>]<\/sup>\u00a0on my account.\u00a012\u00a0<\/sup>Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you<\/strong><\/span>. [Matthew 5:3-12<\/span>, NRSV<\/em>]<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"\u00a0<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

1. The octagonal Church of the Beatitudes<\/a>, the traditional location for the\u00a0Sermon on the Mount<\/a>; 2. James Tissot<\/a>,\u00a0The Beatitudes Sermon<\/em>, c. 1890,\u00a0Brooklyn Museum<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the northwestern shore of the\u00a0Sea of Galilee<\/a> and on the southern slopes of the Korazim Plateau, located between Capernaum and Gennesaret, is the traditionally recognised site of the Mount of Beatitudes where Jesus is believed to have delivered the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:28). Within sight are the scenes of many of the Gospel events that relate Jesus\u2019\u00a0ministry\u00a0in Galilee.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Church of the Beatitudes is located right here, near Tabgha. Pilgrims commemorate the event of Jesus teaching the Sermon on the Mount at the eight-sided Church of the Beatitudes, built on the slope of the mount. The church is an elegant octagonal building with colonnaded\u00a0cloisters. The eight\u00a0sides\u00a0of the church represent the eight beatitudes, which are additionally shown in Latin in the upper windows. The seven\u00a0virtues\u00a0(justice, charity, prudence, faith, fortitude, hope and temperance) are depicted by symbols in the mosaic floor.<\/span><\/p>\n

This area is one of the most beautiful and serene places in the Holy Land. The Church is surrounded by a lush green garden dotted with date-palms and cypress trees, and carpeted with scented flowers. In the landscaped garden, a few altars\u00a0are provided for small group worship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mr. Murad, our tour guide, made it a point to brief us on the excellent accommodation right here which we might consider for our future Holy Land pilgrimage trips. It is a guest house managed by the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (I.H.M.). The place is a 78-room guest house described as \u201coriented to pilgrim tour groups and travelers seeking uniquely Catholic accommodations with a strong spiritual connection.\u201d Each room is essentially a suite with desk and TV area, private bathroom, and bedroom. Location-wise, it is faultless as it overlooks the Sea of Galilee. For facilities, it offers full board, with immaculately clean rooms and excellent food. Pilgrims not only stay there during their entire Holy Land pilgrimage, paying a much lower price compared to the hotels, they also enjoy study, prayer, and retreat facilities in the midst of superb settings of beauty and peace.<\/span><\/p>\n

Of this Franciscan Hostel, James Martin, SJ, writes in Jesus: A Pilgrimage<\/em>: \u201cBlessed were we to be staying at the Mount of Beatitudes hostel. Not simply because of the air-conditioned rooms, the titanic breakfasts, the proximity to so many sites in Galilee, or even the gracious Franciscan hospitality, but something else: the ease of prayer. Whenever we emerged from our hotel we stepped on holy ground: the spot where Jesus, by tradition, preached the Beatitudes during his Sermon on the Mount\u2026\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Reflection<\/u><\/strong>:<\/span><\/p>\n

It is easy to put the label of \u201cpeace\u201d to Jesus\u2019 Beatitudes and Sermon on the Mount. In so doing, it is at the same time, so easy to ignore the radicality of Jesus\u2019 message. Combining peace and radical message brings out pointers for reflection.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Disciples\u2019 righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The Sermon on the Mount, summarizing as it were the fundamental teachings of Jesus, opens with his proclamation of the eight beatitudes, beginning with \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven . . . .\u201d (Matthew 5:3). The sermon indicates how Jesus\u2019 followers, described as \u201cthe salt of the earth\u201d, shall live so that they will be in right\u00a0relationship\u00a0with God and with others. These Beatitudes sound pretty gentle, and the beautiful and serene atmosphere of the locale, as we have seen above, which has been traditionally identified as the place where these Beatitudes were preached by Jesus, can both be misleading. The truth of the matter is, during Jesus\u2019 time, he had an ongoing unhappy confrontation with a Judaism dominated by the scribes and the Pharisees. Given the legitimate authority of the scribes and the Pharisees who, however, do not practise what they preach, the Matthean Jesus tells his disciples: \u201cFor I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven\u201d (Matthew 5:20). No wonder Matthew presents Jesus as insisting thus:<\/span><\/p>\n