Archives: Episodes

From Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain

About Praying

“And, when you pray, you are not to behave as hypocrites do. They like to pray standing in the Synagogues and at the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. There, I tell you, is their reward! But, when one of you prays, let him go into his own room, shut the door, and pray to his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him. When praying, do not repeat the same words over and over again, as is done by the Gentiles, who think that by using many words they will obtain a hearing. Do not imitate them; for God, your Father, knows what you need before you ask him.

“You, therefore, should pray thus—

The ‘Lord’s Prayer’

‘Our Father, who art in Heaven, may thy name be held holy, thy Kingdom come, thy will be done—on earth, as in Heaven. Give us to-day the bread that we shall need; and forgive us our wrong-doings, as we have forgiven those who have wronged us; and take us not into temptation, but deliver us from Evil.’

“For, if you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you also; but, if you do not forgive others their offences, not even your Father will forgive your offences.

About Fasting

“And, when you fast, do not put on gloomy looks, as hypocrites do who disfigure their faces that they may be seen by men to be fasting. That, I tell you, is their reward! But, when one of you fasts, let him anoint his head and wash his face, that he may not be seen by men to be fasting, but by his Father who dwells in secret; and his Father, who sees what is secret, will recompense him.”

—Matthew.

A Noble Deed

I hold this thing to be grandly true,
That a noble deed is a step towards God—
Lifting the soul from the common clod
To a purer air and a broader view.

—J. G. Holland.

Living a Christian

My children, I am to be with you but a little while longer. I give you a new commandment—love one another; love one another just as I have loved you. It is by this that every one will recognize you as my disciples—by the love you bear one another.

—Jesus.

Every Good Deed is Charity

Every good deed is charity. Giving water to the thirsty is charity; putting a wanderer in the right path is charity; removing stones and thorns from the road is charity. Our true wealth is the good we do. When one dies, men ask what property he left behind him, but angels ask what good deeds he sent before him.

—Anon.

Home is God’s garden of character; the soul may grow elsewhere, but it grows to perfection there.

Martin Luther

(Death Feb. 18, 1546. Lines written at Luther’s grave in Wittenburg.)

Here rests the heart whose throbbing shook the earth!
High soul of courage, we do owe thee much;
Thee and thy warrior comrades, who the worth
Of freedom proved and put it to the touch!
Because, O Luther, thou the truth didst love,
And spake the truth out, faced the sceptered lie,
E’en we, thy unforgetting heirs, may move
Fearless, erect, unshackled, ‘neath the sky.

—Richard Watson Gilder.

From Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain

On Love

“You have heard that it was said—

‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thy enemy.’

I, however, say to you—Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you that you may become sons of your Father who is in Heaven; for he causes his sun to rise upon bad and good alike, and sends rain upon the righteous and upon the unrighteous. For, if you love only those who love you, what reward will you have? Even the tax-gatherers do this! And, if you show courtesy to your brothers only, what are you doing more than others? Even the Gentiles do this! You, then, must become perfect—as your heavenly Father is perfect.

About Giving

“Take care not to perform your religious duties in public in order to be seen by others; if you do, your Father who is in Heaven has no reward for you.

“Therefore, when you do acts of charity, do not have a trumpet blown in front of you, as hypocrites do in the Synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. There, I tell you, is their reward! But, when you do acts of charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your charity may be secret; and your Father, who sees what is in secret, will recompense you.”

—Matthew.

Possessions Shared Become Blessings

Thyself and thy belongings
Are not thine own so proper as to waste
Thyself upon thy virtues, they on thee.
Heaven does with us as we with torches do,
Not light them for themselves; for if our virtues
Did not go forth of us, ’twere all alike
As if we had them not. Spirits are not finely touched
But to fine issues.

—William Shakespeare.

The Sermon on the Mount

The Sermon on the Mount remains the manifesto of Jesus’ religion, and carries in spirit. His own irresistible charm—the freshness of new revelation. “Blessed,” said Jesus, opening His mouth with intention, and no one could have guessed what would follow. The world had its own idea of blessedness. Blessed is the man who is always right. Blessed is the man who is satisfied with himself. Blessed is the man who is strong. Blessed is the man who rules. Blessed is the man who is rich. Blessed is the man who is popular. Blessed is the man who enjoys life. These are the beatitudes of sight and this present world.

It comes as a shock and opens a new realm of thought, that not one of these men entered Jesus’ mind when he treated of blessedness. “Blessed,” said Jesus, “is the man who thinks lowly of himself; who has passed through great trials; who gives in and endures; who longs for perfection; who carries a tender heart; who has a passion for holiness; who sweetens human life; who dares to be true to conscience.” What a conception of character! Blessed are the humble, the penitents, the victims, the mystics, the philanthropists, the saints, the mediators, the confessors. For the first time a halo rests on gentleness, patience, kindness, and sanctity, and the eight men of the beatitudes divide the kingdom of God.

Jesus was an absolute and unreserved believer in character, and was never weary of insisting that a man’s soul was more than his environment, and must be judged not by what he held and had, but by what he was and did. Jesus’ demand was to do the “will of my Father which is in heaven,” and all of this kind made one family. He only has founded a kingdom on the basis of character; He only has dared to believe that character will be omnipotent. No weapon in Jesus’ view would be so winsome, so irresistible, as the beatitudes in action. His disciples were to use no kind of force, neither tradition, nor miracles, nor the sword, nor money. They were to live as He lived, and influence would conquer the world. Jesus elected twelve men—one was a failure—and trained them till they thought with Him, and saw with Him. Each disciple became a center himself, and so the Kingdom grew by multiplying and widening circles of influence.

—John Watson.

Have you doubted your immortality? have you been asking where Heaven is? Then go and live the Sermon on the Mount in your home and you will find the answer to both questions.

Alternate Reading: Acts 24:1-22.

From Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain

On Impurity

“You have heard that it was said—

‘Thou shalt not commit adultery.’

I, however, say to you that any one who looks at a woman with an impure intention has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye is a snare to you, take it out and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it thrown into the Pit. And, if your right hand is a snare to you, cut it off and throw it away. It would be best for you to lose one part of your body, and not to have the whole of it go down to the Pit.

On Divorce

“It was also said—

‘Let any one who divorces his wife serve her with a notice of separation.’

I, however, say to you that any one who divorces his wife, except on the ground of her unchastity, leads to her committing adultery; while any one who marries her after her divorce is guilty of adultery.

On Oaths

“Again, you have heard that to our ancestors it was said—

‘Thou shalt not break an oath, but thou shalt keep thins oaths as a debt due to the Lord.’

I, however, say to you that you must not swear at all, either by Heaven, since that is God’s throne, or by the earth, since that is his footstool, or by Jerusalem, since that is the city of the Great King. Nor should you swear by your head, since you cannot make a single hair either white or black. Let your words be simply “Yes” or “No”; anything beyond this comes from what is wrong.

On Revenge

“You have heard that it was said—

‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’

I, however, say to you that you must not resist wrong; but, if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other to him also; and, when any one wants to go to law with you, to take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and, if any one compels you to go one mile, go two miles with him. Give to him who asks of you, and, from him who wants to borrow from you, do not turn away.”

—Matthew.

Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

He that hath clean hands and a pure heart.

—Psalms.

Real Love

Which alters when alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove:
O not it is an ever fixed mark,
That looks on tempests, and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wandering bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.

—William Shakespeare.

He that Shuts Love Out

And he that shuts Love out, in turn shall be
Shut out from Love, and on her threshold lie
Howling in outer darkness. Not for this
Was common clay taken from the common earth,
Moulded by God, and tempered with the tears
Of angels to the perfect shape of man.

—Alfred Tennyson.

God Buried in a Woman’s Soul

God buried in a woman’s soul
A treasure rare
For His safe keeping, till the day
That he to whom it was bequeathed
Should, by some look, or whisper breathed,
Beseech his birthright hid away.

She kept it long, for safety locked
Deep in her heart,
And there it grew more fair, more bright;
But no one brought the magic key
That claimed the treasure held in fee:
So, deeper still, she buried it from sight.

At last the Donor spoke and said:
“Give lavishly
To all you meet from out your store;
A heart of love, like purse of gold,
Unspent, but curses those who hold.”
Yet as she gave, the hoard but grew the more!

—Eva Dean.

Alternate Reading: Acts 22:1-22.

From Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain

“Do not think that I have come to do away with the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to do away with them, but to complete them. For I tell you, until the heavens and the earth disappear, not even the smallest letter, nor one stroke of a letter, shall disappear from the Law until all is done. Whoever, therefore, breaks one of these commandments, even the least of them, and teaches others to do so, will be the least-esteemed in the Kingdom of Heaven; but whoever keeps them, and teaches others to do so, will be esteemed great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Indeed I tell you that, unless your religion is above that of the Teachers of the Law, and Pharisees, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

On Anger

“You have heard that to our ancestors it was said—

‘Thou shalt not commit murder,’

and

‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to answer for it to the Court.’

I, however, say to you that any one who cherishes anger against his brother shall be liable to answer for it to the Court; and whoever pours contempt upon his brother shall be liable to answer for it to the High Council, while whoever calls down curses upon him shall be liable to answer for it in the fiery Pit. Therefore, when presenting your gift at the altar, if even there you remember that your brother has some grievance against you, leave your gift there, before the altar, go and be reconciled to your brother first, then come and present your gift. Be ready to make friends with your opponent, even when you meet him on your way to the court: for fear that he should hand you over to the judge, and the judge to his officer, and you should be thrown into prison. I tell you, you will not come out until you have paid the last penny.”

—Matthew.

A soft answer turneth away wrath: but a grievous word stirreth up anger.

—Proverbs.

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe,
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

—William Blake.

Abraham Lincoln

Such was he, our Martyr-Chief,
Whom late the Nation he had led,
With ashes on her head,
Wept with the passion of an angry grief:
Forgive me, if from present things I turn
To speak what in my heart will beat and burn,
And hang my wreath on his world-honored urn.
Nature, they say, doth dote,
And cannot make a man
Save on some worn-out plan,
Repeating us by rote:
For him our Old-World moulds aside she threw,
And, choosing sweet clay from the breast
Of the unexhausted West,
With stuff untainted shaped a hero new,
Wise, steadfast in the strength of God, and true.
How beautiful to see
Once more a shepherd of mankind indeed,
Who loved his charge, but never loved to lead;
One whose meek flock the people joyed to be,
Not lured by any cheat of birth,
But by his clear-grained human worth.
And brave old wisdom of sincerity!
They knew that outward grace is dust;
They could not choose but trust
In that sure-footed mind’s unfaltering skill,
And supple-tempered will
That bent like perfect steel to spring again and thrust.
His was no lonely mountain-peak of mind,
Thrusting to thin air o’er our cloudy bars,
A sea-mark, now lost in vapors blind;
Broad prairie rather, genial level-lined,
Fruitful and friendly for all human kind,
Yet also nigh to heaven and loved of loftiest stars.
Nothing of Europe here,
Or, then, of Europe fronting mornward still,
Ere any names of Serf and Peer
Could Nature’s equal scheme deface
And thwart her genial will;
Here was a type of the true elder race,
And one of Plutarch’s men talking with us face to face.
I praise him not; it were too late;
And some innative weakness there must be
In him who condescends to victory
Such as the present gives, and cannot wait,
Safe in himself as in a fate.
So always firmly he:
He knew to bide his time
And can his fame abide,
Still patient in his simple faith sublime,
Till the wise years decide.
Great captains, with their guns and drums,
Disturb our judgment for the hour,
But at last silence comes;
These all are gone, and, standing like a tower,
Our children shall behold his fame,
The kindly earnest, brave, foreseeing man,
Sagacious, patient, dreading praise, not blame,
New birth of our new soil, the first American.

—James Russell Lowell.

Alternate Reading: Acts 20:17-38.

Words from a Great Heart

Let us stand by our duty fearlessly and effectively. I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live up to the light that I have.

With malice towards none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in; to bind up the nation’s wounds,—to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.

We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic cords of memory, stretching from every battle-field and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as they surely will be, by the better angels of our nature.

—Abraham Lincoln.

Alternate Reading: Acts 17:16-31.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mountain

On seeing the crowds of people, Jesus went up the hill; and, when he had taken his seat, his disciples came up to him; and he began to teach them as follows:

The Happy

“Blessed are the pure in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Blessed are the mourners, for they shall be comforted.

“Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

“Blessed are those who have been persecuted in the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven.

“Blessed are you when people taunt you, and persecute you, and say everything evil about you—untruly, and on my account. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward in Heaven will be great; for so men persecuted the prophets who lived before you.”

A Real Disciple of Jesus

“It is you who are the salt of the earth; but, if the salt should lose its strength, what will you use to restore its saltness? It is no longer good for anything, but is thrown away, and trampled underfoot. It is you who are the light of the world.

Lesson from a Lamp

“A town that stands on a hill cannot be hidden. Men do not light a lamp and put it under a corn-measure, but on the lamp-stand, where it gives light to every one in the house. Let your light so shine before the eyes of your fellowmen, that, seeing your good actions, they may praise your Father who is in Heaven.”

—Matthew.