Wrestling with the political, spiritual, and theological tensions of the Sermon on the Mount

For over a week now, I've been challenged with the task of preparing a message based on chapter 5 of the book of Matthew, the first and most famous part of the Sermon on the Mount. The more I study, the more I wrestle with questions of its' application politically as individuals, groups, or nations.

Aren't nations made up of the collective decisions of those within them?

Anyway, I came across this video this morning, and it sharply illustrates much of the inner struggle I'm having with some of these political/spiritual/theological questions. There are tensions here that deserve deep consideration by any Christian. I don't claim to have all the answers, but I am sure that we should not de-radicalize these teachings of Jesus.

An amazing pattern I've come across in my study is that as I read commentaries and studies from different countries and times, I find that in every case, the political atmosphere of the writer transparently informs their conclusions regarding how Jesus' sermon affects the role of the government and military, and Christian's response to oppression. Contemporary Americans diminish or completely whitewash the political applications of the Sermon every time, while Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German writing during the second world war very clearly sees direct political consequences to Christians and their dealings with government in the Sermon.

The Sermon on the Mount has become so familiar to us that much of what Jesus says has been lost to cliche. I hope that this video will help you take a step into the uncomfortable realm of the radical nature of Jesus' teachings that I've been wrestling with for the last week.

Other sources for my study this week have been the NIV Application Commentary, The Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (A Nazi Resister), Living in God's Two Kingdoms by David VanDrunen, Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne and Chris Haw, and The Kingdom of Heaven is Within You by Leo Tolstoy.

I also watched the film "Gandhi" this week.