From the Pastor
Fr. Mike Comer shares his thoughts on Scripture, spirituality and the challenges of living the Gospel.
sermon on the mount is required reading
Feb. 1, 2026
We begin reading the Sermon on the Mount this Sunday. It will go on for several weeks but will be interrupted by the Lenten and Easter Seasons. We resume those readings after Pentecost.
The Sermon of the Mount is chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew and contain some of the most important spiritual teaching of Jesus in the New Testament. Our Gospel reading today introduces the sermon as we see Jesus go up onto the mountain and sit down. This reminds us of Moses, the great lawgiver, who went up onto Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and brought them down to the Hebrews waiting at the base of the mountain.
Jesus goes up the mountain and sits down. In that time, a teacher would sit, and the students would stand. Sitting was a sign of his authority. We still see this in our own time, as the head of a committee is referred to as the chairperson. In universities, the head of a particular school of education is the “chair.” So, Jesus begins to teach.
The Sermon of the Mount is chapters 5, 6 and 7 of the Gospel of Matthew and contain some of the most important spiritual teaching of Jesus in the New Testament. Our Gospel reading today introduces the sermon as we see Jesus go up onto the mountain and sit down. This reminds us of Moses, the great lawgiver, who went up onto Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments and brought them down to the Hebrews waiting at the base of the mountain.
Jesus goes up the mountain and sits down. In that time, a teacher would sit, and the students would stand. Sitting was a sign of his authority. We still see this in our own time, as the head of a committee is referred to as the chairperson. In universities, the head of a particular school of education is the “chair.” So, Jesus begins to teach.
His first teachings in the sermon are the beatitudes (blessings). He begins, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” The further beatitudes identify groups of people who are materially or spiritually poor, and how they are blessed. The rest of the sermon flows from this idea of the poor in spirit.
Get out your bible and go to Matthew 6. Read the sermon. Read it again. And then read it section by section.
Then go back and read it over and over again for the rest of your life!
—Fr. Mike Comer
Get out your bible and go to Matthew 6. Read the sermon. Read it again. And then read it section by section.
Then go back and read it over and over again for the rest of your life!
—Fr. Mike Comer
