During his mission,
Jesus delivered many
sermons, public and
private, but the first
one and also the most
important is that
which became known as
the Sermon on the Mount,
also called for Sermon
of the Beatitudes
According to the
dictionaries, a sermon
is a religious,
doctrinal or moral
discourse; a reprimand
with intent to moralize,
warn and criticize.
During his mission,
Jesus gave four sermons,
public and private,
always objectively and
seeking to reach His
goals. The public ones
were made in places that
marked the passage of
the Master, who taught
while walking. The
private ones were made
in closed meetings with
his disciples. The first
and most important one
was the Sermon on the
Mount, also called the
Sermon of the
Beatitudes. The second
is the Prophetic Sermon.
The third is called the
Sermon of the Cenacle,
and the last represents
a severe reprimand and
warning to the Scribes
and Pharisees: the
Sermon of Eight "woes".
Sermon on the Mount
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The New Testament tells
that, before starting
his public life, Jesus
did 40 days of silence
and meditation in the
desert. This Sermon is
the first message that,
right at the beginning,
He directed to the
people and is called
Sermon on the Mount
because it was delivered
at the hills of Karn
Hattin, to the southwest
of the Lake Genesareth
(Sea of Galilee). These words can be
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considered a
"platform of the
Kingdom of God",
using a
political
language,
because ¹: |
1 – brought the basics
of Christianity,
2 - gave us a moral code
that guides us,
3 - affirmed that the
Kingdom of God is not of
this world
4 - contradict the
assumption that He would
be a political messiah.
Early on, The Master
speaks of the eight
Beatitudes, in which He
proclaims that happy are
precisely those who the
world considers
unfortunate: the poor,
pure, meek, peacemakers,
persecuted, etc… Then He
draws our attention to
the need to practice the
teachings He transmitted
by stimulating the best
in us, inviting us to be
perfect as the Heavenly
Father is. In this
Sermon we clearly
understand that the
distinction between
happiness and joy,
misery and suffering is
found throughout the
Gospel, and only
understood by those who
have awakened to the
awareness of the
condition of their
immortal spirits.
The Sermon on the Mount
thus represents the most
violent contrast between
the patterns of the
materialistic person and
the ideal of the
spiritual being. Eg, the
materialistic people
think it is an absurd to
love those who do not
love them, to do good to
those who lie, to suffer
another injustice
instead of retaliating
what they suffered. From
the perspective of the
man who only lives, the
material experiences, he
is right. But Jesus
invites us to go beyond.
He asks to go into a new
dimension of
consciousness, beyond
the material and enter
into an unprecedented
magnificent field, with
a cosmic vision of the
other - the practice of
forgiveness - because
only then we can
understand the constant
transience of everything
that is material so that
we become aware of what
is essential and
perennial: the life of
the Spirit.
How to understand the
advent of the Kingdom of
God, for example, if
each person,
individually, do not
place it within
himself/herself? We
could all do this. How
about take some time
every day, "to connect
with the internalised
Divine Self, connect
with our Internal
Christ" 4, reviewing
ideas, attitudes,
thinking and trying to
do better than we
thought and than what we
did yesterday? How about
replacing material
values by divine values,
draining the material
and filling up with God,
as the parable of the
lost son, who is away
from the father, then
sorry, search him and
find him again winning
over his imperfections?
(Luke, 15: 11-32.). If
we want to live with and
like Christ, we need to
be 100% honest with
ourselves and let us not
delude ourselves with
palliative and disguises
that conceal the truth
about us. Because of our
difficulties that Jesus,
taken by compassion for
the world, fell from the
heights and made his
sermon with consoling
promises, bringing
faith, resignation in
adversity, gentleness in
the redemptive
struggles, mercy in the
midst of tyranny and
madness. Knowing in
advance that anyone who
followed His words would
be insulted and
persecuted, He
recommended that we do
no rage against those
who do us evil, so that
we can show by example
in our existence.
After the "the
Beatitudes, Jesus warns
us to experience these
lessons, so He praises,
seeking to highlight
what we have best,
showing that those who
follow His words by
example, are considered
to be the salt of the
Earth, because they are
preserved from
corruption and that His
teachings are the
spiritual light of the
world that should be
scattered and not
hidden. The light
destroys the darkness.
Knowledge destroys
ignorance. The disciple
of Jesus is like this,
everyone will check to
see if his acts will
deny the word he
preaches.
The Master continues
still, alerting us that
He did not come to
destroy the law or the
prophets, by contrast,
He came to complete
them, teaching men how
to strictly follow the
guidelines. Speaks of
the continuous progress
that is proposed to
those who understand and
practice His words and
the responsibility of
those who teach such
words. He asks us to
reconcile with our
opponents, while we are
both incarnated, by
changing actions and not
paying evil with evil.
He invites us to have
the same attitude of
thew widow that gives
her necessity and not of
her superfluous and do
charity without
ostentation so that the
left hand does not know
what the right does.
Leads us, finally, to
reflect on the prayer.
Recommends that we pray,
secretly, into our room
and being such a sacred
act that a prayer is,
that we pray in the most
humble way and in
perfect harmony. And He
gives us then, the
universal prayer for
excellence: “Our
Father”.
Prophetic Sermon
According to “The Gospel
according to Spiritism”,
chapter XXI, a prophet
is, above all, someone
who announces the things
of God and who may or
may not have the
condition to predict the
future. Jesus was a
prophet in every sense
of the word.
Delivered in the Mount
of Olives, we can
understand, in a
respectful way, Jesus’
bitterness towards the
lack of understanding
from men in front of the
messages that He came to
bring.
But what was the purpose
of the Master with these
lessons? In them, Jesus
predicted a series of
events to mark the
centuries to come, due
to resistance from men
to understand and accept
the Christian message of
"Love God above all
things and your
neighbour as yourself."
His words clearly
presents the disasters
for which the world
would go through, until
we wake up to the need
to love unconditionally,
to do good without
ostentation.
"There will be stone
unturned, which is not
overturned." ² With this
sentence, he announces
not only the ruin of
Jerusalem, but also of
the failed institutions:
that of yesterday and
today, we can well
understand, before the
tables of inequities
that we see on days like
these. He warns the
disciples and the people
about the future
difficulties, talks
about the care we should
have in relation to the
false prophets that will
appear, reminding us of
the need for monitoring
and analysis of what we
see and hear, to pay
attention to misleading
appearances, redoubled
care with the
misinterpretations of
the teachings received.
Alert to the fact that
non-compliance with the
law of fraternity will
bring war, famine,
pestilence and that will
be a lot of killing and
suffering because of the
truths that were
brought. However He also
speaks of the new world
that will emerge,
warning everyone that we
should not be taken by
the old ideas and the
problems of the past.
And also to remind us
that we must be alert,
watching and praying to
be prepared to go
through the hard
evidence as true
Christians, making the
most of them for the
betterment of the
Spirit. Therefore there
will be tests, even for
those who are already
studying and
understanding the
Gospel.
In that sermon, Jesus
talks about the parable
of the dry fig tree.
Also tells us the
parable of the Ten
Virgins and the parable
of the Ten Talents. Both
are more direct guidance
to the workers of the
harvest, through which
Jesus shows the
consequences of our
attitudes if we do not
comply with the
obligations we take. The
laws of general
guidance, contained
therein, are the Laws of
Love covering the
principles of charity.
He says that those who
do not fit these
requirements will
suffer, urging, for that
account, the need for
vigilance and the
fulfilment of His words,
because we do not know
when we will be called
to the world of spirits.
Spiritism believes that
this is a warning for
the application of the
Law of Reincarnation,
with the atonement of
great difficulties.
Jesus also spoke of
events that would happen
shortly after his death,
and others that would
occur in the long term.
He says, "Heaven and
Earth shall pass away,
but that His words will
not." We believe that
the teachings of the
Master are the universal
moral law, emanating
from God, and therefore
the material things can
disappear, but His words
will prevail to the
spirits, because they
are words of eternal
life.
With these prophecies,
Jesus separates the
faithful servants from
the unfaithful ones,
listing the qualities of
a good one and bad
qualities of the other
one. The faithful
servant, from Christ’s
point of view, is the
one that in any case
remember to take care of
the assets of God, that
is, the body, the Spirit
and the responsibility
for his/her relatives.
All this, and lets’ not
forget about countless
brothers and sisters who
suffer in this life,
those seeking solace,
support, who are
ignorant of light. The
Master also outspreads
the change from a planet
of test and atonement
for a planet of
regeneration, with the
separation of those who
practice the Gospel in
its fullness, from those
who rebel against it.
The Doctrine of the
Spirits teaches us that
every day of our
existence, we have a
chance for renewal, and
that each reincarnation
is a new opportunity to
inner renewal. So when
our world reaches up to
the condition of the
world of regeneration,
there will be no
appropriate condition
for the permanence of
spirits that persist in
the practice of evil.
It is interesting to
note the firm position
of Jesus on his mission,
even being aware of the
facts that would happen.
We can deduce that
regardless of the
position of Judas, the
priests and the others
also on the purpose to
eliminate Christ
remained firm, because
of the hatred they felt
for Him, and the fear of
change that He brought
to the consciences of
men.
Sermon of the Cenacle
The Dictionary Aurélio -
XXI Century - says
cenacle is a meeting of
people working for a
common purpose. And in a
second definition, is a
place where people make
their meals
(cafeteria).
The Sermon of the Upper
Room was well known for
having been delivered in
the enclosure where
Jesus made the last
supper before his
arrest. Cairbar Schutel
³ emphasizes, "The
Sermon of the Upper Room
is as important,
substantial and edifying
as the Sermon on the
Mount. This is the
entrance of the Spirit
in the perfect life,
which are the strength,
hope and faith to
continue on such a
glorious path. " ³ the
purpose of this meeting
of the Master with his
disciples was
complementary to the
recommendations and
preparing the disciples
for the hard tests that
they would face, because
he knew that soon He
would not be among
them.
After distributing the
bread, symbolizing the
doctrine that He
brought, and wine (as
the essence of life),
representing the Spirit
that we must always
experience, after He
washed the feet of His
disciples as a sign of
humility and purity of
the soul, Jesus starts
his speech with
memorable words of
comfort, hope and
resignation: "Do not
trouble your hearts. Do
you believe in God?
Believe also in me: In
my Father's house there
are many rooms...”
(5)
Jesus continues,
awakening in them the
assurance of immortality
of the spirit, to give
them the awareness that
He is the True Vine and
they, the disciples were
His branches. The
branches come out of the
trunk and make leaves,
flowers and fruits. So
should the disciples of
the Master, because the
branch that does not
fruit will be cut off
and thrown away, showing
the need for spiritual
work. He asked us to
remain in His love and
that we love each other
as He loved us. He
insisted that all expect
the coming of the Spirit
of Truth, the other
consoler, which would
explain what he could
not, and remember what
has been forgotten. He
said words of
consolation, before His
departure for the
Father's house. He
farewelled His friends
and closed the sermon
with a prayer dedicated
not only to the
disciples attached to
Him, but for everyone
who follow Him and seek
to follow His example.
(5)
It is interesting to
note that John does not
speak of the suffering
Jesus in the Garden of
Gethsemane as do other
evangelists. However, he
was the disciple who was
closest to Him.
Sermon of the eight
"woes"
In the "Introduction" of
The Gospel According to
Spiritism, Allan Kardec
argues that the
Pharisees "took an
active part in religious
controversy. They were
faithful practitioners
of exterior cults and
ceremonies, full of
ardent zeal, proselytism,
and enemies of
innovations, maintaining
great severity of
principles. But behind
the cover of punctilious
devotion lay dissolute
habits, a great deal f
pride and above all an
excessive desire to
dominate. Religion was
actually a means to an
end, rather than an
object of sincere faith.
Nevertheless they
exercised a great
influence on the people,
in whose eyes they were
sacred. This is how they
became very powerful in
Jerusalem."
Jesus recommended to his
disciples, beware of
such doctrines that are
like yeast added to the
dough, making the bread
bulky and shiny to the
eyes of men, but hollow
and mushy inside.
This sermon is a warning
to the Scribes – who
taught and interpreted
the law to the people,
and the Pharisees, who
did not tolerate
innovations from the
Pharisees and from the
whole nation, including
the authorities,
alerting them to the
fact that they (the
Pharisees) were sitting
in Moses’ seat and
therefore everyone
should followe their
orders, but they did not
acted according with
what they taught.
He delivered eight
"woes", saying, for
example: "Woe to you,
Scribes and Pharisees
hypocrites! Since you
clean the outside of the
cup and dish, but inside
are full of greed and
self-indulgence. " (Mt,
23:25.)
He recriminated the fact
that they worried too
much about wealth and
exploited those who
needed their calming
prayers by the divine
justice and they valued
offerings of high value,
prevailing the material
over the spiritual. He
warned about the
excessive preoccupation
with the external
appearances, neglecting
the inner, bearing signs
of kindness, being kind
and courteous on the
outside, but instead
behaving like real
wolves disguised as
sheep. Jesus said in
that speech, which
resembles the
whitewashed tombs,
beautiful outside, but
inside, full of dead
bones and sewage. He
drew the attention to
the support for the
postulates of a dogmatic
religion, fanaticism and
impregnated with
pleasure that the
observance of empty
traditions. He warns of
the tithe (tenth part of
all or part of their
earnings) that they gave
to the Temple, because
it was thought enough to
comply with the statute,
showing the excessive
emphasis on material
things, to the detriment
of the Spirit. They gave
the tithe and did not
show mercy towards the
suffering: They saw too
many heresies and other
impurities in the other,
they humiliated and
mistreated the
subordinate; they
devalued the people who
actually possessed noble
qualities. They did not
understand nor accepted
the extension of the
message of Jesus, with
feelings of hatred for
Him and His ideas, they
manipulated the truth in
order to meet their
interests, placing
barriers to prevent
people, and themselves
from the path of
salvation.
Conclusion
The mistaken idea that
by killing the man they
would kill the message
has not happened, and
the doctrine of love
that He has brought here
is like a leafy tree
sheltering the thirsty
for justice, the
afflicted, the meek, and
all peacemakers seeking
solace, hope and to
better their bodies and
spirits so that,
strengthened in the
words of eternal life,
fearlessly continue
towards the Father.
For this reason, more
than ever, the warning
of Christ is relevant to
the present day, because
all these men will
always exist.
Never was needed, as
today, to know or to
remember, urgently, the
lessons left by Him and,
above all, keep in mind
that in the Gospels, we
find the solutions to
the problems that
distress us. Because of
the inaccessible
language "for a portion
of those who handle it,
it is necessary that
several issues addressed
by Jesus are elucidated
in the light of the
Spiritism, the consoling
doctrine, which comes in
propitious time, to
fulfil His promises."
(...) "about the advent
of the consoler"¹, which
will restore the
evangelical teachings in
their true foundations.
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