And now let us stop awhile to look at our dear Master and His hearers. The Twelve are listening with reverent and fixed attention, their eyes riveted on His blessed face. They are so proud of Him, so proud to be His, so anxious that all should come to know and love Him. The people gaze at Him in amazement and delight. It is all so new, so comforting, so different from the teaching of the rabbis, the scribes and doctors of the Law. They have been taught to hate their enemies, to seek revenge, to think that poverty and suffering are the signs of God's anger, that an abundance of corn and wine and cattle are the rewards for which a good man must hope.
Their beatitudes would have been: "Blessed are the rich and the successful, those that laugh and are held in honour by men." How unlike these to the blessed ones of Jesus of Nazareth! His way to happiness was a hard way, but they knew as they looked up into His face that it was the right way, that He could not deceive them. And they felt that He could not only teach but help them. Had they known the story of His Life as we do they would have seen that He had first practised all He taught. He was so poor that He had not where to lay His head. He was meek and humble of heart, the Man of sorrows, the great Peacemaker, the Holy One who was to be persecuted even unto death.
After the Sermon our Lord comes down from the Mount, conversing familiarly with His disciples, His simple congregation flocking after Him, trying to get near Him, all so refreshed by His company and His words. Hear them talking of Him among themselves, saying: "We never heard the like."
Oh, if we had seen our Blessed Lord as these happy people saw Him, if we had followed Him about with the
