Pilgr-image 01 - Master Teacher

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to speak, and taught them, saying... - Matthew 5:1-2

Jesus puts a new content into old words by the illustration of his own life… The fact is that this is not a law at all, but a lyre, which we strike with the fingers of love in glad devotion. This glad, joyful piety is the expression of a love from within and not the compression of a dull law from without… - E. Stanley Jones

Something that often catches my eye as I am going through my day is where something new is growing out of the old.  I saw this the other day while walking across one of the bridges over the Ohio River between Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.  As we were going over one of the columns I noticed a tree growing out of the bricks. I have no idea what is inside those columns - is there dirt inside or just more bricks, but there's life growing out of what seems to be inhospitable to life.  As was said in Jurassic Park, "life finds a way."

This first chapter of our guidebook is entitled "Master Teacher" and it centers on the person of Jesus and the way that he breathes new life into ancient words.  Jesus takes teachings that were very familiar to his hearers and new life emerges through his words.  In some cases he shifts the focus of the teaching to assure those who may have felt forgotten in the past that they are no longer overlooked.  In others, he takes commands that people thought they understood and he pulls out deeper (and more challenging) truths.  But in all, there is new life that emerges. 

I love the way that Jones speaks of what Jesus does here.  It isn't just Jesus simply reciting a bunch of lines but instead he is creating a form of music that lifts the heart and the spirit and gives deeper meaning.  He is bringing life.