Later this week, I hope to take up the next segment of the Sermon on the Mount. Today, though, I want to respond briefly to the idea that we're already at the table.
Thinking back, I believe the seed of the idea took root in me when I read C. S. Lewis' The Last Battle. I do not have the book handy, so I'm going on memory. Late in the story line,the children are cast into a dark stable. Some dwarfs, who have served the enemy and opposed Aslan, are also imprisoned there. As the world ends, the children see the stable vanish before their eyes, and they perceive they are now in a wonderful place (Lewis' version of heaven). So far, so good.
The dwarfs are there as well, but they clearly do not realize it. They no longer see the children, they remain hunkered together as if hiding from the dark, they continue to "see" only their prison. Their bent minds deceive them and keep them bound in a prison of their own construction. No one can help them so long as they insist on clinging to their misapprehension.
Insofar as I can determine, and leaving aside the "end times" scenario, this seems to me to be a fair description of the human description.
In the next collection of sayings, Jesus starts to deal with "righteousness which exceeds that of the Pharisees." If you're ready, we'll start to deal with the passages.
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