Following the Call

Fifty-two readings to spark weekly group discussion on putting Jesus' most central teachings into practice.Jesus' most famous teaching, the Sermon on the Mount possesses an irresistible quality. Who hasn't felt stirred and unsettled after reading these words, which get to the root of the human condition?This follow-up to the acclaimed collection Called to Community: The Life Jesus Wants for His People taps an even broader array of sources, bringing together teachers and prophetic voices from every era and a range of traditions to unlock the repercussions of these essential words.More than a commentary or devotional, however, this book is designed to be read together with others, to engage and inspire communities of faith to discuss what it might look like to put these radical teachings into practice today. For, as intriguing as Jesus' words are, they are also inflammatory, a challenge to the world as it is. Yet as these readings make clear, the Sermon on the Mount is neither an impossible ideal nor or a new ideology, ethical framework, or set of rules. Rather, when Jesus calls people to himself, a new social order is born, which he calls the kingdom of God.Jesus not only casts a vision of what this new way of righteousness, peace, and love looks like, but invites us to respond, and empowers us make it a reality.