Our Father (Matthew 6:9-15)

“The simple, possessive pronoun, ‘your’ on Sinai, and now the simple possessive pronoun ‘our’ on the New Testament mountain, join the people of God to God. God was not introduced to Israel, coldly and formally as ‘Yahweh, the God,’ but warmly as ‘Yahweh, your God.’ And now in the same spirit, God is given to us not only as the Father, but as ‘Our Father.’ The ‘our’ means we belong and are at home. It is a possessive pronoun, meaning that God the Father owns us yet gives himself to us so that he is ours and we are his. In the simple word ‘our’ is the joy of the whole gospel. We will never be able to calculate the honor that has been done us by being allowed to say, ‘Our Father.’’’

—F.D. Bruner, Matthew, A Commentary

Beatitudes of Engagement (Matthew 5:1-12)

The Merciful:
“[those] who come to the aid of others” — St. Augustine

“[those] who are not only prepared to put up with their own troubles but who also take on other people’s troubles.” — John Calvin

“The Gospel Merciful are the understanding; those who under-stand; those who put themselves under others to support them.” — Frederick Dale Bruner

The Good Shepherd Leads with Mercy (John 10:1-21)

“The action of Jesus in giving his life is an act both of complete freedom and of filial obedience. He is not the passive victim of other men’s purposes. … Jesus in going this way offers his life to the Father in whose will is his joy, confident that what he has so offered cannot be lost but will be received back. This path of freely willed and obedient surrender to the Father is the way which Jesus is, and along which he leads his people.”

— Lesslie Newbigin