Many centuries ago a great Teacher, sitting on a hillside, preached a Sermon which is now known in almost every land. This Sermon on the Mount may in part be used and quoted by some who are not even aware of the origin of the wise words.
Commenting on the fact that she had "made the Bible, and 'Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,' the pastor for all the churches of the Christian Science denomination," Mrs. Eddy says (Message for 1901, p. 11), "But that does not make it impossible for this pastor of ours to preach!" And then she adds: "To my sense the Sermon on the Mount, read each Sunday without comment and obeyed throughout the week, would be enough for Christian practice. The Word of God is a powerful preacher, and it is not too spiritual to be practical, nor too transcendental to be heard and understood." And this reveals how deeply our Leader valued the substance of this immortal Sermon.
In teaching the people, Jesus used many illustrations and parables, and in this compilation of simple rules and regulations for daily living which he considered essential to reverent, well-ordered living, he used one parable, the familiar tale of two men, each of whom erected a house. The same stirring description of a violent storm is found in the comments on the two structures. Despite the storm the one house stood because of its stable foundation. The other house was shattered by reason of the shifting sand upon which it was unwisely built. The master Christian had just enumerated vital, fundamental, educative, and constructive rules, and he concluded his sermon with this parable, which begins thus: "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock."
