The central tenets of the Sermon on the Mount make it very plain that it is not a new set of laws – the dedication demanded here does not take the form of a new moral assignment. Instead, it is a matter of forgiveness. This is where Christ is found – in the essence of salt’s strength, and the light and warmth of the Holy Spirit. This is where the inner light is found, and the clarity of the inner eye, and the vitality found in the tree that bears good fruit. This is where the community’s character as a city on a hill – a light for the whole world – is to be found. And this is how we need to grasp it: not as high-tension moralism, nor as an ethical demand, but as the revelation of God’s real power in human life.

Once we fully grasp the Sermon on the Mount, then – if we really believe it – nothing can frighten us.