[The Sermon on the Mount as a challenge to the rehabilitation of the physically handicapped]

The Sermon on the Mount should be understood in the dynamic context in which Jesus himself had turned toward the weak and infirm. His own action, so he willed, is to be carried on in the action of his disciples. Jesus blesses those who "use no violence"--this, also, implies that one should not by violent means protect against suffering, which in actual fact is increasingly being done in the selective termination of pregnancy. Jesus wants his disciples, as he himself had done, to become ready to share and help carry the suffering that disability may bring down upon a family. His calling his followers the "salt of the earth" also means that they seek to make life "tasty", i.e., worth living for others, a challenge which is being faced in committing to the care of disabled persons.