Do you think about why there are so many trilogies? Why three all the time? Why three

all the time? Why three Star Wars movies in each chunks?

Why are there three Lord of the Rings books? What is it about that number that works?

Well, I think it's a structure that has become very familiar for our narrative consuming brains

and we expect that those trilogies are going to kind of follow the rising and falling action

rhythms and beats of basically what we got in the first Star Wars trilogy, right?

We're going to meet the hero, they're going to discover their powers, they're going to meet a mentor,

we get into the second one, they're using their powers, they're going to meet a mentor, we get into the second one, they're using their powers, they're going through internal turmoil trying to figure out what their new life is about and what they value and who they're going to be, maybe tempted by destructive things.

It looks like we're moving toward a victory for the bad guys and in the third installment

we see the main characters overcome some of their internal problems which enables them to work together

to overcome external problems and good prevails.

It's a rhythm that isn't just a familiar story beat, but it communicates truth, but it also offers

an interpretive matrix for understanding the little details of the trilogy

and the individual events and character decisions in the trilogy as we watch that unfold.

Likewise, sermon on the mount, same exact deal. In fact, the beatitudes. watch that

unfold on the mount same exact deal in fact the beattitudes this first chunk of the sermon on the mount that we're looking at same exact deal

so what I want to do here is step back from the really deep dive, hang on every single beautifully crafted word approach

that we've taken over the last, whatever, ten conversations.

And I want to step way back out to the 10,000 foot level and see if there might be any

interpretive clues when we consider the structure of the thing.

Interestingly and unsurprisingly there are a few different theories on how the structure of the

Beatitudes is best to be understood.

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