SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
17 FEBRUARY 2019
We
are more accustomed to the Beatitudes in the Gospel of Saint Matthew, who wrote
his Gospel to a predominantly Jewish audience.
They would have understood why Jesus went up a mountain as the new Moses
to give the new law. In Saint Matthew’s
version, there are nine different groups of people whom Jesus names blessed, or
fortunate, or happy.
Saint Luke
wrote his Gospel to a predominantly Greek audience. He places Jesus on the level ground. Having read the first two chapters of his
Gospel, his readers would know that Jesus had come down from heaven in the
Incarnation. Having taken on human
flesh, Jesus preaches in the everyday plane of our existence. Jesus names four groups of people as
blessed: the poor, the hungry, the
weeping, and the persecuted. Then he
pronounces woe on four other groups: the
rich, those who eat well, those who laugh, and the really popular people.
This is the
living word of God spoken to us at this Mass.
The Lord is speaking to us who live comfortable lives, who are well fed,
who know how to enjoy ourselves, and who embrace good reputations. Jesus is not telling us to drag our families
into abject poverty. Nor is he saying
that we must become malnourished, or walk around with long faces, or make
people angry all the time. He is saying
that we cannot depend on these things to bring ultimate happiness. In fact, these realities have the potential
to decrease our trust in God.
Our first reading can help us to
understand this message. The Prophet Jeremiah
uses similar direct and harsh language.
He insists that those who trust in human beings are cursed. Those who trust in God are blessed. In other words, if we put all our confidence
and trust in human beings, we will be ultimately disappointed. There are two fundamental orientations, and
Jeremiah provides a picture of each one.
Those who put all their energies into anything other than God become like
a barren bush in the desert. Those who
place their trust in God are like a tree planted near running waters. Even when life becomes difficult, those roots
will receive nourishment from a bedrock trust in God’s life giving presence.
Many
disciples of Jesus Christ in Third World countries do not live comfortable
lives. Too many live on the edge of
poverty without enough to eat. Many are
persecuted for their faith. They already
know what it means to be blessed, because they have put their trust in
God. I saw that trust when I was with
Father Larry at the dedication of his church in Uganda. If we rely too heavily on our possessions, we
begin to lose trust in God’s love for us.
If we eat well all the time, we forget that our ultimate hunger can only
be fulfilled by God. Once we see the
damage caused by our bad choices and our sins, we can see the importance of
weeping over them. We will learn that it
is more important to speak the truth with love than to be popular.
The Season
of Lent is just around the corner. On Ash
Wednesday, we will be marked with the ashes of our mortality. Those ashes remind us that the day will come
when we will open our eyes in eternity to know the truth of how we have lived
our lives as disciples of Jesus Christ.
The forty days of Lent provide a perfect time to do some spiritual soul
searching. When we spend more time in
prayer, we can ask ourselves if we have placed our fundamental trust in
anything other than God. When we fast,
we learn that giving up certain foods and drinks can intensify our hunger and
thirsting for God. When we give alms, we
provide food and drink for so many people who are malnourished and dying of
hunger in our world. Lent invites us to
mourn for the many ways we have not lived our baptismal promises and refused to
die with Christ. Lent prepares us to
renew our faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Saint Paul is pretty clear in stating that
without faith in the resurrection, we have no hope!
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