SIXTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
16 FEBRUARY 2025
When
we hear of the Beatitudes, we usually think of the Beatitudes in the Gospel of
Saint Matthew. Because Matthew writes
his Gospel for Jewish Christians, he places Jesus on a mountain, seated in the
position of a teacher. He is the new
Moses, who gave the old law from a mountain.
In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus gives eight different beatitudes, repeating
that last one for effect. Because the
Greek word “blessed” means fortunate, or happy, those eight beatitudes describe
the interior attitudes needed for true happiness for his disciples.
Today, we
hear the Beatitudes from Saint Luke’s Gospel.
In writing to Gentile converts. he
places Jesus standing on a stretch of level ground. He teaches a great crowd of his
disciples. But he does so in the
presence of a large group of people, including Jews from all Judea and
Jerusalem, along with pagans from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. He speaks in the ordinary plane of everyday
existence. Luke also implies that he
speaks as a seated, respected teacher, because he raises his eyes directly
toward his disciples. Instead of eight
beatitudes, Jesus gives four positive blessings and four negative woes. Matthew’s first beatitude is more nuanced, with
Jesus speaking of the “poor in spirit” being blessed. In Luke’s version, Jesus directly calls
“blessed” those who are poor. He tells
them that they are part of the kingdom of God.
In belonging to the kingdom, they are not part of a place or
territory. Rather, they are part of a
movement that will last beyond the end of the world.
In Saint
Luke’s Gospel, Jesus has already called people to be his disciples. Last Sunday, we heard of four of them: Simon and Andrew, James and John. Along with the other disciples, these four
must be taking comfort from his words.
They have already left everything to follow Jesus. They have chosen to trust completely in
Jesus, without any possessions of their own.
In time, Jesus will teach them how to hunger for him alone. After they had wept because of his death on
the cross, they will laugh and rejoice in his resurrection. Especially in Saint Luke’s second volume, the
Acts of the Apostles, they will know the hatred of those will oppose them.
They are
learning that true happiness is not found in riches, gratification,
entertainment, or fame. In fact, Jesus says
that those who put all of their trust in these values will not be truly happy. That is why he says that the rich, the well
fed and satisfied, those who laugh now, and those whom everyone speaks well of
that they will experience woes. They are
pursuing values that cannot last and cannot completely satisfy, especially into
eternity.
Jesus
speaks to us and tells us how to be fully happy as his disciples. We were already incorporated into the kingdom
of God when we were baptized. He is not
telling us that true happiness occurs only if we live in abject poverty. As disciples, we need to be grateful when we
enjoy financial security. We can enjoy
nourishing food, as long as we know that food in itself will not fulfill our
deepest hungers. He does not want us
going about with sad faces and dejected spirits. And there is nothing wrong with a good
reputation and good relations with others.
But, we
cannot count on these things as the ultimate source of happiness. If we do, then we can expect the woes. Woes are not punishments from God for not
living lives of discipleship. Rather
they are results of making bad choices.
Both Jeremiah and today’s Psalm warn us.
We are like the tree planted near life giving waters if we have rooted
our lives in Jesus Christ as the center of everything. Rooted in Christ, we can share our blessings
with the poor. We can feed the hungry. We can console those who grieve. We can speak the truth when it is not popular
and defend those persecuted for speaking the truth. We are blessed now when we live the
beatitudes and will know the fullness of true happiness in the kingdom of
heaven.
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