Who is truly blessed, in my value system?

Luke 6:17, 20–26

And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said:
“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man.

“Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way.

“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

Music Meditations

The Lord Hears the Cry of the Poor
Psalm 22 (My God, My God, Why have you left me here)—Psalm Project—captures the plight of the poor, the reviled, neglected
Psalm 1—Psalm Project feat. Lance Edward
Palm 34—(a new musical setting) Karl Kohhase
Blest are They

Opening Prayer

Lord, help me to be open to your word, even as it might make me uncomfortable or defensive. Help me to become more aware of the need to work for a transformation of those systems and attitudes which keep people mired in poverty and others mired in acquisitiveness and selfishness.

Companions for the Journey

This Pre-Note is adapted from Living Space, a service of the Irish Jesuits.

Today we begin what is known as Luke’s ‘Sermon on the Plain’ which more or less parallels Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. Luke’s is much shorter but both begin with the Beatitudes and end with the parable of the house builders. Some of what is found in Matthew’s Sermon is found elsewhere in Luke as Matthew’s ‘Sermon’ it consists of disparate sayings of Jesus gathered into one place. Luke also omits Matthew’s specifically Jewish material which would not have been relevant to his Gentile readers.

The Sermon, which encompasses three weeks of gospel readings, can be summarized as follows: An introduction of blessings and woes (20-26) The love of one’s enemies (27-36) The demands of loving one’s neighbor (37-42) Good deeds as proof of one’s goodness (43-45)

The parable on listening to and acting on the words of Jesus (46-49) is not included in the lectionary readings for the next three weeks, but actually concludes Jesus’ ‘sermon’. It might be helpful to read the entire chapter (6) before beginning these three weeks of readings.

This commentary is taken from “First Impressions” 2009, a service of the Southern Dominican Province:

Prior to today’s gospel passage Jesus went up to the mountain to pray. When Jesus goes off to pray that’s Luke’s way of signaling that Jesus is about to do or say something very important. After he prays he comes down and speaks to his disciples about God’s reign; he lays out the basics for his community of disciples. In Matthew, the parallel passage is called “The Sermon on the Mount.” In Luke it’s “The Sermon on the Plain,” because Jesus stands on “level ground” to speak to his disciples. He is among them, one of them. He will live the beatitudes he spells out so that they will be able to live them too.

Luke’s beatitudes differ from Matthew’s. Matthew has eight (or nine), Luke has four beatitudes and four woes. The first impression is that, like the prophet Jeremiah, Jesus is also placing a choice before us. Will we choose to live according to his beatitudes or according to what the world usually considers “beatitudes”? What the world values, Jesus says, is worthless. If we place our security on wealth, merriment, popularity and having our fill of food---we will be disappointed in the end. In Jeremiah’s terms, we will be like a “barren bush in the desert.”

If those usually neglected, the poor, hungry and weeping, are cared for by believers then something new is afoot in the world and those who observe it will “hear” a new message. But if the poor are neglected, as we know they frequently are, Jesus says they will be blessed by God---who does not overlook them. But more. Jesus warns those who are rich, filled and happy. Those who are satisfied now, while others are in need, these are in trouble: woe to them for ignoring their brothers and sisters. There is a great reversal at work in God’s realm. We who have eyes to see ought to make sure we observe the reversal and live our lives accordingly.

What the world usually calls the “good life,” if it is so at the expense of others and their neglect, then there will be a great reversal in God’s reign. The believer must live “in reverse”---see things with kingdom eyes. Thus, the poor, hungry and weeping are blessed by God and Jesus promises them fulfillment when God’s reign comes to completion at the banquet table. Then the great reversal will finally be complete.

It would be wise then, for those of us who treasure God’s blessings, to get close to the ones Jesus calls “blessed,” living such a life by responding to the least will show our commitment to Christ and will, as he predicts, receive enmity from others who see and live in the opposite manner. We who live our lives “on account of the Son of Man” will suffer the consequences at the hands of the world. When we do, we can be assured that we too are counted among those Jesus calls “blessed.” We, who have sided with the poor, will also find ourselves marginalized with them. That’s what those who live the new life we have received from Christ can expect.

Our churches can be effective instruments in society as we use our influence to reach out to the poor and speak and take the side of the marginalized. If we receive praise for such advocacy we can be happy. But if our church communities blend well into the mainstream and “receive the first places” at society’s overflowing table, then we need be aware, for we will have gone from the side Jesus has blessed to that of those who have earned his “woes.” Like the prophet Jeremiah, in our first reading, Jesus places before us two contrasting ways to live and invites us to choose---both as individuals and as communities of the baptized. Jesus has reversed the usual measuring rods for “the good life” by his life, death and resurrection. Do we perceive it? Jesus has given us another way to live. He is our wise teacher who knows where true happiness is to be found and he doesn’t want us to miss it.

Actually, it isn’t so much that Jesus’ pronouncement of the reign of God has turned things upside down. But the opposite is true. If there are poor, neglected abused and marginalized people in the world, then that’s the proof that things are upside down. Jesus and his gospel make it quite clear that’s not how things should be. His life and message have put things right side up and that’s the way things ought to be.

Remember earlier in Luke’s gospel Jesus, in the synagogue, announced the inauguration of the hoped-for year of Jubilee. This announcement is his “mission statement” as he begins his ministry. The poor and oppressed will hear the good news and be liberated; the sick will be healed. In Jesus, the great reversal has begun. Today’s gospel is a further articulation of what will be the effects of Jesus’ coming: the poor and powerless are blessed and the rich and powerful will be unseated in woe.

Those who live comfortable lives have been given much to think about and if they follow Jesus they will wisely use their wealth to help the poor, hungry and weeping ones Jesus calls blessed. Jesus doesn’t spell out how they should do that; but the one who has announced the Jubilee wants us to find ways to release the poor of their burdens. The choice is ours and the new life that Christ gives to us makes such a choice possible.

Weekly Memorization

Taken from the gospel for today’s session…

Blessed are you poor Blessed are you who are now hungry Blessed are you who are now weeping Blessed are you when people hate you Woe to you rich Woe to you who are filled now Woe to you who laugh now Woe to you when people speak well of you

Living the Good News

What action can you take in the next week as a response to today’s reading and discussion?

Keep a private journal of your prayer/actions responses this week. Feel free to use the personal reflection questions or the meditations which follow:

Reflection Questions

In this gospel, Luke has Jesus speaking in the second person” Blessed are you…”. As opposed to the third person: “Blessed are those….” Which is more powerful, in your mind? Why?
In each of the “blessings”, it seems as if Jesus is actually describing a situation that we would normally wish to move away from, and telling us we should rejoice in that situation. Did reading these words have an impact on me when I was ever in such a situation? Do they now? What is in me that urges me to move on from poverty, sadness, hatred and exclusion? Which is the hardest for me to move on from? Do I feel “blessed” if I am experiencing any of these situations? Are my feelings normal human feelings? How do I get to where Jesus wants me to be?
Think of a time in your life when you felt that things were not going well at all (relationships, finances, studies, work). What lessons did you learn from the experience? Were there any “consolations” that helped mitigate the experience?
What does Luke see as the dangers of wealth? Do you consider them dangers? Has there ever been a time in your life when you simply did not consider what it might be like to be poor and needy?
What does your political affiliation tell you about your attitude toward those who have no work, no home, no money?
What are some of the things money buys? What are the dangers? What can money not buy?
What makes up your concept of happiness now? What do you think would make you even happier?
What norms do I use to measure “success” in life? How would those norms measure up to the Beatitudes? Or, are they among the “woes” Jesus rejects?
In these beatitudes from Luke, Jesus does not idealize hunger. What does Jesus mean when He says “Blessed are you poor”? What is the danger for me of making poverty a spiritual blessing?
What do I say to the 43.1 million poor in America, or the nearly half of the world’s population that live on less than $2.50 a day or to the 22,000 children who die each day to poverty? Why is “God loves you” or even “God blesses you” not enough?
Woes: Why are the rich in trouble? How do I define rich? How does Jesus, do you think?
Woes: Why are those laughing in trouble? What are they laughing about?
Woes: Why are those filled now in trouble? Does it have to do with inequality or callousness, or greed?
Woes: why are those of whom people speak well in trouble? What sort of situation is Jesus describing?
“Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.” Does this passage mean we should never enjoy any of the good things in life because we will pay for that later, or is the message more nuanced? What are the dangers of thinking of this world as simply a waiting room for the next? Have I ever stopped to think that the only things I am able to bring into the next life are the things I have given away?
This passage seems to be calling for internal transformation. What should it look like for you?
by Daniel J Harrington, S.J. When misfortune, spiritual or physical befalls us, on what or whom can we call? What place do trusting in God and walking in God’s way have in your search for happiness? Is Jesus’ vision of eternal happiness merely “pie in the sky”? Why should we take it seriously? Where does resurrection come in?
How can we turn woes into blessings for ourselves and others?

Meditations

A Meditation in the Dominican Style/Asking Questions:

Read Mt 5:3ff (The Beatitudes) and then reread Luke 6:20-28. What are the differences you see? Which set appeals to you more? Which set is tougher? Why do you think Luke included fewer blessings and added woes to the mix?

A Meditation in the Augustinian Style/Relationship:

This set of “Wealthitudes” is adapted from a homily by Fr, Jude Siciliano, O.P. in “First Impressions”:

Blessed are the rich and famous, for they shall have what they want. Blessed are they who cut their losses, and get rid of the losers; they will live to win another day Blessed are the rich and powerful, they will inherit the earth Blessed are the white and well educated, the world is theirs Blessed are they who cry for vengeance, they will be seen as protectors of society Blessed are they who cultivate the right people, they will go far Blessed are they who tailor their morals to meet the marketplace, they will be rewarded. Blessed are Americans for they shall have the earth’s riches at their beck and call

Which of the world’s beatitudes is a particular temptation for you? How do you deal with it? Which of Jesus’s beatitudes do you find the most comforting? Why? Which do you find the most annoying? Why? Which beatitude do you have the most difficulty living out? Why? Which of the woes are particularly bothersome to you? Imagine Jesus saying both these blessings and woes to you directly and looking straight into your heart. Pray for the openness to hear what He says to you.

A Meditation in the Franciscan Style/Action:

from Songs of Life: Psalm Meditations from the Catholic Community at Stanford:

Choose one work of mercy (Feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, bury the dead), and make a conscious effort to live it out this week. Say the prayer of St. Francis each day:

“Lord make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Teacher, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; o be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.”

Poetic Reflection:

Read the poem “March 1 1847, By the First Post”, about the Irish potato famine (from the collection In a Time of Violence), by Eavan Boland, the late director of Stanford's Creative Writing Program. How does it capture the indifference of those with a lot of comforts toward thoe who have none?

Closing Prayer

Lord, help me to live an uncluttered life, free of an unnecessary goods and attachments. May I learn to live in solidarity with those who are the poor and marginalized. Help me, Lord, to be transformed from withing so that I challenge the value systems my culture may live by that are not the value systems of Your Kingdom. May you count me among your “Blessed”.

Weekly Reflections

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, February 13, 2022