Sunday,
February 15, 2004
Sixth
Sunday of Ordinary Time
Readings:
Jeremiah
17:5-8: An exhortation to trust in the Lord.
Responsorial
Psalm: Psalm 1
1
Corinthians 15:12, 16-20: If Christ has not been raised, then your
faith is in vain.
Luke
6:17, 20-26: Blessings and curses.
The
reading from Jeremiah is part of three oracles written
in the style of Wisdom Literature (Jeremiah 17:5-8; 17:9-10
and 17:11). Jeremiah
17:5-8 paraphrases Psalm 1.
It contrasts those who trust and place their hope
in human persons, in flesh, with those who
trust or give their hearts to the Lord.
Therefore, the question can be asked:
are we invited to mistrust human beings?
No. In
the verse pointed out above, human persons are
equated with flesh, which means weakness and human
frailty as manifested in egoism, corruption, etc.
Therefore, Jeremiah invited people to mistrust
the authorities of his time who had become corrupted because
they refused to defend the Cause of God (namely, to side
with the weak) and instead took up the cause of the powerful.
In this sense then, one who trusts flesh
is sterile, that is, does not produce or support or contribute
to the growth of anything. Therefore, such a person is cursed. On the other hand, the one who opts for
God will always be a fountain of living water that provides
growth and multiples and shares --- a fountain of living
water that always bears fruit.
Second
Reading
Last
week we said that the entire chapter of this letter (chapter
15) refers to the resurrection of the dead and was written
to confront the doubts that had arisen in the community
of Corinth concerning the resurrection of Jesus.
Paul, through the use of “absurdities”
--- a literary style of rabbinical reasoning --- penetrates
the transcendental impact that the resurrection of Christ
ought to have on the life of the believer. Beginning with the denial of the resurrection,
Paul lists his arguments.
He begins with a question that reflects his indignation: If Christ is preached as raised from
the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection
of the dead? (1 Cor. 15:12).
The
first absurdity is that the denial of our resurrection
is a denial of Jesus’ resurrection (1 Cor. 15:16). The second absurdity is that the denial
of Christ’s resurrection casts a shadow over our
faith, the process of conversion and the Christian experience
as it was then being lived: your faith is vain (1 Cor. 15:17).
The third absurdity is that the denial of Christ’s
resurrection leaves those who have died in Christ and
those who believe they shall live forever, in a hopeless
situation (1 Cor. 15:18-19).
Verse 20 of the same chapter shifts from absurdity
to certainty: Christ has been raised from the dead,
the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
The
Gospel
In
Luke’s gospel, the beatitudes, with the poor as
protagonists and the curses directed toward the rich continue
to reveal Jesus’ missionary project.
The
beatitudes are a literary from well know in Egypt, Greece
and Mesopotamia.
In Israel we see various examples of this literary
form, especially in the Wisdom and Prophetical Writings.
In the Psalms, and in general in the Wisdom Literature,
persons are considered blessed if they faithfully fulfill
the Law: Happy the man who follows not the counsel
of the wicked nor walks in the way of sinners… but
delights in the law of the Lord and meditates on his law
day and night (Psalm 1); Happy are they whose way
is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord (Psalm
119:1).
The
curses or “woes” are very common in
the prophets. They are used to express pain, despair,
mourning or lamentation for some situation that leads
to death: Woe to those who would hide their plans
too deep for the Lord (Isaiah 29:15); Woe to the
rebellious children, says the Lord, who carry out plans
that are not mine…. (Isaiah 30:1). The term is also used to call attention
to those who are greedy:
Woe to you who join house to house, who connect
field with field, till no room remains, and you are left
to dwell alone in the midst of the land (Isaiah 5:8);
Woe to those who enact unjust statues and write oppressive
decrees (Isaiah 10:1). Jesus’ blessings and curses are
fundamentally different from those of the Old Testament. In the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament,
one is blessed when one acts in accordance with the Law,
while in the Gospels, Jesus does not demand any type of
ethical behavior as a condition to be blessed.
The poor (anawin), those who weep or are
persecuted… are blessed simply because they are
poor or persecuted or are in mourning.
Comparing
the beatitudes of Luke and Matthew we note some significant
differences. Matthew locates this sermon “on
the mountain” thus placing Jesus in a relationship
with Moses on Sinai. Luke situates the sermon “on the
plain”. This
leads many to differentiate these passages by calling
them “the sermon on the mount” and “the
sermon on the plain.”
Matthew also lists one additional beatitude: Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the land” (Matthew 5:5). The four beatitudes of Luke are equivalent
to the nine beatitudes of Matthew. Matthew inverts the order of Luke, placing
“those who are hungry” after “those
who are now weeping.” Matthew’s account is told in the
third person while Luke’s is written in the second
person. Matthew also highlights the interior attitudes
that should characterize one who embraces the Kingdom
(for example, mercy, justice, purity of heart), while
Luke is more concerned about pointing out the very real
and concrete situations of poverty, hunger and sorrow.
The
key beatitude is the one that refers to the poor.
All the others are understood in their relationship
to this one. The poor are those who are hungry, those
who mourn or are persecuted.
Luke recalls the Old Testament promise of a God
who would come to stand with the oppressed (Isaiah 49:9,
13), a God who would stand with those who believe in Him
as their only Defender (Isaiah 58:6-7), a God who would
stand with those who continually cry out to him (Psalm
72; 107:41; 113:7-8). All these promises are fulfilled in Jesus
who from the beginning, defined the object of his mission
as a option for the poor and the oppressed.
The
last beatitude (Luke 6:22-23) is directed toward those
Christians whose faith causes them to be persecuted and
excluded. Their
happiness is not found in suffering but in the awareness
that they have been given a promise: your
reward will be great in heaven (Luke 6:23). Does this mean that God does not love
the poor? What
kind of poor people are we talking about here?
The poor are not blessed because they are poor
but rather because, taking on the condition of the poor
(either because of their concrete situation or because
of a commitment to live in solidarity with the poor) they
are no longer poor.
Christian
poverty is linked to the promise of the Kingdom of God,
that is, linked to the promise of knowing God as King.
This kingdom becomes the greatest treasure, because
to have God beside us is to have the certainty that God
is here, in the midst of this world of injustice and inequality,
incarnate in the face of each poor person and inviting
us to take up the cause of the poor.
The cause of the poor is also the cause of the
Kingdom. We
are able to rejoice in the Kingdom only when there are
no longer any impoverished persons who lack the basic
necessities of life, when there are only “poor in
the Lord”, that is, only when we become a people
who are enriched with love, justice, unity and peace.
In other words, the poor are not those who live
in misery, but those who freely renounce money as the
supreme value --- an idol --- and opt to build a just
society, thus eliminating the cause of injustice, namely,
wealth. The poor are those who are aware that
certain values --- like success, money, efficiency, social
position, and power --- are truly dehumanizing.
The kingdom of God is held up as an alternative
society that Jesus proposes to make real.
The proclamation of Kingdom is not accomplished
on the mountaintop, but on the “plain”, on
the same level where one finds our society built on the
anti-values of wealth and power.
In
Luke, the beatitudes are followed by the four “woes”
or curses against the rich.
The first two are directed toward the rich and
those who comfortable and here their indifference toward
the situation of the poor is called into question. The last two are directed toward those
who laugh and enjoy a good reputation.
The contrast between the rich and the poor is clearly
stated in the Magnificat: The
hungry he has filled with good things, the rich he has
sent away empty (Luke 1:53).
This same contrast is also seen in the parable
of the poor man Lazarus (Luke 16:19-31).
Luke clearly sees that placing one’s trust
in wealth leads to self-deception (Luke 12:19).
Beatitudes
of Pastoral Reconcilement
Blessed
are the rich,
For
they are poor in spirit.
Blessed
are the poor,
For
they are rich in Grace.
Blessed
are the poor and the rich,
For
both are poor and rich.
Blessed
are all human beings,
For
as descendants of Adam, they are all brothers and sisters.
Blessed,
finally, are the blessed
Who
seeing themselves in this way,
Live
with their minds at ease,
For
theirs is the kingdom of limbo.
Pedro
Casaldaliga
For
the revision of Life
With
the Gospel in hand, review the beatitudes, one by one,
allowing them to touch your heart, allowing them to place
a claim and a demand on your heart, allowing them to comfort
you and finally allowing them to give you a deeper understanding
of the meaning of Jesus’ word.
For
Group Meetings
-
Discuss the beatitudes: their nature, meaning and application
to life today. It
is important to also consider the “curses’
(Luke 6:24-26) and their complimentary relationship to
the beatitudes.
-
Focus on the first beatitude (Luke 6:20) and note the
difference between Luke (Blessed are the poor) and
Matthew (Blessed are the poor in spirit).
Most biblical scholars agree that Luke presents
the more original text and that Matthew adapted the text
to his audience.
During the discussion of this theme it might be
asked: Who is right, Matthew or Luke? Or both?
What is the meaning of poor in spirit? In this regard, remember the common interpretation
“detachment from wealth”, “spiritual
infancy”, and also the interpretation of Ellacuria,
“poor with spirit”.
-
Alonso Schockel and Juan Mateos translate the beatitude
in the following way: Blessed are those who decide to be poor.”
Comment.
-
Comment on the poetry of Casaldaliga, The Beatitudes
of Pastoral Reconcilement.
Prayer
of the Faithful
-
We thank you for the beautiful mirror of the beatitudes
in which each day we are able to see ourselves; for this
we lift up our voices to you, Lord.
-
We desire to draw nearer to the ideal proposed by the
beatitudes; for this we lift up our voices to you, Lord.
-
We are concerned for those who bear the scars of unjust
poverty and misery, the product of egoist social structures
that can and ought to be transformed; for this we lift
up our voices to you, Lord.
-
We are concerned for the sick, for the suffering, and
for all those who do not see themselves as “blessed”;
for this we lift up our voices to you, Lord.
-
We are pained by the reality that even today those who
struggle for, and take up the cause of justice are persecuted;
for this we lift up our voice to you, Lord.
Let
us Pray
Gracious
God, you have given us a new spirit.
This is seen most clearly in the
beatitudes.
We want to follow this model and
base our universal ecumenical movement on
this teaching.
For only in this way can we achieve
a New Humanity where all are reconciled,
a New Humanity built on love and justice
and peace.
We lift up our voices to you, Lord
Jesus, you who live and reign forever and
ever -- let the Church say.
Amen