Fr CIZA Donatien SX
In this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, the gospel speaks about the Beatitudes. It is from Matthew 5: 1-12a. Hearing this sermon on the mount, we can ask ourselves: how the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst can be called blessed? Let us first remember that Jesus spent a large part of his time consoling, healing and encouraging men and women he met. In the last Sunday's Gospel, for example, Matthew wrote: "Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom, healed every disease and every
infirmity in the people”. If Jesus devoted time to healing his contemporaries, this means that all suffering and in particular sickness and infirmity are to be fought. In this way, “Blessed are those who weep, they will be comforted” should not be taken as a blessing. Those who, today cry of pain or sorrow cannot consider this as happiness! The tears in question are those of repentance. Jesus is probably alluding to a vision of Ezekiel: on the last day, God will send his messenger "to make a mark on the foreheads of men who groan and complain because of all the abominations that are done" (Ezek: 9, 4).
Secondly, this discourse of Jesus is addressed to Jews: all that he is telling them here, they already know, it is the usual preaching of the prophets; they understand it without difficulty. For us, therefore, if we want to understand, we must go and re-read the Old Testament.
“Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feed of the ox and the ass range free” (Is 32: 20); “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked” (Ps 1:11); the responsorial Psalm says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
Jesus is neither exalting poverty nor suffering. Therefore, the beatitudes can better be understood in the light of what saint Paul says in today’s second reading: “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the World, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no flesh might boast in the presence of God” (1Co 1: 27-29).
The life of the beatitudes was the life of Jesus Christ. He knew joy and even sorrows. For who is the one who first and most lived poor in heart and insulted, meek, thirsty for justice, pure in heart, peacemaker, but afflicted, weeping and persecuted…? The beatitudes are to be read and lived in the light of the Cross, the passion and the resurrection of Jesus.
The life of the disciple is configured to that of Christ, to the point that “I live, says Saint Paul, but it is no longer I, it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Words are weak to express something that must first be experienced. But once we have experienced it, a new dimension opens up in our life, that of charity, of the love of God, which penetrates what is the greatest in human happiness, the conjugal love, family love and even friendship, so essential to happiness. It is a new depth than that of the beatitudes, in which the happiness of man is inscribed, and which encourages us to turn away from too easy conceptions of this happiness.
This choice for the morality of the beatitudes is not self-evident, precisely because it leads us to contain the inclinations we have towards natural goods, even more to refuse the happiness produced by our will to power. But it is no longer left to human means alone that we try to achieve this true happiness, it is united to Christ and supported by his victory over death that we are certain of achieving it. And the promises associated with each beatitude – blessed are the pure in heart, they will see God… – are not only for tomorrow, for eternal life, they are valid for its anticipation which is our present life. The gospel of the beatitudes is not that for tomorrow, it is for today. The main preaching of the prophets was what Prophet Zephaniah tells us in the first reading of this Sunday: "Seek the LORD, you all, the humble of the country”. And last Sunday the psalmist sang: "I asked the LORD one thing, the only thing I seek is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life”. These are the “poor in heart” of whom the first Beatitude speaks about. It is the same for us during the Mass when we sing “Kyrie eleison”, “LORD have mercy”. It’s like the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. When they went at the same time to the Temple to pray, the Pharisee, though extremely virtuous, could no longer welcome God's salvation because his heart was full of himself and his prayer was ultimately to contemplate himself. Instead, the tax collector knew that he was a sinner. Thus, he stood far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast. Therefore, he was the one to be justified (Lk 18:9-14). All those who resemble the tax collector in this parable are assured that their search will be answered because God does not hide from one who seeks him: “He who seeks finds, whoever knocks will open the door,” Jesus will say later in this same Sermon on the Mount.
In this Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A, the gospel speaks about the Beatitudes. It is from Matthew 5: 1-12a. Hearing this sermon on the mount, we can ask ourselves: how the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst can be called blessed? Let us first remember that Jesus spent a large part of his time consoling, healing and encouraging men and women he met. In the last Sunday's Gospel, for example, Matthew wrote: "Jesus proclaimed the Good News of the Kingdom, healed every disease and every
infirmity in the people”. If Jesus devoted time to healing his contemporaries, this means that all suffering and in particular sickness and infirmity are to be fought. In this way, “Blessed are those who weep, they will be comforted” should not be taken as a blessing. Those who, today cry of pain or sorrow cannot consider this as happiness! The tears in question are those of repentance. Jesus is probably alluding to a vision of Ezekiel: on the last day, God will send his messenger "to make a mark on the foreheads of men who groan and complain because of all the abominations that are done" (Ezek: 9, 4).
Secondly, this discourse of Jesus is addressed to Jews: all that he is telling them here, they already know, it is the usual preaching of the prophets; they understand it without difficulty. For us, therefore, if we want to understand, we must go and re-read the Old Testament.
“Happy are you who sow beside all waters, who let the feed of the ox and the ass range free” (Is 32: 20); “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked” (Ps 1:11); the responsorial Psalm says: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven”.
Jesus is neither exalting poverty nor suffering. Therefore, the beatitudes can better be understood in the light of what saint Paul says in today’s second reading: “God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise, God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, God chose what is low and despised in the World, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no flesh might boast in the presence of God” (1Co 1: 27-29).
The life of the beatitudes was the life of Jesus Christ. He knew joy and even sorrows. For who is the one who first and most lived poor in heart and insulted, meek, thirsty for justice, pure in heart, peacemaker, but afflicted, weeping and persecuted…? The beatitudes are to be read and lived in the light of the Cross, the passion and the resurrection of Jesus.
The life of the disciple is configured to that of Christ, to the point that “I live, says Saint Paul, but it is no longer I, it is Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20). Words are weak to express something that must first be experienced. But once we have experienced it, a new dimension opens up in our life, that of charity, of the love of God, which penetrates what is the greatest in human happiness, the conjugal love, family love and even friendship, so essential to happiness. It is a new depth than that of the beatitudes, in which the happiness of man is inscribed, and which encourages us to turn away from too easy conceptions of this happiness.
This choice for the morality of the beatitudes is not self-evident, precisely because it leads us to contain the inclinations we have towards natural goods, even more to refuse the happiness produced by our will to power. But it is no longer left to human means alone that we try to achieve this true happiness, it is united to Christ and supported by his victory over death that we are certain of achieving it. And the promises associated with each beatitude – blessed are the pure in heart, they will see God… – are not only for tomorrow, for eternal life, they are valid for its anticipation which is our present life. The gospel of the beatitudes is not that for tomorrow, it is for today. The main preaching of the prophets was what Prophet Zephaniah tells us in the first reading of this Sunday: "Seek the LORD, you all, the humble of the country”. And last Sunday the psalmist sang: "I asked the LORD one thing, the only thing I seek is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life”. These are the “poor in heart” of whom the first Beatitude speaks about. It is the same for us during the Mass when we sing “Kyrie eleison”, “LORD have mercy”. It’s like the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee. When they went at the same time to the Temple to pray, the Pharisee, though extremely virtuous, could no longer welcome God's salvation because his heart was full of himself and his prayer was ultimately to contemplate himself. Instead, the tax collector knew that he was a sinner. Thus, he stood far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast. Therefore, he was the one to be justified (Lk 18:9-14). All those who resemble the tax collector in this parable are assured that their search will be answered because God does not hide from one who seeks him: “He who seeks finds, whoever knocks will open the door,” Jesus will say later in this same Sermon on the Mount.