Readings: Jeremiah 17:5-8; Psalm 1; 1 Corinthians 15:12, 26-20; Luke 6:17, 20-26
THEME OF THE READINGS
The theme of today’s Readings is centered upon hope, including the benefits of placing one’s trust in God rather than himself (First Reading), and the guarantee of a blessed future in the life to come through the merits of Christ’s passion and resurrection (Second Reading). The Gospel promises every man that his living of the beatitudes will bring him authentic fulfillment, as opposed to the illusory fulfillment of those whose hope is in this present life.
DOCTRINAL MESSAGE
In Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, Jesus offers a stark contrast between being blessed and experiencing woe, which is echoed in the first reading from Jeremiah, using the image of the barren bush planted in the desert versus the flourishing tree besides a plentiful stream. Through his discourse, Christ challenges the thought patterns that dominate the world, using as his point of departure the ultimate destiny of man. Are we created for an eternity with God, or is human fulfillment found in the satisfaction of appetites? Everything will ultimately derive from the answer to this question.
In the Second Reading, we see that Paul ties this basic dichotomy to Christ’s resurrection. If the resurrection didn’t happen, then Christianity makes no sense whatsoever. We become the laughingstock of the pagans if our reward is to be found only here. “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all” (Second Reading).
Thus, our Lord turns secular intuition on its head. To the “horizontalist,” the desirability of wealth, good times and no problems seems obvious and beyond argument. For Christ, however, the logic of the world is beyond repair because it completely misses the point of human existence. We are the future citizens of the kingdom of God, “Blessed are the poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.”
When we have grasped this fundamental truth, then Jesus’ words make complete sense. To be poor, hungry, and weeping, does not signify that our life is meaningless if we are striving to live faithful to God. Christ is not so much castigating what most would consider normal and desirable human happiness, as much as he subordinates it to our true good, which is found in something entirely spiritual: our relationship to God. True blessedness is not to be found in winning the lottery or even just “feeling good” about ourselves. Rather, we find it in the beauty of knowing the God who loves us, and who is preparing an eternity for us beyond anything we can possibly imagine.
PASTORAL APPLICATIONS
Looking out at the pews on any given Sunday, one sees the presence of good, decent people. For all of them, the business of living occupies much of the interior space of their minds and hearts. There’s the father of a family, who worries about getting the raise he needs to cover the college expenses of his kids, and the teenager who is struggling to find his place in the world, feeling the pressure to live up to the expectations of so many people. There is also the single mom, among many others, who is struggling to make ends meet, and trying to keep her kids on the right track. It is without a doubt that many of them would prefer to have a little more of what Christ directs his “woes” to, but today’s readings are a perfect opportunity to help them examine their priorities, and ask them: “What will make you truly happy?” Christ is telling them that real, lasting happiness won’t be found in pursuing things which of their very nature are passing and ephemeral. It is obvious that poverty, personal tragedy, and persecutions are not things that we willingly embrace, but when we are close to Christ, all the difficulties that life can throw at someone have met their match. When our peace of soul is no longer dependent upon continuous acquisition of more success and material goods, but rather is the expression of a relationship with God based on prayer and sacraments, we have truly attained a foretaste of the blessedness that awaits us in heaven; a foretaste of the eternal joy given by Christ, and the everlasting happiness that no one can take away.
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