January 29, 2017
FOURTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Lesson on the Beatitudes
Zep 2:3; 3:12-13; 1 Cor 1:26-31; Mt 5:1-12a
 
First Reading: Our first reading expresses that, even in the Old Testament, being poor in spirit is a moment of grace. It is a moment where we hear that living humbly will, in fact, bring satisfaction in life.
Second Reading: St. Paul offers a word of encouragement that rings as true today as it did two millennia ago. In admitting our utter dependency on God's generosity will we be reborn out of our poverty, and the pride of the world will be reduced to nothing. For our new life in Christ will be that of which we boast.
Gospel Reading: Pope Benedict XVI explained that the Beatitudes offer a new program of life through which we can open ourselves up to what is truly good. Today we hear the paradox of humility. Only in releasing our need for control, our need for comfort, our need for suc¬cess, God then might find us ready for true happiness in his presence.
Homily
It's arguably one of the most important passages in all of Scripture. In just 15 lines, Jesus lays out a basic template for a happy life. So, what exactly is Jesus offering? He is offering us union with God. The purpose for following these spiritual suggestions is not to live out some productive life bearing the fruit of raises
at work and influence at the Little
League parents' meeting. The purpose of these spiritual suggestions is simply to be closer to the Lord. That's precisely what the blessed means. If you are blessed, you are near to God. God wants to be with us in the everyday drama of our lives, and Jesus offers this in the Beatitudes: to find ourselves in his presence.
A simple exercise helps to expresses this idea nicely. In place of the word blessed, insert God is with. God is with the poor in spirit. God is with those who mourn. God is with those who desire righteousness. I'll make it even clearer. If you're sad, God is with you. If you're trying to make peace with someone in your life, God is with you. If you, despite all of your foolishness, poor decisions and even unseemly sins, really want to be holy, God is with you.
The Beatitudes aren't theoretical. They're practical. Nothing I say or the Catechism teaches or Pope Francis expresses can take away the sorrow of losing your husband or wife or the pain of someone backstabbing you when you're just trying to do God's will. The Beatitudes tell us that God isn't necessarily going to change these tedious realities of the human experience. They tell us that God will be with us in these moments of difficulty.
St. Matthew wrote his Gospel for a Jewish audience who naturally gravitated to the Ten Commandments for their template for life. The Ten Commandments are all about what not to do. And now, in the midst of their following rules for centuries, Jesus offers something quite different. For the first time in Jesus' ministry, we see what the Good News is really all about. Jesus offers a new law. It's not that the Ten Commandments aren't important; they are. The Beatitudes are different. They are about being holy rather than just following God's laws. They are the attitudes of being. If you want to know how to live, follow these suggestions and just live.
The Beatitudes are a holy paradox. They tell us exactly what we wouldn't expect. This paradox is so clear in the first Beatitude. The best explanation I've ever heard about being poor in spirit is being defenseless to the love of God. To be rich in spirit is just the opposite: to be defensive, willful, to choose the path of our lives rather than God
choosing for us.
A wonderful image for this is the ancient orans prayer position, the position the priest employs at the altar with hands extended showing the palms of his hands. The point of the orans position is to be defenseless. In the orans position, we take our hands completely out of the equation. We cease to control things. We can't manipulate things. We are defenseless. Praying in the orans position is about letting go and giving God complete control. All other Beatitudes flow from this poverty of spirit. Although it may not seem possible at first, being humble or sad or meek or merciful or persecuted is the way of being that will bring us happiness, the way of being that might finally make it possible to rejoice and be glad in the presence of God!