Iam a visual person. Whenever I read this gospel passage, I
try to create a mental image of the scene when Jesus spoke these words. I try
to imagine what the crowd looked like and what they did as He spoke. Where was he looking when he raised his eyes to disciples. Did the disciples return His gaze? Did Jesus’ body language imply that he was receiving the words he was
sharing from above or was He speaking to them matter of factfully like we would talk with each other?
In the end this
flight of imagination is largely pointless. His message is timeless and it is
directed to us, right now today. We are the poor, the hungry, and the saddened
but if we are not any of those we are hated.
Father Jack Peterson share on the Beatitudes:
Look at first beatitude which is the door to the
others. It is the logical place to begin our efforts to dive deeply into the
Gospel way of life. It describes an attitude that needs to govern the heart of
the Christian believer. It shapes the whole way in which one approaches life.
The first beatitude is, “Blessed are the poor, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.”
The poor are
those who are fully aware of their profound need for God in every dimension of
their lives. They have come to peace with the reality that God is God, and they
are not. They are convinced that everything good in life is completely free and
flows from the generous hand of God. They trust, like a child, in the goodness
of the Father and His desire to take care of His children.
The poor do not
rely upon things or people for ultimate meaning or purpose in life, but rather
rely upon the love and grace of Almighty God. They are quick to thank God and
attribute their blessings and successes to Him. They are also quick to turn to
Him when suffering and adversity come, knowing that He will provide strength
and show the way through the darkness into the light. They think more about God
and neighbor than about themselves, even in times of trial.
This radical
reliance upon God that governs the heart of the Christian makes a person truly
wise, strong and capable of great acts of love. To be poor is to be
Christ-like.
Once God’s grace begins to penetrate our
hearts and our lives and we start to become poor, then we will find it easier
to understand and desire to live the other beatitudes as well. This realization
creates a profound internal struggle.
Yesterday was the 11th year of
remembrance of 9/11. How do we respond to the hate that resulted in the
destruction of the Towers? How do we react to the renewed sense of rage that
might overwhelm as we replay the vivid images of the Trade Center Towers
shattering and collapsing? We also have
to measure our individual and personal actions in the years since against the
call of the gospel to remember that we are blessed when we are hated for being
Christian.
The Gospel says:
"Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven…”
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven…”
The message for me is that I am called to remember
that I am, and we are, among the many called to live today with profound and
persevering faith that God will recognize when we have tried to live as though
we are poor and tried to remember the example of Jesus in how to respond to
hatred.
