Word to the Wise
Monday, June 11, 2007 - St. Barnabus, apostle
[Acts 11:21B-26; 13:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12]When Jesus saw the crowds he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven......."
The Sermon on the Mount is the catechism of discipleship. The Gospel of Matthew sets this instruction in a Mosaic scene - up on a mountain with Jesus seated as an authoritative teacher. What tradition calls "the beatitudes" are really a summation of what will follow. On the feast of St. Barnabus, it is only fitting that the credentials of a disciple should be a subject of meditation. What caught my attention is the posture of Jesus - seated as a teaching rabbi. There is another important scene in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus is seated and that is in Chapter 25:31-46, when he judges the world at the end of time! It seems to me that a prospective disciple would do well to read both the Sermon on the Mount and the Final Judgment. There is a good reason for this. One may read the Sermon on the Mount and come to the conclusion that Jesus proposes an impossible ethic. (It's not impossible, just difficult.) To avoid denying it altogether, some idealize it and settle for mediocrity or less. The scene of the Final Judgment tells us that "mediocrity or less" toward "the least of my brothers and sisters" is mediocrity or less toward the Lord! That's enough to make one gulp and go back to the Sermon on the Mount for reconsideration. The Lord demands more than piety and courtesy. People like Barnabus are real people who took this teaching seriously. Their call is no different from our own. What may well be different is our motivation. If the Sermon on the Mount doesn't inspire us enough, maybe it IS a good idea to read the Final Judgment scene again. AMEN
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