Word to the Wise
Sunday, February 3, 2008 - Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
[Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12A]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........
In the Spring of 1988, my father and I joined a group of Knights and Ladies of the Holy Sepulchre on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. It was a powerful experience and I have many vivid memories of the trip. On one of the days, we visited the "Mount of the Beatitudes" which tradition assigns as the location where Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount. It's not a mountain in the sense of our Smokies or Rockies, but more a high hill overlooking the Sea of Galilee. The day was wonderfully sunny and slightly cool. We celebrated the Eucharist at an outdoor altar area and heard the gospel scripture assigned for today - the "beatitudes." The combination of scripture, weather and location certainly made for a profound appreciation of the words! The Gospel of Matthew definitely seeks to portray Jesus as a new Moses who goes up the mountain, sits as a teacher/rabbi would, and delivers God's word to the listeners. The difference is that an external law is not presented but an internal law. As St. Thomas Aquinas points out, the New Law of Christ is nothing other than the Holy Spirit working in our hearts through faith in Jesus. For that reason, the new law requires an inward conversion leading to an outward action. The beatitudes themselves depict not only the inward condition of the person, they also depict the new Christian community which is under persecution. The first part of each beatitude depicts the current situation (or challenge). The second part indicates the hoped for desire (eschatological goal). This does not, however, as some critics claim, make of the words simply "pie in the sky by and by!" It does mean that the new covenant of Christ requires an intimate connection between heart and deed. As Lent begins in a couple of days, an examination of the integrity of our Christian living arises as a challenge from the Sermon on the Mount. We could use that preaching from Matthew as a program for Lent. The goal is not to "out humble" others but to see if our motives for doing the right thing are equally right and indeed to determine if we are doing the right thing at all. The ashes on the forehead should not simply be an external mark but an inward promise. We don't need to go to the Holy Land to accomplish the promise and challenge of the beatitudes. AMEN
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