Word to the Wise
Sunday, February 13, 2022 - 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time - C
[Jer 17:5-8; 1 Cor 15:12, 16-20; Luke 6:17, 20-26]"Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom ofGod is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh.....But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who will laugh now, for you will grieve and weep........" [Luke]
The evangelist Luke gives us a different look at the "beatitudes" that are so familiar to us from the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel According to Matthew! Luke takes them off the mountain and puts them on the plain! Luke gives us four beatitudes and balances them with four "curses." Those are details. The overall message is about values and God's kingdom.
How do we measure success in our culture? Wealth, plenty of food, a good time and fame? If we were asked in a phone survey to choose between the two sets of "beatitudes" that Luke gives us today, which list would we choose? The Gospel According to Luke constantly reminds us of the dangers of material prosperity. (cf. the parables of the Rich Man and Lazarus and the Rich Fool). It is a sobering exercise to take stock of what we REALLY DEPEND ON! The prophet Jeremiah, in the first scripture for today, warns us about putting all our trust in merely human realities. It's a difficult reminder to myself to realize how much I depend on my cell phone!!! In the past, I have spoken about the retreat exercise for college students in which they receive 15 slips of paper and are asked to write down the 5 most important people, the 5 most important possessions and the 5 most important activities in their lives. Then they are challenged to rank them in the order that they would have to give them up!!! They had to crumple the slips and toss them into the middle of the big circle they formed. At the end of the exercise, there would be tears in all eyes.
Where is God in the midst of our "dependencies?" How much is enough? Jesus gives us all a lot to consider when it comes to being a disciple. AMEN