DEACON JOHN'S REFLECTION

This week’s gospel from Luke contains the beginning of the “Sermon on the Plain.”  Jesus begins with the Beatitudes.  These are composed blessings and woes.  These teachings show Jesus as the Lord of reversals.  However, let’s not misunderstand them.  The Beatitudes are not just about the rich or the poor, happy or sad, hungry or satisfied, etc.  They are beyond our status in life but more about our status before God.  Jesus was careful to note that whatever we are experiencing, if it is because of our faith and love of the Lord, we are blessed.

In our world, the rich, the famous, and the powerful are often referred to as the “blessed” ones, and this implies that the rest of us are not blessed.  But with the Beatitudes, we are reminded that anything against God’s commands is never a blessing.  The riches, the fame and the power are only a blessing if they were attained in faithfulness to God.  In the same way, the poor, hungry, oppressed, and immigrant, are not automatic woes.  They may be blessings, if they were attained in faithfulness to God.  Relationship with God, not our worldly status, determines blessedness. 

Blessed is being always in the grace and favor of God. I used to believe that I was blessed if things were going my way.  If my life was comfortable, I had money in my pocket, and all the lights turned green before I hit the brakes, then I knew God loved me and I was blessed. The Beatitudes totally upset my expectations and invited me to evaluate blessings in a different way.

Jesus reminds us that our lives will be filled with the reality of difficulty.  After all, we live in a sin-infused world.  Suffering will come to meet us and has most likely been a familiar companion on our journey.  But even in that, we do not have to be afraid, and we do not have to hide our weaknesses or our problems because we are as we are, as God made us, and as God calls us. These are the ways we will bless the world.

As I reflect on the Beatitudes, it strikes me that these are our steps to salvation and ways to heaven. Thus, it is important to see them not as a judgment on status but as an encouragement and inspiration to a committed and faithful relationship with God. 

Let’s take some time to examine our current situations.  What has our relationship with God been like recently? Over the last two years?  Five years?  How are we glorifying Him?  What are we achieving in faithfulness to Him? 

Remember that it is not our worldly status that determines our blessedness and our ultimate destination, it is our status with God.