Welcome
Welcome to St Bede Catholic Church
The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
And the love of God
And the communion of The Holy Spirit
Be with you all
“… BLESSED ARE THE POOR"
In our everyday life, most of our choices may not be a matter of life and death. In our today’s readings we are reminded that the choice to follow Jesus is a matter of life and death. It is a choice between blessings and curses. Jesus’ words in the sermon on the plain are challenging. Jesus declares that the poor, the hungry, the weeping, and the reviled are blessed, while those who are rich, full, laughing, and those who are admired by others should be worried. The sermon on the plain does not give us the middle ground, no loophole. Jesus’ teaching unsettles the values of his time and our values today.
The message of our gospel reading can be sting because it seems to provide no escape. Poor or rich, hungry or full, weeping or laughing, reviled or spoken well of. Jesus’ teaching directly challenges us who live in the world that focuses on materialism, consumerism, economic, and political powers. Jesus’ call to discipleship is not about comfort or success, but about radical trust in God and solidarity with those in need, the poor and the vulnerable.
The blessing and woes of the sermon on the plain are in line with Luke’s understanding of discipleship. Following Jesus requires us to give all that we have in the service of God’s kingdom. This kind of renunciation is seen in the poor who have nothing, the hungry who cannot provide sustenance for themselves, the weeping who have experienced loss, and the persecuted who have no one to defend or protect them.
How can we respond faithfully to this teaching today? What is Jesus asking us to do? Is telling us to give up our riches and livelihoods? Jesus is calling us to place ourselves and our resources at the service of God’s kingdom. To care for the needy in our community and in the world. At the same time, Jesus lifts the poor and marginalized as models of radical discipleship. To follow Christ is to let go anything and everything that compete with our hunger and need for God. This kind of trust is at the heart of the prayer Jesus taught us: “May your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread.”
God bless you all. Fr. Henry.
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