|
Sacred Scriptures/Liturgy- Commentary on Sunday's Readings |
Blessed are you who are
poor! Woe to you who are rich!
Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa, OFMCap, Pontifical Household Preacher
www.zenit.org
Jeremiah 17:5-8; 1 Corinthians
15:12,16-20; Luke 6:17,20-26
The passage of the Gospel for this Sunday, which is on the
beatitudes, provides us with an occasion to verify some things that
we said two Sundays ago about the historical nature of the Gospels.
We said then that in referring to Jesus' words, each of the four
Evangelists, without betraying the fundamental meaning, developed
one aspect or another of what Jesus said, adapting it to the needs
of the community for whom they wrote.
While Matthew reports Eight Beatitudes pronounced by Jesus, Luke
reports only four. In compensation, however, Luke reinforces the
Four Beatitudes, opposing a corresponding malediction to each,
introduced by a "woe."
Also, while Matthew's discourse is indirect: "Blessed are the poor";
Luke's is indirect: "Blessed are you who are poor!" Matthew puts the
accent on spiritual poverty -- "the poor in spirit" -- and Luke puts
it on material poverty.
But, as is plain, these are details that do not change in the least
the substance of things. Both of the two Evangelists, with his
particular way of reporting Jesus' teaching, sheds light on a new
dimension which would have otherwise remained in shadow. Luke's list
of the beatitudes is not as complete, but he perfectly grasps the
basic meaning.
When we speak of the beatitudes, our thoughts go immediately to the
first one: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is
yours." But in reality, the horizon is much larger.
Here Jesus is outlining two ways to understand life: either "for the
kingdom of God" or "for one's own consolation." That is, life is
either exclusively in function of this earthly life, or also in
function of eternal life.
This is what Luke's account draws attention to: "Blessed are you --
Woe to you": "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God
is yours.... Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your
consolation."
Two categories, two worlds. The poor, the hungry, those who weep and
those who are persecuted and banished because of the Gospel, belong
to the category of the blessed. The rich, the satiated, those who
laugh now and those who are praised by all, belong to the category
of the unfortunate.
Jesus does not simply canonize all the poor, the hungry, those who
weep, and the persecuted, just as he does not simply demonize all
the rich, the satiated, those who laugh and are praised. The
distinction is deeper; it has to do with knowing what we put our
trust in, on what sort of foundation we are building the house of
our life, whether it is on that which will pass away, or on that
which will not pass away.
The passage from today's Gospel is truly a double-edged sword: It
separates, traces, two diametrically opposed destinies. It is like
the prime meridian which divides east and west.
But, fortunately, there is an essential difference. The prime
meridian is fixed: The lands that are in the east cannot past to the
west, just as the equator which divides the poverty of the global
south from the rich, opulent north is fixed.
The line that divides the blessed and the unfortunate in our Gospel
is not like this; it is a mobile barrier. Not only can one pass from
one side to the other, but this whole passage of the Gospel was
intended by Jesus as an invitation to pass from one sphere to the
other.
He invites us not to become poor, but to become rich! "Blessed are
you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours!" The poor possess
a kingdom and they have it right now! Those who decide to enter this
kingdom are from now on sons of God, free, brothers, full of hope
and immortality. Who would not want to be poor in this way?
This page is the work of the Servants of the Pierced Hearts of Jesus and
Mary
