4th Sunday Year A

Zephaniah 2:3,3:12-13
1 Corinthians 1:26-31
Matthew 5:1-12

Living the Beatitude.

My brothers and sisters, we all live in this world. But have we ever thought: Am I of this world? To many of us, this is a strange question. Let us consider what Jesus said of His disciples: “I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.” (Jn 17:14) The truth is, Jesus came and live among us in this world but He is not of this world. We called to do the same. As Jesus’ disciples, we are to live in this world but not of this world. But, what does this actually mean?

Put simply, to be a Christian is to be counter cultural. The values that Jesus espoused are often against the norm of this world. For example, what does the world think of those who are poor, who mourn, who are humble, hungry and persecuted? Generally speaking, the world does not think very highly of these. But not Jesus, because He does not see how the world sees. In the Gospel this week, Jesus presents us a number of counter-cultural values called the Beatitude:

• “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (verse 3)
• “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (verse 4)
• “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” (verse 5)
• “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” (verse 6)
• “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.” (verse 7)
• “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (verse 8)
• “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (verse 9)
• “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (verse 10)
• “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (verse 11-12)

My brothers and sisters. There are many rich lessons embedded within the Beatitude. For sake of brevity, let us contemplate on three of these this week.

Firstly, the Beatitude is a message for those of us who are struggling in life – whether it is financially, spiritually, emotionally or indeed, those of us who are weighed down by our past wrongs and sins. When the world looks down upon us, sometimes we even look down on ourselves. The Beatitude tells that Jesus is always there for the poor, the mourning, the humble, the hungry, the persecuted and the inflicted. Jesus is here right beside us, always loving, always forgiving, always comforting. Do we feel Him? If not, let us open to Him through prayers, songs, Scripture reading and reflection. We do this in quietness by ourselves and in small groups. in communion with our brothers and sisters, let us welcome Jesus in.

Secondly, as followers of Jesus, we must see as Jesus sees, not how the world sees. While the world disdains and despises the poor, the mourning, the humble, hungry and persecuted, we must look at our fellow brothers and sisters with eyes of love, just as Jesus does. In this context, the second half of the Beatitude offers us some great guiding principles. We are called to be merciful, to be pure in heart, and to make peace. So we ask ourselves: What is my attitude towards the homeless, the poor, and perhaps most crucially, those who hurt and wronged us? Am I merciful and pure in heart? Do I try to forgive and make peace the way Jesus does? The truth is, we can never be free until we forgive and let go, just as Jesus on the cross prayed for those who persecuted Him: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” (Lk 23:34)

Finally, we are to avoid self-righteousness. For none of us are fully perfect and totally righteous, only God is. This is why in the First Reading this week, the prophet Zephaniah urged us to “seek righteousness, seek humility” (verse 3). And, elaborating on the character of those who are humble, the prophet called us to be “a people humble and lowly” and to “seek refuge in the name of the Lord” (verse 12). But why be humble? Because in truth, all of us are not as well credentialled as we might rate ourselves to be. In fact, even the little that we have achieved in life are not totally to our credit. Indeed, whatever we achieve in life, whatever skills we acquired, whatever opportunities that fall our way, they are blessings from God. Rather than taking credit ourselves and becoming proud in the process, we will do well to acknowledge that it is God who blesses us with success. As St Paul wrote in the Second Reading, “Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” (verse 26) We are fellow sinners, blessed by God.

Of course, it is not wrong to enjoy our success. But the greater reason God blesses us with success is for us to bless others. St Paul wrote in the Second Reading, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.” (verse 27-29) Our blessings are from God, let us in turn use our blessings to bless others. This is our calling and mission, to make the world realise that, if there is anyone we should boast of, it is God whom we must boast: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (verse 31)

My dear friends, this week, let us take the Beatitude to heart. Let us recognise our own shortcomings and how in spite of these, God has blessed us richly. Just as God is generous with us, let us be generous in using our blessings for others. As a concluding reflection, let us contemplate on St Paul’s humility, as he said, “I am grateful to Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because he judged me faithful and appointed me to his service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a man of violence.” (1 Tim 1:12-13) Amen.