Qua bài Tin Mừng hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu nhiều lần đã gọi là "ơn phúc” (lành) cho các môn đệ của Ngài. "Tám Mối Phúc Thật" là những lời hứa hẹn cho những Việc làm tốt, trong cùng một lúc đấy cũng là những lời hướng dẫn đạo đức. Mỗi "ơn phúc", được mô tả, có thể nói, các điều kiện thực tế của các môn đệ của Chúa Kitô: họ đều những người nghèo khó, những người đang đói khát, những người đang khóc than, vì họ bị ghét bỏ, bị bách hại ... Những mối phúc thật là những "tiêu chuẩn" thực tế cho ta sống, và cũng là những lởi chỉ dẫn cho chúng ta về thần học luân lý.
Mặc dù phải đối đầu với biết thử thách, đe dọa, nhưng Chúa Giêsu đã dùng những sự khốn khó và thử thách để đem các môn đệ đến với hy vọng trong cuộc sống mới. Tám Mối Phúc Thật Chúa dậy các môn đệ hôm nay sẽ trở thành những lời hứa cho hạnh phúc đời sau khi con người chúng ta biết sống trong ánh sáng đến từ Chúa Cha. Đối với các môn đệ, hay chúng ta thì "Tám Mối Phúc Thật" đúng là một nghịch lý: dựa trên các tiêu chuẩn của thế giới mà chúng ta đang sống trong xã hội naỳ cùng với sự đảo lộn khi chúng ta nhìn mọi thứ nơi những nấc thang giá trị của Thiên Chúa. "Tám Mối Phúc Thật" là những lời hứa rực rỡ với những hình ảnh mới của thế giới và của người được Chúa Giêsu tấn tôn, và Ngài "chuyển đổi các giá trị" thực tại.
Khi chúng con "chiêm ngắm" những Ân Sủng qua Chúa, Lạy Chúa, xin cho chúng con biết sống với tiêu chuẩn mới, Xin cho chúng con bắt đầu "cảm nhận được và thấy" được một tương lai sáng sủa hơn trong nước Chúa mà biết sẵn sàng chấp nhận với niềm vui trong những sự hoạn nạn và thử thách mà Chúa đã và đang gởi tới cho chúng con.
Today, Jesus repeatedly calls "blessed" to his disciples. The "Beatitudes" are words of promise that work at the same time as moral guidance. Each "beatitude" describes, so to speak, the realistic condition of the disciples of Christ: they are poor, they are hungry, they cry, they are hated, persecuted... The beatitudes are like practical "qualifications", but also like theological-moral indications.
Despite the threatening situation in which Jesus considers his disciples, this situation becomes a promise when regarded in the light coming from the Father. For the disciple, the "Beatitudes" are a paradox: the standards of the world are turned upside down when you just look at things from God’s scale of values. The "Beatitudes" are promises resplendent with the new image of the world and of the man inaugurated by Jesus, His "transformation of values.”. When I "look" through you, O Lord, then, I live with new standards, I begin to "feel" something of what is yet to come (Heaven) and joy enters in my tribulation.
“But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.” Luke 6:24–26
Is it dangerous to be rich, to be filled, to laugh, and to have all speak well of you? According to Jesus, it appears so. Why would Jesus warn against these things? And before that, why would He pronounce it blessed to be poor, hungry, weeping and insulted? Essentially, Jesus was condemning four common sins—greed, gluttony, intemperance, and vainglory—and promoting their opposite virtues.
Poverty, in and of itself, is not sufficient for holiness. But in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus declares it blessed to be poor, literally. This goes further than Matthew’s Gospel which says it is blessed to be “poor in spirit.” To be poor in spirit is to be spiritually detached from the material things of this world so that you can be fully open to the riches of God. One common tendency among those with material wealth is to rationalize that even though they have many things, they are detached from them. Hopefully that is the case. However, in Luke’s version of the Beatitudes, Jesus directly says, “Blessed are you who are poor” and “woe to you who are rich.” In this teaching, we discover a second blessing not found in Matthew’s version. In addition to spiritual detachment (poverty of spirit) being identified as a blessing, literal poverty is proclaimed as the easier way to achieve this spiritual detachment. Material wealth, though not a sin in and of itself, brings with it many temptations toward attachment, self-reliance, and self-indulgence. Thus, spiritually speaking, it is easier to be detached when one is poor, rather than when one is rich. This is a hard truth for both the poor and the rich to accept. The poor often want to be rich, thinking that if they were, they would share their wealth with others and remain detached. The rich often enjoy being rich and believe that they are more spiritually detached than they actually are.
Being “hungry” is also identified as a blessed state, whereas being “filled” is a dangerous state. When you are literally hungry, either from fasting or from lack of an abundance of food, it is easier to turn your hunger and thirst toward God so as to be filled by Him and to more easily trust in His providence. An abundance of food, especially fine food, tempts you with a gluttonous satisfaction that makes it difficult to hunger and thirst for God and His holy will in a complete way. Therefore, if you refrain from indulgence and experience hunger, you will be blessed to be free from gluttony and even the temptation toward it.
“Laughing” and “weeping” in this case are not referring to joy and despair. Rather, they are referring to those who are always seeking fun and an indulgent life. Many people live for fun, entertainment, and momentary pleasures. Weeping refers to those who have discovered that the fleeting pleasures of the world can never satisfy. Constant entertainment, therefore, brings with it a real temptation, whereas the loss of that form of fleeting pleasure helps eliminate that temptation.
Finally, Jesus declares it blessed to be hated, excluded, insulted, and denounced as evil on account of Him rather than being spoken well of by all. In this case, Jesus is referring to the praise that comes from things that mean nothing from an eternal perspective. When all speak well of us, praising qualities and accomplishments that are not true Christian virtues, we will be tempted to rely upon that praise for our satisfaction. But this form of satisfaction is nothing other than vainglory and never truly satisfies in the end. However, when one sees and praises the virtues of God within us, God is praised first and foremost, and we are blessed to share in God’s glory.
Reflect, today, upon whether you prefer to be rich, to indulge in the best of foods, to be constantly entertained and to be the envy of others, or whether you see the temptations this type of life brings. Reflect also upon the concrete spiritual blessings that come to those who are literally poor, hungry, temperate and humble. This is a very demanding teaching from Jesus. If it doesn’t sit well with you, then know that it is a sign that you still have various attachments in life. Reflect, especially, upon the beatitude that is most difficult to embrace, and make that beatitude the source of reflection and prayer. Doing so with honesty and openness will result in you being among those who are truly blessed in the eyes of God.
My blessed Lord, You were poor, hungry, temperate and humble to the perfect degree. For these reasons, You were filled with perfect virtue and were satisfied to the greatest degree. Please open my eyes to the deceptions of this world so that I can live with You a life of true holiness, experiencing the riches of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus, I trust in You!
1. Covenant Blessings and Curses: One of the running themes in the Bible is that of the covenant. The Bible opens with the covenant of creation. The word for wearing a covenant in Hebrew is related to the number seven. And so, on the seventh day of creation, God is seen as establishing a covenant with Adam and Eve. If they are faithful to the covenant and govern creation properly, they will be blessed: “God blessed them and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth” (Genesis 1:28). If Adam and Eve are unfaithful to the covenant and choose for themselves what is good and evil, then they will trigger the curse of the covenant, death (Genesis 2:17). Another covenant, that of Deuteronomy, is very clear that there are blessings – prosperity, victory, divine favor – for faithfulness and curses – poverty, illness, defeat, famine, despair, exile – for unfaithfulness.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, I see before me the path that leads to life and the path that leads to death. For some reason the path to death tugs at my heart. I feel the allure of the riches and glory of this passing world. Help me to overcome these temptations and set out on the path to eternal life and communion with you.
1. The Path of Woe and the Path of Blessing: In today’s Gospel Jesus teaches us about two paths. There is a path that leads to eternal joy and blessedness and a path that leads to eternal sorrow and woe. The second path is the way of the world. It involves putting riches in the first place, seeking to fill ourselves with earthly treasure, going through life seeking cheap thrills and frivolities, and seeking earthly honor and praise. The way of the world ultimately leaves us unsatisfied because it doesn’t fill us or respond to our eternal vocation. The first path is the way of Jesus: seeking first the kingdom of heaven, denying ourselves, enduring persecution and repenting of our sin, and accepting hatred on account of Jesus. We were made for heaven, for eternal communion with God. The only thing that truly fills us and brings us happiness is knowledge and love of God. At the same time, we cannot truly love God without loving our neighbor. We are poor and unattached to the things of this world because we have sold everything and have given to the poor. We are hungry because we place our neighbor’s needs above our own. We weep because we see how our sin and how our neighbor’s sin is a rejection of God’s love. We are hated because we preach the Gospel of the Kingdom.
3. Enter the Eternal Palace: Today’s Psalm draws our minds and hearts to gaze on the Kingdom of heaven. At the end of our lives, if we have observed the Word of God in faith and love, we will enter the “palace of the King.” Jesus invites us to reign with him in glory and it is through our Baptism that we are configured with Christ the King. As sons and daughters of the King, we are promised a heavenly inheritance. If we endure, we will also reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12).
Christ's Gospel today to "love your enemy" is one of his unique sayings. It has no parallel in biblical or other Jewish literature of the period. But why should Jesus make such an incredible statement? Perhaps the answer lies in these words of Jesus: "Be you perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." That is why we must love our enemy. We have to do more than is humanly expected and imitate our heavenly Father, who loves both the good and the bad without discrimination.
But how is such a love possible? An important distinction is necessary. Love is essentially an act of the will and not a feeling. We don't have to experience nice feelings about our enemies, but we have to will at least their healing and salvation. On the cross Jesus showed how far we may have to go in loving our enemies. As he hung on the cross in agony, he prayed: "Father forgive them for they do not no what they are doing". What Christs saying is that we should in some way love those who hurt us, at least by willing their highest good, that we should take some initiative to reach out to them in forgiveness, instead of seeking revenge.
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