Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Fr Dominic’s HomilY

Today we have Luke’s version of the Sermon on the Mount. Slightly different to Matthews in that it is given on a flat area rather than on a mountain and it has four blessings and four woes as opposed to the full eight blessings we get in Matthews gospel.

Jesus tells us that we will be blessed in four ways if we live our lives in a particular way but we will also be cursed if we live out our lives in other ways.

Jesus of course is often described as being a second Moses and so what he says today actually emulates what Moses said to his people all those years ago. We can read it clearly in the book of Deuteronomy.

Moses said that if you obey God then you will obtain many good blessings in your life and for your families. Laughter, fulfilment, healthy livestock and happy families. However if you are disobedient to God then you will bring down curses upon yourself and your family.

But when we listen to this gospel today they seem to be paradoxical promises. These don’t seem to be the blessings that Moses spoke about. How can you be blessed and happy if you are poor, hungry, if people persecute you, or when you weep? Surely that is the opposite to what Moses told us and doesn’t make any sense?

Well when Jesus comes into the world we should remember that the Old Testament turns into the New Testament. The Old covenant becomes the New Covenant. So Jesus uses the teachings of Moses and turns them around. The blessings actually become the curses.

Jesus tells us that we will only be happy if you are poor or hungry, if people persecute you, or when you weep. Why is this? Well it’s because this is how we build up riches in heaven. Remember that our lives in this world are fleeting. It’s the next life that we must be concerned with.

So Jesus says woe to those who laugh now, who have everything they need. To those who are satisfied with all their earthly desires. Why? Because this is a very dangerous position to be in. And why is that? Because you stop trusting in the Lord. You end up standing on your own two feet and your faith becomes an optional extra that you like to indulge in now and then.

You never really or fully place your hope and trust in the Lord.

When we truly hunger and thirst for the Lord we then ponder his law day and night. He becomes the centre of everything. The be all and end all.

The hungry and thirsty know that they truly depend on God. When you laugh in earthly ways you can become distracted from your focus of heaven. Earthly blessings are dangerous because where your treasure is – that is where your heart is focussed. Your creature comforts can lead you away from God.

When everyone speaks well of you then this is a dangerous place to be because you know that this is precisely what happens to the false prophets.

So Jesus is telling us that in order to reach heaven we must expect an element of suffering in our lives. Don’t be surprised. In fact if you are not suffering then that’s you need to be worried. Because true happiness lies in detachment from earthly goods.

How did Jesus achieve our salvation? Through the cross. Was Jesus poor? Cursed? Persecuted? Did he weep? Absolutely – and of course he was extremely blessed.

All the readings today clearly emphasise this theme. The first reading clearly states that when our hearts are turned away from God due to earthly goods then we become like a shrub in the desert. The psalm tells us that we have to keep our trust in the Lord.

So in order to reach that state of peace in our hearts we must avoid sin and love God and follow his law.

We are like the tree that relies on scripture to water and nourish us. When we feel spiritually dry we need to read the scriptures and meditate on them.

So during this jubilee year of hope it’s a good time to take stock of our lives. Keep our focus on the eternal life and count our blessings especially when we may encounter sufferings and persecutions as we know that it is through these that we will become truly blessed.