GOSPEL COMMENTARY Feb. 13, Lk 6:17, 20-26
Everyone loves a good Yogi Berra-ism. Consider: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” That seems to jibe well with our Gospel this Sunday, which invites us to ask: What do we seek in life, and will that get us where we want to go?
Our adventure into Luke (Lk 6:17, 20-26) brings us to the famed Sermon on the Plain, sometimes referred to as “the other set of Beatitudes.” Many are more familiar with the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, and a surface-level comparison gives several similarities. For instance, there’s the “blessed are the … ” formula, wherein “blessed” roughly means “happy.” In each, Jesus points to the unexpected happiness of many unlikely candidates (the poor, hungry, weeping, hated) in light of the promise of grace and eternal life in Christ.
Yet, perhaps the most obvious feature is one of contrast between the two accounts. Namely, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus pivots halfway through his list from praise to condemnation, blessing to woe. The change of tone is electrifying and would have been just as stark for his listeners. Imagine almighty God saying “Woe to you … ” and then including a group that seemed to apply directly to you.
The warnings invert the promises of the first four “blessed” beatitudes, not only putting an exclamation point on them, but also throwing us out of our comfort zone. “Blessed are you when people insult you for Jesus” certainly is encouraging to a bunch of people when they catch flack for living the Gospel. Yet, each inversion is more intense and specific: “Woe to us when all speak well of us!” Or: “Woe to those now filled, they will be hungry!” Whereas before we found ourselves very comfortable (usually we’re not worried when others receive blessings), now we find ourselves in the crosshairs, nervous and wondering: “Wait, am I going to burn for eternity because I have food now?” or “Is it so bad if people like me and speak well of me?”
We take a deep breath and remind ourselves that Jesus is not anti-food or anti-positive feedback. Yet, here is a larger question: What is it that we live for? What’s our target in life? Our answer might not be so easy. Often we fib to ourselves and to others about this quite readily. Few have the heart to admit something like “I really just want to be rich or popular.”
Jesus seeks to shake us out of those conceits and redirect us to real motives and goals: God, virtue and grace. It’s a fact: If all we seek is our next good meal, we’ll be disappointed as each day greets us the same: hungry again. If our aim is to live so that we’re popular and no one ever has a harsh word against us, we’ve likely stood for nothing and possibly even become a scoundrel in the process. Real excellence and goodness always take sacrifice. Standing for the truth in a fallen world always brings criticism. It’s worth being unpopular for the right reasons. However, if our destination is heaven and our desire is God and truth first, we won’t mind if that’s the case.
The point is: if we live for truth, goodness and beauty, if we have the courage to hunger for the things of God first and aim for virtue and grace, we’ll live life in the right balance: hungry for heaven, full of the riches of God’s grace, laughing with those who laugh, weeping with those who weep. We may not be “cool,” but we’ll be excellent, by God. Seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all else will be added. After all, unless we know where we’re going (heaven) and how (seeking virtue by grace), we’re likely to end up someplace else.
Fr. Miserendino is parochial vicar of St. Bernadette Church in Springfield.
Know where you’re going
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GOSPEL COMMENTARY Feb. 13, Lk 6:17, 20-26
Everyone loves a good Yogi Berra-ism. Consider: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.” That seems to jibe well with our Gospel this Sunday, which invites us to ask: What do we seek in life, and will that get us where we want to go?
Our adventure into Luke (Lk 6:17, 20-26) brings us to the famed Sermon on the Plain, sometimes referred to as “the other set of Beatitudes.” Many are more familiar with the Beatitudes found in Matthew 5, and a surface-level comparison gives several similarities. For instance, there’s the “blessed are the … ” formula, wherein “blessed” roughly means “happy.” In each, Jesus points to the unexpected happiness of many unlikely candidates (the poor, hungry, weeping, hated) in light of the promise of grace and eternal life in Christ.
Yet, perhaps the most obvious feature is one of contrast between the two accounts. Namely, in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus pivots halfway through his list from praise to condemnation, blessing to woe. The change of tone is electrifying and would have been just as stark for his listeners. Imagine almighty God saying “Woe to you … ” and then including a group that seemed to apply directly to you.
The warnings invert the promises of the first four “blessed” beatitudes, not only putting an exclamation point on them, but also throwing us out of our comfort zone. “Blessed are you when people insult you for Jesus” certainly is encouraging to a bunch of people when they catch flack for living the Gospel. Yet, each inversion is more intense and specific: “Woe to us when all speak well of us!” Or: “Woe to those now filled, they will be hungry!” Whereas before we found ourselves very comfortable (usually we’re not worried when others receive blessings), now we find ourselves in the crosshairs, nervous and wondering: “Wait, am I going to burn for eternity because I have food now?” or “Is it so bad if people like me and speak well of me?”
We take a deep breath and remind ourselves that Jesus is not anti-food or anti-positive feedback. Yet, here is a larger question: What is it that we live for? What’s our target in life? Our answer might not be so easy. Often we fib to ourselves and to others about this quite readily. Few have the heart to admit something like “I really just want to be rich or popular.”
Jesus seeks to shake us out of those conceits and redirect us to real motives and goals: God, virtue and grace. It’s a fact: If all we seek is our next good meal, we’ll be disappointed as each day greets us the same: hungry again. If our aim is to live so that we’re popular and no one ever has a harsh word against us, we’ve likely stood for nothing and possibly even become a scoundrel in the process. Real excellence and goodness always take sacrifice. Standing for the truth in a fallen world always brings criticism. It’s worth being unpopular for the right reasons. However, if our destination is heaven and our desire is God and truth first, we won’t mind if that’s the case.
The point is: if we live for truth, goodness and beauty, if we have the courage to hunger for the things of God first and aim for virtue and grace, we’ll live life in the right balance: hungry for heaven, full of the riches of God’s grace, laughing with those who laugh, weeping with those who weep. We may not be “cool,” but we’ll be excellent, by God. Seek first the kingdom of heaven, and all else will be added. After all, unless we know where we’re going (heaven) and how (seeking virtue by grace), we’re likely to end up someplace else.
Fr. Miserendino is parochial vicar of St. Bernadette Church in Springfield.
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