Blessed!

The Gospel today recounts the beatitudes also found in Matthew’s Gospel (5: 3-12). These beatitudes reveal our ultimate goal as a Christian, communion with God and how we can achieve this through our actions and attitudes. The beatitudes are also the very heart and essence of Jesus’ teachings, his character and his personality and so it is important for us to understand them.

Luke’s account is referred to as the Sermon on the Plain and Matthew’s account as the Sermon on the Mount, there are similarities and differences between these gospel readings.

Matthew’s version is delivered on a mountain where he addresses the large crowd gathered there. The mountain top is a symbol of closeness to God. In Luke’s account Jesus is teaching on a plain (level ground) and he addressed the disciples, although in the presence of the crowd. “Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said.” Matthew describes eight beatitudes whereas Luke presents four each of which has a parallel ‘woe’ (warning). Luke’s version doesn’t have the ‘poor in spirit,’ he only mentions ‘the poor’ whom he says are blessed. There is no mention of hungering for righteousness; it is those who are hungry who will be filled. The addition of corresponding ‘woes’ highlights the notion of a future of blessedness which awaits the disciples of Jesus. Those who are undergoing trials and persecution now will be blessed later. 

At the time when Luke wrote his gospel the Christian community was being persecuted because of their beliefs, so they would have been reassured by Luke’s words hearing that their present suffering would be rewarded in the future. We too who hear these words today are reminded of our own call as Christians to our vocation to beatitude. What exactly does that mean? The way we define happiness shows who we are as a person, the culture in which we live is dominated by consumerism. Riches and possessions are equated to happiness and prosperity but is the way to happiness through personal pleasure and desire? The word ‘blessed’ in the reading might be translated as ‘happy’ in this way the perception of true happiness is not through riches, possessions or reputation. The gospel makes us think about our own lives. Those who are poor, hungry, weeping, or persecuted are called blessed (happy), those often thought to be forgotten by God. We can ask ourselves honestly, what is my true source of happiness? Does it depend on what I possess or on what I do, the way I behave towards others? The Gospel today asks us to reflect on where our hearts and our values are rooted. It is a contradiction to claim that we can find happiness and peace of mind when we put others before ourselves, but as parents we know exactly what this means. Jesus lived the Beatitudes and he invites us to live them too.