Today’s Scripture Readings

Gospel Reading

NRSV

Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. ‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. ‘But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. ‘Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. ‘Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. ‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets.

I love the Peace Prayer attributed to St Francis of Assisi. “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love …!” Apparently, it was not actually composed by Francis and was first discovered in AD 1915. What I love is that at the core of the prayer is paradox. It is in giving that we receive, in dying to self that we are born to eternal life.

Today’s Gospel is full of apparent paradox. One could argue that the entire Gospel is a complete upside down way of looking at life. Forgive, even your enemy, give and you will receive, die and you will find eternal life. Our Catholic faith community often reflects this crazy approach; so many of our beliefs do not make logical, reasonable sense. We talk about the common good, we value the innate dignity of all life, we honour the planet as our “common home” and more.

Jesus, on every page of the Gospel, goes deliberately to the liminal space, to the edge. Jesus, deliberately and powerfully encounters those on the edge: the leper, the Samaritan woman, the poor widow, the deaf and the dumb, the tax collector and the sinner. From these encounters, Jesus’ total and unconditional love, brings forth life and life to the full. Let us take the spirit of the Beatitudes into our hearts. Let’s be upside down people who, through the eyes and heart of Jesus, see and experience the world differently.

What small step can we take today to embrace Jesus’ Beatitude vision?