January 29, 2023

4th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)        

The Lord’s Self-Portrait Meant for Us

Msgr. Thomas Gervasio

In today’s Gospel we hear the Beatitudes, the beginning of our Lord’s “Sermon on the Mount,” which Pope Benedict once described as “a self- portrait of Jesus” where we see his face and his way of acting. Each beatitude is realized in the life of Our Lord. He presents them not so much to tell us who he is, but who we should be. The Beatitudes should be our portrait as disciples. Yet at first glance they are rather unappealing portrait because they go against our human way of thinking. They are paradoxes that turn the standards of the world upside down. Consider them:
 

• To be poor is a hardship and hardly a blessing.
• It is hard to feel blessed when we are broken-hearted.
• Isn’t meekness a weakness?
• Those who seek justice are typically weary and disillusioned, rarely satisfied.
• We are more often vengeful rather than merciful with those who have hurt us.
• Our hearts are not always pure but tainted by passions, greed, lust, and envy.
• Peacemaking is a difficult task. Isn’t it much easier to hold a grudge and refuse to forgive?
• If I stand for what is right and true, I can be sure to be misunderstood, unpopular and even ridiculed.

This is a program of life that is in stark contrast to our culture. How then, does one live out the beatitudes?
 

• To be poor in spirit is to live a life of simplicity and of detachment from money. Possessions cannot become our obsession. In fact, riches can be used for good.  
• In times of sorrow a disciple does not despair. A disciple is always a person of hope, confident that even death itself is not the last word.
• A disciple who seeks justice is aware that God is our ultimate judge and that justice will be established.
• Mercy is the measure we should use in our relationships. Remember the Lord’s warning, “The measure with which you measure will be measured back to you.”
• A disciple strives to be self-controlled, to purify his intentions, his motives, his very heart.
• Resentment, animosity cannot not have a place in our life. A disciple strives for peace and reconciliation.
• Those who are reviled for what is right are blessed in the knowledge that God is at their side through the struggles, and is confident of the reward that awaits them in heaven.

The Beatitudes are a challenging set of teachings because they go against our natural tendencies towards greed, pride, self-righteousness, laziness, impatience, and anger. They are the self-portrait of Jesus that must become our own. We often consider them good in theory but they must also be good in practice and that means changing; it means moving from where we are to where God wants us to be. Let’s ask for that grace today.