SERMON ON THE MOUNTAIN—BEATITUDES
Introduction
We have in the following days some readings from the cycle of the great prophet Elijah and his gigantic fight against the evils of his day. He is bold enough to face the godless king Ahab and the dreadful queen Jezebel, for he is sure that God sends him and that he is, therefore, in the hands of God.
What Jesus proposes in the beatitudes is a turning upside-down of values. But we are not too eager to take them seriously; they are too uncomfortable… Many say they are utopian, but that can be said of many parts of the Gospel, unless you believe. Followers of Christ are dreamers of a brotherhood of all people, of a better world and a better earth.
Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
when your Son spoke his Good News
to people who were poor and blind, they understood him,
for they knew what it means
not to be satisfied and not to see.
Make us poor with the hungry,
groping with the blind, powerless with the defenseless
and small with the little people,
that we may experience the message of the Gospel
to the marrow of our bones
and share it as good news with all those around,
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen!
1 Reading: 1 KINGS 17:1-6
Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab: “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, during these years there shall be no dew or rain except at my word.” The LORD then said to Elijah: “Leave here, go east and hide in the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. You shall drink of the stream, and I have commanded ravens to feed you there.” So he left and did as the LORD had commanded. He went and remained by the Wadi Cherith, east of the Jordan. Ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the stream.
Responsorial PSALM 121:1bc-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8
R. (Cf. 2) Our help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
I lift up my eyes toward the mountains;
whence shall help come to me?
My help is from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth. R.
May he not suffer your foot to slip;
may he slumber not who guards you:
Indeed he neither slumbers nor sleeps,
the guardian of Israel. R.
The LORD is your guardian; the LORD is your shade;
he is beside you at your right hand.
The sun shall not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night. R.
The LORD will guard you from all evil;
he will guard your life.
The LORD will guard your coming and you’re going,
both now and forever. R.
Alleluia MATTHEW 5:12a
Alleluia, alleluia.
Rejoice and be glad;
for your reward will be great in heaven.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MATTHEW 5:1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Commentary
Being Poor in Spirit
What exactly is this poverty in Spirit? We shall listen to a part of the 87th sermon of Meister Eckhart:
“As long as you have the will to do the will of God, and longing for eternity and God, you are not poor: you want something for yourself; for a poor man is one who wills nothing and desires nothing…. For a man to possess this poverty he must live so that he is unaware that he does not live for himself, or for truth, or for God…. That man should let God work as He will, and himself stand idle…. Of this poverty we declare that it is the highest poverty…. He is a poor man who does not know of the working of God within him. He who stands as free of knowledge and understanding as God stands of all things, has the purest poverty.”
Tough act! How do we realize this poverty then? The truth is, we don’t. God does.
Intercessions
– Lord, you call the poor blessed, give us people who know how to live soberly, who find joy in simple things, we pray:
– Lord, God of the gentle, make us peaceful, merciful and compassionate, that your kingdom may be ours, we pray:
– Lord, strength of those persecuted, give perseverance to those who suffer persecution, we pray:
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord, our God,
in the poverty and emptiness of our hearts,
we place on this altar
a bit of bread and a mouthful of wine.
It is not much, Lord,
but we know what you can do with simple things
and with people aware of their indigence.
And so we pray you: turn this bread into Jesus Christ
and change us into men and women
rich with your life and enriching themselves
by giving away to others without measure
their time and attention and love.
We ask you this through Christ, our Lord. Amen!
Prayer after Communion
Lord our God,
you write straight with crooked lines.
Let the disturbing words of your Son
wake us up and help us to see
where to find your kind of happiness,
for it is the only one that lasts.
And let your Son here with us
be our nourishment for the road
to you, our God, for ever and ever. Amen!
Blessing
The disciples of Jesus are called “blessed,” that is, happy. If we are so open to God we will let him fill us with something of his own happiness. We have to be poor, not filled with ourselves. Then, the happiness of God’s kingdom will be ours, like a foretaste of the happiness of heaven. Put yourselves in God’s hands and ask him to bless you, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!