January 29, 2017

 4th Sunday in Ordinary Time A Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13; 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31; Matthew 5: 1-12 One of the great scenes in the Holy Land is overlooking the Sea of Galilee on the Mt. of the Beatitudes. I’ve been there six times, each time celebrating mass. The gospel for the day is the reading of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5-7. It starts out with the Beatitudes, Matthew 5: 1-12. The focus in Living the Word, Scripture Reflections and Commentaries for Sundays and Holy Days says, “The Beatitudes in today’s Gospel reading show us how to orient ourselves and to give ourselves an attitude toward living that is truly Christ-like.” Simply put, do people see in me what they see in Jesus? Am I constantly changing my attitudes and life-direction so that I can draw closer to what God needs me to be? The Beatitudes are a series of statements that begin with ‘Blessed are’ which contain a compendium of Jesus’s teachings. I look at these and today’s readings to check on the way I am living my life and how the Lord is leading me. Zephaniah writes to tell the people that they are getting very complacent in their ways. They had been distracted away from God and were living the illusions of the world. This exists today: ‘Go ahead… you’ve been working hard…you deserve some relaxing…go celebrate…splurge some…party…have fun…skip your prayers and going to church…live the good life…you don’t have to fast and sacrifice… let the holy people do that.’ The people of Zephaniah’s time were more attached to the riches of the world than devotion to God. They were looking the other way from injustice; people were cheating the poor, and pagan worship was taking place within the Holy City. Their sole aim was themselves. The question for my meditation is what am I worshipping in my life? What am I making a ‘god’ for me? Do I find my blessings in God? Paul has been having deep problems with the Corinthians. They were very prideful so he ‘busts their balloon.’ “Not many of you were wise by human standard, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.” In God’s eyes everyone is important. Don’t make yourself so important that you put down God’s little ones. “God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God.” Do I feel that I am so important that I can ‘lord’ it over others? Do I realize that the poorest of the poor is special to God? And like them, I am important if I live as a servant of all? The very first beatitude calls me to reflect: “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Is Jesus telling me to look at the poor and to see how God blesses and cares for them? Possibly. But could Jesus be saying that people may not necessarily be physically poor but are they spiritually poor? I look at myself, where am I spiritually poor? I say often, that I would like to have more time to read some more spiritual books…I would like more time to sit and reflect…I would like more time for my devotions. But do I look at how I am presently using my time? Have I asked God for help in processing and giving time to Him while living as I know I should? Where does my ‘blessedness’ with the Lord come from? Many interpret the word ‘blessed’ to mean ‘happy’. So where does my happiness come from? Jesus is telling me that happiness is given by God. I don’t receive it as a prize or as a reward from an achievement. I can’t merit it or even buy it. Jesus tells me that happiness comes in my serving…in my caring. It comes if my hands are open to help, my heart is humble and receptive to all in need. Happiness is God’s gift, I can’t make it my own. So I look at hungry and the thirsty? Is this about the starving and the destitute? Mother Teresa looked at Jesus’ words from the Cross, “I thirst” and says that this is a reminder from Jesus to respond first to the immediate need of the poor person in front of her. But she didn’t remain there, she took this to a deeper level realizing that many people were thirsting for kindness, for compassion, for delicate love. Do I respond with the same awareness? Yes, I do when I’m not concentrating on me. I have to continually realize that I am to be love as St. Therese of Lisieux took as the model of her life. We look at St. Mother Teresa’s comment on hunger, “You see, we have a wrong idea that only hunger for bread is hunger. There is much greater hunger and much more painful hunger: hunger for love, for the feeling of being wanted, to be somebody to somebody. A feeling of being unwanted, unloved, rejected. I think that’s a very great hunger and very great poverty.” The word ‘meek’ is defined as being gentle, mild, tame, lenient, tolerant, patient, etc. But with God’s eyes this means that we harnesses our talents and abilities and say ‘Yes’ just as Mary did and Joseph too and so many others. It means to bring the talents and abilities that I have been given by God to serve God’s interests not my own. Do I do this? Do I use my gifts just for me or do I share and care? If I set my sights on God then I will see the God I seek. If I set my focus on others then I will be aware, I will be able to see those who are in need. This is when I have the choice that Mary had: to say ‘Yes’ or to say ‘No’. If I am aware I can pay attention to those who mourn or who hurt or those whom I have hurt. I can then feel with others and become compassionate and be a person of God’s peace and love and caring. Each day have I been called to BE a follower of Christ? Zephaniah and Paul taught and urged people to get out of their shells and be committed to the love of God and love of neighbor. And I love myself when I am involved in these two. Connections puts it this way: “The Gospel of the Beatitudes is grounded in such an attitude of love, that true ‘blessedness,’ heart-felt happiness and satisfaction is entered in Jesus’ perspective of humility, mercy, compassion and justice. Titles and labels don’t matter; skills and talents are not the measure of faith. Jesus calls us to become a people of the Beatitudes: to embrace a spirit of humble gratitude before the God who gives, nurtures and sustains our lives and to respond to such unfathomable love the only way we can - by returning that love to others, God’s children as we are, in whatever way we can, as a way of returning it to God.” So I reflect on: • When am I aware of my weakness and frailty? How easy is it for me to admit I need help? • At what times do I recognize that God has given me everything that I have and am? In what ways do I express my gratitude? • How readily and generously do I share my gifts with others? What gifts am I most often tempted to hold back? Sacred Space 2017 states “Often compared with the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes are quite different: They are blessings or gifts offered by God. There are not to be observed as commandments but, rather, desired and nurtured in prayer. So ponder them slowly and see if they resonate with your own life experiences. Think of the affirmation that Jesus gives to what is fragile, weak, and overlooked in the eyes of the world. I might choose two of the Beatitudes to be a backdrop to my prayer and reflections today: one that affirms me and one that calls me further.”