Readings: Jeremiah 17:5-8; Psalm 1: 1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20; Luke 6:17, 20-26
Grace and peace to you my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord.
The Gospel of today is the account of St. Luke on the series of teachings of Jesus known as the Sermon on the Mount.
In the Beatitudes, a blessing is pronounced on the poor, the hungry, the sorrowful and the persecuted. Jesus is saying to us through this that many who are disadvantaged in this world, many whom people call unfortunate in this world, have a special place in God’s kingdom. Many people who are unloved, ill-treated or labelled “insignificant” in this world because of their condition, will be granted honour in heaven.
Having said this, today, I want to focus on three out of the four Lucan Beatitudes and preach them across the Masses.
1. BLESSED ARE THE POOR
St. Matthew clarifies that Jesus isn’t just talking about those who are struggling financially or materially, otherwise, most of us would be happy, wouldn’t we? He describes the poor here as those who are poor in spirit (Matthew 5:3).
What does it mean to be poor in spirit?
A. The poor in spirit are those who recognise the utter greatness of God, who recognise their need of God and humble themselves before Him.
B. The poor in spirit are those who are truly humble in spirit. They are those who do not boast about themselves to others or call attention to themselves but truly give glory to God in everything.
C. The poor in spirit are those who live a life of simplicity, detachment, generosity and contentment. They are not materialistic, greedy, extravagant or covetous. (Read Philippians 3:7-8).
D. The poor in spirit, are those who genuinely care about the poor. They see Christ in the poor. In spirit, they are poor with the poor; they are friends with the friends of Jesus.
E. The poor in spirit are those who do not allow things to weigh on their spirit. They trust in God and have entrusted their lives to Him. This is the message of the First Reading of today, the Psalm and even the Second Reading. St. Paul is a good example here (Read 2 Timothy 1:12).
Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is theirs.” Note that, unlike the other Beatitudes, this is not a future promise; it is something already present. God lives in them and heaven is in them, even before they are in heaven. They shall experience the atmosphere of heaven in them even whilst here on earth.
2. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO ARE HUNGRY
Today, people hunger for many things, some legitimate and some not. People hunger for food, love, recognition, affirmation, pleasure, meaning, etc.
The greatest form of hunger is spiritual. This is to hunger for righteousness, to hunger for a deeper relationship with God – to know God more, to love Him more, to receive Him worthily into our souls in Holy Communion, to see Him face to face one day and to spend eternity with Him. Like the Psalmist in Psalm 42:1 says: As the deer pants for running waters…
Those who hunger for God this way shall be satisfied. Their hunger shall be perfectly satisfied in Christ and eternally in heaven (Revelation 7:16-17).
The question is – What do you hunger for?
C. BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO WEEP
Again, people weep for different things – legitimately and sometimes unnecessarily. People cry because of the loss of someone dear to them or because of a misfortune, what they need and lack, because of what someone said or did to them. People cry because they have been betrayed, disappointed, or deceived. They have trusted in humans and placed their happiness, essence, and definition on a human person, and now they are left in pieces. May God comfort all who are crying.
Today, Jesus wants us to think about a higher form of cry, a divine cry. I shall just identify three of these:
I. Those who weep for their sins as an expression of contrition. God will show them mercy. Weeping for sins indicates an awareness of the malice of sin, the consequences, and how they offend so good a God. Sadly, the world has lost sense of sin. We now celebrate sin, and people no longer weep for sin but upload it for others to see, like, comment, share and imitate.
II. Those who weep for justice in our world, those who weep because of the prevalence of evil and rejection of God. God will comfort them one day when evil and evil-doers will face divine justice, when God will manifest Himself as the Sovereign Judge and true God, and creation will be restored to its original goodness (Luke 18:7).
III. Those who weep because of the loss of their loved ones. The Second Reading tells us that because of the Resurrection of Christ, all our loved ones who died in Christ didn’t perish. They are at peace, healed, renewed, joyful and resting (Revelation 14:13, 21:4).
Our separation is temporal. We shall see them again, and our sorrows will be turned into joy. We shall rejoice in being reunited with them where death shall separate us no more.
Sermon preached by Fr Emmanuel Baraka-Gukena Okami on February 16, 2025