Blessed Are You

June 11, 2007

By Beth De Cristofaro

Memorial of Saint Barnabas, Apostle

Sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done wondrous deeds (Ps 98:1)

Blessed are the poor in spirit,…Blessed are they who mourn…Blessed are the meek…Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness…Blessed are the merciful…Blessed are the clean of heart…Blessed are the peacemakers…Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness…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. (Mt 5:1-11)

Piety

Dear God, I am here before you in the freedom you have given me to put You before me, to ask your help. I come seeking purity of heart, meekness, and hunger for you, my God. I come to you in order that I might give what you have given to me: mercy, peace, your presence to others. I come to you with joy in spite of sorrow because you entered sorrow and found joy for me and for the world. I praise and thank you for your wondrous deeds. Amen

Study

http://www.usccb.org/nab/061107.shtml

Jesus’ people had little in the way of “good” news day to day. Poverty was made harsher by the oppression of the Romans. Jews lived squeezed and harassed by the myriad rules their religion demanded. However, they also lived with the light of God in their lives through the covenant God made with their forefather. Their hunger to submit to God, to find God’s saving actions, caused them to seek out this teacher who brought strange, different but very, very Good News to them. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. (Mt. 5:6)

“Blessed are they…” How must this have struck hearts heavily burdened just to survive? Jesus describes a bold, new explanation for the greatest of God’s commandments which, last week, one of the Scribes admitted to Jesus: (God) is One and there is no other than he. And to love him with all your heart, with all your understanding, with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is worth more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.” (Mk 12:32-33)

Jesus is well aware of the state of those He teaches. Calling on God he feeds the hungry. In the chapter preceding this one, Jesus withstood temptation by the devil. Jesus has already dealt with rejection and derision; he knows that he will face physical torment. How does one find hope in such times? By hungering and thirsting for God. By being poor in spirit. By putting God first rather than personal power. In essence, by following the teachings and the person of Jesus to whom living in God was as essential as breathing air. Just as Jesus was there in flesh and blood, so are we, flesh and blood, called to be God to others.

Jesus tells them and us that they/we are blessed. He is with us facing a deeply wounded world and in spite of our own hurts and frailties, we can be aware of God’s blessings. “(St.) Benedict calls us to hear the more. Listen, the ancient monk tells us, listen. It will break your heart but it will also give you a heart. And it will give you more – it will give you life. Only Love is strong enough to hold all the pain in the world. Love will listen. If you aren’t listening, you aren’t loving.”[1]

Action

Read the Gospel again and listen for Jesus’ voice blessing you. Listen for God’s blessings throughout your day: Listen to those in group reunion without “fixing” or commenting. Listen to co-workers without hearing office politics and the voice of ambition in the background. Listen to someone whom you have been avoiding. Listen to your own voice – recognize hurt and joy. From listening to God’s blessings, to God’s will, there will flow action which, as Jesus says, might get you persecuted but will stand like a light on a lamp stand bringing the light of the kingdom to those in your life. And … your reward will be great in heaven.

---

[1] Radical Hospitality: Benedict’s Way of Love”, Fr. Daniel Homan and Lonni Collins Pratt, Paraclete Press, 2002, p. 213.