Your Reward Will Be Great

November 1, 2008

Solemnity of All Saints


They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” Revelation 7:10


See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 1 John 3:1

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. Matthew 5:9-12

Piety

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. -- Reinhold Niebuhr

Study

How many of us see some of ourselves in the Beatitudes?

No one can claim that the Bible is guilty of “spin.” The glass is never portrayed as “filled” or even “half-filled.” Jesus is not always the smiling Jesus in the Hallmark store.

Yet if you look at how Jesus is portrayed in popular culture, you do not get the same picture you would see in reading Scripture. How many Rap singers who spout violent and misogynistic lyrics can be seen wearing big (large, very large) jeweled crosses? How many hypocrites commit all kinds of terrible deeds and then march into Church on Sunday?

St. John gives us a glimpse of what he thinks we will attain in the Book of Revelation. But Jesus gives us the path through which we can cross over during this life when he shares with us the Beatitudes during the Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus loves us. Of this there is no doubt. However, he does not promise us a happy, pain-free life. Rather, when you listen to the Sermon on the Mount in today’s Gospel, you get the exact opposite picture. The least powerful people and attributes are those which will be rewarded in heaven. However, the opposite of these are likely to be rewarded on earth.

What are the opposites of the Beatitudes? Maybe we can call these the “Bad Attitudes.”

Those who are rich in material possessions now will only enjoy wealth and power in this temporary, passing world.
Those who delight in this world will be made uncomfortable.
Those who are aggressive already own the land. They will lose it all when God’s kingdom comes.
Those who hunger and thirst for wickedness will never be satisfied with all that they possess today.
The hardhearted will be shown no mercy.
Those whose hearts are corrupted and polluted will never see God.
The violent war makers will be estranged from their God and their sisters and brothers.
They who persecute the righteousness will never see inside heaven.
They who insult you and persecute people may be rewarded now but not in the life to come.

How many of us see some of ourselves in these “Bad Attitudes?” How many of realize that until we can join the “cloud of witnesses,” we will live out our days here where every day is the Solemnity of All Sinners.

Guess what – Jesus still loves us when we act like the poor, weak, stupid sinners that we are. He just wants something better for us. So the choice presented today on this Feast of All Saints is for temporary reward now or permanent reward later.

Action

Pick out one of the Beatitudes and see how you can put that into practice today.