The Sermon on the Mount – part 2

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This coming Sunday is the 7th Sunday of Ordinary Time in Lectionary Cycle C. The gospel taken from St. Luke is a continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount whose most remembered part is in the gospel of the 6th Sunday. The remainder of the Sermon is covered on the 7th and 8th Sundays, but they are not always celebrated. The Ordinary Time Sunday readings for the period between the Baptism of the Lord and Ash Wednesday depend on the date established for Easter. In 2022, Easter falls relatively late and so this is one of those years when we celebrate the 7th Sunday (…and the 8th!) Continue reading →

Ever closer to blessings

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“Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.”(Luke 6:20)

Almost a quarter of a century ago, I was in the midst of formation to become a lay missioner with  Franciscan Mission Service as a prelude to my time in Kenya.  Fr. Joe Nangle, a Franciscan friar, was our speaker that morning.  We had begun the day with the Eucharist and the gospel was the same gospel we heard this morning.  “Blessed are you who are poor… for yours is the kingdom of God.”  Fr Joe told us that if he could only have one verse of Sacred Scripture for our formation, this would be it.  Within were the two great challenges to all Christians, but perhaps especially so for Christians from the affluent countries of the world:  to learn to see the poor and to learn to see the kingdom of God in the world. And then he told us this story. Continue reading →

The Stirring of Reforms in Prague

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This is part of an ongoing series of posts about the 16th century Reformations that shook Christianity and civil society. If you would like to “catch up” on the series, you can see all the posts here.

The knowledge of Wycliffe and the Lollards reached deep into the Holy Roman Empire and found a home among Jan Hus, a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague. It was there that he came into possession of the banned works of Wycliffe which Hus translated into the Czech language. 1408, Pope Gregory XII warned Archbishop Zajic of Prague that the Church in Rome had been informed of Wycliffe’s heresies and of King Wenceslaus’ sympathies for non-conformists. In response, the king and University ordered all of Wycliffe’s writings surrendered to the archdiocesan chancery for correction. Hus obeyed, declaring that he condemned the errors in those writings. Yet at the same time, disavowing himself of the theological errors, Hus tried to reform the church by delineating the moral failings of clergy, bishops, and even the papacy from his pulpit. Archbishop Zajíc tolerated this, and even appointed Hus as preacher to the clergy’s biennial synod. Continue reading →

Being Open

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In today’s gospel we encounter Jesus outside the Galilee in the area of Decapolis, an area of Hellenistic thought and faith practice. Jesus meets someone, “a deaf man who had a speech impediment”

“he looked up to heaven…and said…’Ephphatha! (that is, ‘Be opened!’) And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.” (Mark 7:34-35)

In terms of the mission of Jesus and the later mission of the Apostles and disciples, it is touchstone and summary: be willing to leave the comfort of your neighborhood, persistent when encountering people not initially open to hearing the Word of God, look to heaven in prayer for ways to remove the barriers, and empower the listener to speak plainly the Word of God to others. Continue reading →

A final thought on the Sermon

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This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time.  The posts this week have been longer than average. So perhaps is it time for final thought. The following quotes come from Walter Pilgrim (Good News to the Poor: Wealth and Poverty in Luke-Acts).

The clear social distinctions drawn here are between the haves and the have-nots, the possessors and the impoverished, those favored by society and those despised. The new and surprising element is the way in which the norms and values of society are turned upside down. The promised blessings belong to the suffering poor, while the coming woes are pronounced upon the contented rich. According to one commentator, this marks the first time in Jewish religious literature that the poor are directly called the blessed (Hengel Property). [p. 76] Continue reading →

The long arc of one’s life

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Yesterday’s reflection began: What lies in the heart of men? If we would rely on the introduction from the popular radio series the Shadow, our answer would be – “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”  In a way the history of the reign of King Solomon is a story that connects to that ominous question.

Our first readings for a while now have been from 1 Kings. As we had heard in 2 Samuel the story of King David, our foray into the Book of 1 Kings continues the narrative of the Kings of Judah and Israel, the one charged with ensuring the people of the nation were faithful to the covenant of God. The narrative begins with the transition of kingship from David to Solomon, a story of ambition, betrayal, assassination, but eventually Solomon ascends the throne. Here is a synopsis of the this week’s first readings: Continue reading →

Blessings

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Did you know that Scripture offers other “blessings” apart from the well-know Beatitudes. There are many beatitudes in the Hebrew Bible. Sunday’s psalm, in its original language reads:

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. (Ps 1:1–2).

Beatitudes in general belong to the Wisdom strands of the Old Testament, reflecting popular experience of what “works” to make a person happy (Ps 1:1, 41:1; Prov 14:21; Sir 31:8). Continue reading →

The Sermon of reversals

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This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, with several days of context behind us, we can look at more details, picking up with additional thoughts on blessings and woes.

While Matthew’s Beatitudes give us only nine blessings, Luke has carefully paired four blessings with four woes or curses, even to using the same words in corresponding pairs. Luke draws the contrast in the pairs between groups of people: (1) poor-rich, (2) hungry-full, (3) those who weep-those who laugh, and (4) those who are hated-those of whom people speak well.

In addition to simply pairing the blessings and curses and thus contrasting the groups, Luke also reverses the groups of people within each saying, so that, for example, in the blessing the hungry will be filled, while in the corresponding woe those who are filled will become hungry. This serves to highlight not only the positive reversal that is a blessing for one group, as Matthew does, but also the corresponding negative outcome on the opposite group.

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The heart of men

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What lies in the heart of men? If we would rely on the introduction from the popular radio series the Shadow, our answer would be – “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow knows!”  Given that we were created in the image and likeness of God, washed clean in the waters of Baptism, we began so hopeful, so innocent. What’s going on in the human heart? “More tortuous than anything is the human heart, Beyond remedy; who can understand it?” (Jer 17:9) In the language of the Bible “heart” means the core of the self, the deepest center of who we are, that place from which our thoughts and actions arise. Today’s gospel is none too hopeful about what lies in the heart of men:

“From within the man, from his heart, come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly. All these evils come from within and they defile.” (Mark 7:20-22)

This is not a lone passage from Scripture which echoes such sentiment. St. Paul notes the same problem and locates it a failure to believe in and honor God. There are consequences: “God handed them over to their undiscerning mind.” (Romans 1:28) He goes onto describe the result of people looking to themselves for a moral compass:

“They are filled with every form of wickedness, evil, greed, and malice; full of envy, murder, rivalry, treachery, and spite. They are gossips and scandalmongers and they hate God. They are insolent, haughty, boastful, ingenious in their wickedness, and rebellious toward their parents. They are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.” (Romans 1:29-31)

If we are honest, each one of us can see something of ourselves in the list even if it is limited to envy and gossiping. What are we to do? St. Paul saw the root of the problem – the solution lies there, in your heart. Awake each day look into your heart to rediscover your love for God and give Him glory in prayer. Start each day in prayer. Each evening, examine your day and with hope pray:

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love; in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions. Thoroughly wash away my guilt; and from my sin cleanse me…wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. (Ps 51:3-4,9)

Let these be your treasure: “For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be” (Mt 6:21). And in the morn, begin again.

Blessings and Woes

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This coming Sunday is the 6th Sunday of Ordinary Time, with several days of context behind us, we can look at more details. Luke incorporates part of the same material that Matthew had included in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7). There is a rhythm like a call and response: a condition not of the kingdom followed by a promise that the Kingdom will heal the problem. All of it is cast in the repetition of blessings and woes.

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who are now weeping, for you will laugh. Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude and insult you, and denounce your name as evil on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice and leap for joy on that day! Behold, your reward will be great in heaven. For their ancestors treated the prophets in the same way. But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. But woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will grieve and weep. Woe to you when all speak well of you, for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.

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