7-Sep-16

GospelLK 6:20-26

Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus 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.”
Reflection:
Jesus was always honest and straightforward: he could never be accused of sugar coating what it would mean to follow Him.
But, in today's gospel, Jesus drops a bombshell.
Rather than telling those who have decided to follow Him they have made a good choice, Jesus makes it clear they will suffer in this life and be rewarded later.
He told them if they hunger now, they will be full in the future. If they weep in this life, they will laugh in the next. If people dislike and even hate them because of Him, rejoice for their reward will be great after they die.
I can't imagine that in today's world Jesus Christ would ever be invited to give a lecture on salesmanship.
But, Jesus wasn't interested in selling a product. Jesus came to offer eternal life.
Jesus' message to those who had decided to follow Him was clear: If they put their trust in God and lived their life for the sake of Him and others, they would feel fulfilled in this life and be blessed and rewarded in the next.
However, if they put their trust in the things of this world including money, comfort and simply having a good time, they would be filling their barns with worthless treasure that they could not redeem in the life to come.
What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others and the world remains and is immortal. - - Albert Pine