Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time
As we move towards Lent, the Church gives us a different Sermon than we are used to. Typically, people know the Sermon on the Mount with the Beatitudes, its teachings on fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, and its warnings of Pharisaic rigidity. In Luke, we get the Sermon on the Plain with its similar-but-different exhortations. Like Matthew, Jesus tells us how we can be blessed, but Luke gives us several tales of woe as well. Usually folks hear the Beatitudes of Matthew at special Masses like funerals and weddings because they both console and speak truth.
In Luke’s Sermon, Jesus does not speak of the poor in spirit, but simply the poor. Not those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, but simply the hungry and thirsty. He also condemns those who would make their brothers and sisters poor, hungry, and thirsty. All among other blessings and curses. While poverty and hunger are used analogously in Matthew, the Luke image of Jesus does not want us to forget the needs of this life. In the second reading, St. Paul talks about the Resurrection: “If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?” We experience the Resurrection most principally in the reception of the Most Holy Eucharist, Jesus’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Next, we experience the Resurrection in the Body of Christ and, in a special way, in our brothers and sisters who are poor, hungry, and thirsty. We have the choice frequently to live the Resurrection when we encounter our brothers and sisters in Christ. We encounter them as someone made in God’s image and likeness, assisting them in their bodily and spiritual needs. In the end, God is in charge as Jeremiah says: “Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.” The Lord will give us the grace to preach Christ risen from the dead, for He is a living God!
Reflection by Jack, seminarian, OSB
Posted in Articles for Ordinary Time, Daily Reflections