Sixth Sunday of Ordinary Time Cycle C
Jeremiah 17:5–8
Psalm 1:1–2, 3, 4, 6
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16–20
Luke 6:17, 20–26
The world considers successful those who are rich, those who are full of what they want, those who experience joy and laughter in the present and those who have won the acclaim of others.
Jesus presents a different understanding. Instead of blessings, He declares that these realities are ephemeral, that they will not endure to eternity. He warns that they will result in exactly the opposite of what they seem to offer.
Jesus’ point of view suggests that being poor, experiencing hunger, knowing sorrow in this world and being rejected leave room for something more. When we take this perspective, we discover that we can begin to see our own situation differently.
Who has not experienced working hard to attain a goal and then discovering that, once reached, it did not satisfy? Those ahead of us on life’s journey suggest that we ought to attend to the journey itself even as we are on the way.
Every moment of life is a gift, even the difficult moments. We discover our true mettle not by being successful, but by staying the course when the going gets tough.
There is often an illusion of control. We think that by our own actions we can change our experience. The truth is something much more subtle. It is not by something we do on our own that our world can change. It is by how we choose to respond to what is going on in front of us.
“Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.” There are two kinds of hope. One is simple expectation. We hope for relief to a current difficulty. Cessation of pain or a change in circumstances will be the fulfillment of that kind of hope. When such a hope is not met by a change, then disappointment follows. Left unchecked, this can lead to greater problems such as discouragement or disillusionment and ultimately despair.
Another kind of hope, the hope that can lead to true blessing, is the “theological virtue” of hope, that is, “hope in the Lord.” This form of hope is a way of being, a habit of living that allows us always to look beyond present circumstances to salvation.
The Church in our time is experiencing a “pruning” that can be very painful. We are being asked to let go of many things that have held us steady. There is an effort to discern a direction and a sincere desire on the part of those responsible for the “pruning.” However, that does not take away from the pain, and often our understanding of what is happening is blinded by our attachments or our own sense of what God is asking of us.
We have to find a way to keep our eyes fixed on the goal. “Blessed are we” when we look into the center of our weakness, our sorrow, our lack, our pain. We will begin to see the path God is designing for us and to hear His voice of blessing for our fidelity to Him and to His Church.
When Jesus speaks to those whose hearts are set on the “blessings” of this world, He speaks with words of “woe.” This is not a condemnation. It is in the Old Testament tradition of “curse.” But it is not a judgment. Rather, it is an invitation to repentance, to rethinking.
When a Biblical “curse” is offered, it is a challenge to a soul or to a people to enter into a path of conversion. Biblical “blessings” are not about success and enjoyment in this world. They are an experience of a living relationship with the God Who is with us on our journey through life. Opening to this kind of blessing, we find that we can relish all that happens to us as preparation for what is to come. It is a true engagement with the world, full of hope.
Jesus is with us on the journey. May His words of blessing give us hope and consolation along the way. May we truly be a people of blessing who hope in the Lord.