Sunday Reflections | February 11, 2007

More than just saying something about my life here, I'd like to share God's Word to all the readers of my blog. Today is His special day of the week after all!
____________________________________________________________________________________

The Beatitudes

“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.
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.”
___________________________________________________________________________________

Reflections from Proclaiming Faith:

Does Jesus mean that we should all be poor, hungry, sad, and rejected? What Jesus is saying is: these people have nothing and no one but God. Of course God cares about them! That is why they are blest! And we are most like God when we care, too!

Jesus is telling us (who are not poor, hungry, sad, or rejected) that we must be careful. Our riches, our full stomachs, our pleasant lives, and our efforts to be popular with others may well keep us from trusting in God. We must make great efforts to understand that the good things in our lives come from God and are meant to be shared.

Do we hoard our riches and not share our things? Do we eat or drink more than we need, or waste food, or not share food with people who are hungry? What is our church and charity budget vs. our budget for fun, vacations, entertainment, and the latest toys, cars, shoes, or clothes? Do we learn about the sadness and evil of the world and try to help, or do we do our best to ignore the problems in our world? "It's not my responsibility. That's somebody else's problem." How do we treat the most rejected in our society‹the mentally ill, the homeless, the addicted? Again, do we ignore them, or do we try to help them?

Jesus has taken his stand with the poor, the hungry, the sad, and the rejected. He has called them blest. Where do we stand?