Gospel for Friday, November 1: Mattew 5,1-12
The Beatitudes
1 Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain and, having sat down, his disciples approached him.2 Then taking the word, he taught them, saying,3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.4 Blessed are the afflicted, for they shall be comforted.5 Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.10 Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are you when they insult you, persecute you and, lying, say all kinds of evil against you for my sake.12 Rejoice and exult, for great is your reward in heaven. For thus persecuted the prophets before you.”
Mt 5:1-12
17 Having descended with them, he stopped at a level place…20 Having lifted up his eyes to his disciples, Jesus said, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.21 Blessed are you who now hunger, for you will be filled. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.22 Blessed are you when men hate you and when they banish you and insult you and reject your name as wicked, because of the Son of Man.23 Rejoice in that day and exult, for, behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way did their fathers do with the prophets.24 But woe to you, rich men, for you already have your consolation.25 Woe to you who are now full, for you will hunger. Woe to you who now laugh, for you will be afflicted and weep.26 Woe when all men say good things about you. For in the same way did their fathers do with false prophets.”
Lk 6,17-26
Dear sisters and brothers of Misericordia, I am Carlo Miglietta, a doctor, biblical scholar, layman, husband, father and grandfather (www.buonabibbiaatutti.it). Also today I share with you a short thought meditation on the Gospel, with special reference to the theme of mercy.
The Two Versions Of The Beatitudes
Differences between the two texts
Luke’s version (6:17-26) better conveys to us the tone of the document-base (which was meant to roughly correspond to Lk 6:20-23). Jesus’ words are conveyed assimilated into the life of the early communities, their problems. For Luke, the Sermon on the Mount is proclamation of the Kingdom of God who came to save men; what Matthew (5:1-12) sees in the Sermon on the Mount, on the other hand, is primarily a program of life, a moral teaching for the Church. If in Lk the beatitudes are words of consolation for the unfortunate, for Matthew they are a catalog of virtues for use by the early communities, defining the conditions for entering the kingdom of God.
The Common Beatitudes
The Common Beatitudes constitute a reversal of the values of this world: the men to whom they promise happiness were originally not the righteous but the unhappy, regardless of their moral condition.
Blessed are the poor: it is Matthew who added “in spirit,” transferring the notion of poverty from a sociological to a religious level, to specify it in a teaching context.
Blessed are the hungry and thirsty: Matthew adds “of righteousness”: Matthew, perhaps fearful of the pauperism of the rising sects, also transfers this beatitude in a spiritualist sense: but the happiness of the Messianic age was described as refreshment for those who were truly hungry and thirsty (Is 49:10; 55:1f; 65:13; Jn 6:35; Rev 7:16).
Blessed are the persecuted: the progression of mistreatment is more logical in Luke than in Matthew.
Matthew’s own beatitudes
Blessed are the meek: the primitive formulation is indistinguishable from “the poor” : in the Hebrew text both correspond to “anawìm.”
Blessed are the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers: these are eulogies of virtues esteemed by all, to accentuate the parenetic scope of the Beatitudes.
Luke’s Beatitudes
Lk wants to present the Beatitudes as a proclamation of consolation, whereas for Matthew they are universal and timeless moral utterances.
Luke’s curses
Luke’s 4 beatitudes are followed by 4 “vae,” “woes” that are not found in Matthew: they are probably Lucan addition, with antithetical procedure to the beatitudes: with them Luke reinforces the sense of the text. In a special way, we want to highlight the contrast, almost the contrapasso, between the situation of “now” and that of “that day.”
THE GOSPEL OF THE BEATITUDES
Both theses, both Luke’s and Matthew’s, are God’s Word to us: both therefore speak to the believer’s heart today.
THE GLAD TIDINGS FOR THE POOR
The Beatitudes are thus first and foremost the joyful proclamation of a great “Purim,” of a total reversal of fortunes: they are the proclamation of the fulfillment of the hope of all categories of the oppressed and exploited of the earth!
Blessed: makàrios derives from makàr, an ancient term indicating divine happiness, free from earthly sorrows: but at the time of the gospels it is the only term available to indicate a “happy” man in the broadest sense of the term.
The poor: in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, that of the LXX, the term ptochòs, poor (from ptòssò, accatto), appears about a hundred times, translating Hebrew words that always have the meaning of material poverty. Afflicted, pèntos, translates ‘ebel, expresses not so much an inner sadness but its outward outburst: Lk thus reserves the blessedness of the afflicted for “those who mourn” (klaìontes). Hungry, peinòn, corresponds to the adjective rà’èb: it is not those who have an appetite, but those who are deprived of the indispensable nourishment, who do not have the minimum to live: the true translation would be “ravenous.”
Theological perspective: The first two beatitudes refer us to the oracle of Is 61:1-3. As with the monarchies of neighboring peoples, in Israel care for the weak and the poor are specific attributes of the good king; but God is the sole King of Israel: the defense and liberation of the oppressed are therefore his indispensable characteristics. There is a real “theology of the cry of the poor” in the Bible , which is always heard by God (Ex 3:7; 22:21-26; Deut 24:14-15; Jas 5:4-5…).
Christological perspective: The New Testament fulfills this proclamation in the definitive Word and concrete example of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is first and foremost the “good news proclaimed to the poor” (Mt 11:5; Lk 7:22), who are the privileged recipients of the coming Kingdom. This is why Jesus, presenting himself as the awaited Messiah in the synagogue of Capernaum (Lk 4:18-19), applies to himself the words of the prophet Isaiah: “The Spirit of the Lord…has sent me to bring glad tidings to the poor” (Is 61:1-2; cf. Lk 7:22). “They shall be comforted,” ‘they shall be filled,’ ‘they shall inherit the earth,’ ‘they shall obtain mercy,’ ‘they shall see God’: it is true, it speaks of eschatological reward. But the first beatitude specifies to the poor that of them “is” the kingdom of God: in Jesus now “the kingdom of God is at hand,” “the kingdom of God has come to you ” (Mt 12:28; Lk 11:20).
CONDITIONS FOR ENTERING THE KINGDOM OF GOD
From the theological-anthropological perspective soon shifted in the early Church to an anthropological one. The focus shifted from God’s behavior in establishing the Kingdom to man’s behavior in order to access it.
On the side of the poor: The Beatitudes are an invitation to always be on the side of the poor, the last, the marginalized, the oppressed, concretely. They expose our hypocrisies, which often mitigate the harshness of Jesus’ words by understanding them in a spiritual sense (Lk 14:13-14; 16:9).
Living by the Beatitudes:
Being poor in spirit : poverty of spirit is the synthesis of all Christian virtues; it is the precondition for possessing them.
Being meek: the meek (praeis) are the meek, the submissive, the helpful, those who do not claim to be right, serene, optimistic.
Be hungry and thirsty for righteousness: righteousness in the biblical sense is the ability to relate to God and one’s brothers and sisters (Mt 5:10,20; 6:1,13).
To be merciful : the first of the Hebrew terms for mercy is rehamin, which properly expresses the bowels, the seat of the emotions, our “heart” (Sl 103:13; Jer 31:20; Is 63:15-16…).
To be pure in heart: means to have a new heart, of flesh and not of stone (Ez 36:26-28), not sclerotic. It means to be honest, transparent, loyal, without pretense (Jn 1:47).
To be peacemakers (eirenopoiòi: “peacemakers,” not “peacekeepers”): the Hebrew term shalòm does not correspond to the simple absence of war of the Greek eirène or to the security based on bilateral pacts of the Latin pax: shalòm comes from the root slm, which essentially means “completion,” “fullness.”
Being persecuted: Christians will be persecuted because of Christ (Mt 5:11; 10:24; Jn 15:20-21), as the prophets were persecuted before (Mt 5:12; Acts 7:52).
Imitation of Christ: The Beatitudes “are a kind of self-portrait of Christ, they are an invitation to follow him and to commune with him” (Veritatis splendor, no. 16). Jesus is the model of the Beatitudes. Jesus is the poor (Lk 2:11-12; cf. Mt 8:20), the afflicted (Mk 1:41; 6:34; 8:2; Lk 22:44; Mt 26-27). Jesus dies alone, experiencing abandonment by men and also by God (Mt 27:46), the meek (Mt 11:29; Is 53:7, the righteous, the mercy of the Father (Phil 2:5-11), the pure in heart, the Peace (Eph 2:14-17; Jn 14:27; 16:33; Col 3:15; Phil 4:7), the persecuted (Mk 3:21; Lk 4:28-29; Jn 6:66…).
The prize: The prize (misthos: Mt 5:12) is certainly friendship with God, the bliss of his love in eschatology. But “already in the present a hundredfold” (Mk 10:30), the “full joy ” (Jn 16:24).
Happy Mercy to all!
Anyone who would like to read a more complete exegesis of the text, or some insights, please ask me at migliettacarlo@gmail.com.