Gospel for Sunday, November 1 Luke 6: 17. 20-26/ Matthew 5: 1-12
ALL SAINTS DAY
17Having descended with them, he stopped in a flat place. There was a large crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, from Jerusalem and from the coast of Tire and Sidon… 20Looking up at his disciples, Jesus said: “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. 21Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who cry now, for you will laugh.22Blessed are you when men hate you and when they banish you and revile you and reject your name as wicked, because of the Son of man. 23Rejoice on that day and rejoice, for, behold, your reward is great in heaven. In fact, their fathers did the same thing with the prophets. 24But woe to you, rich people, because you already have your consolation. 25Woe to you who are now full, for you will be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will be afflicted and weep. 26Woe to you when all men speak well of you. For in the same way their fathers did with the false prophets.”
Luke 6: 17. 20-26
1Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain and, sitting down, his disciples approached him. 2Then taking the floor, he taught them, saying: 3“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. 7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. 10Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11Blessed are you when they insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and exult, for great is your reward in heaven. For thus they persecuted the prophets before you.”
Mt 5: 1-12
Dear Sisters and Brothers of the Misericordie, I am Carlo Miglietta, doctor, biblical scholar, layman, husband, father and grandfather (www.buonabibbiaatutti.it).
Also today I share with you a short meditation thought on the Gospel, with special reference to the theme of mercy.
For Luke, the Sermon on the Mount is a proclamation of the Kingdom of God who came to save men; what Matthew (5.1-12) instead sees in the Sermon on the Mount is first and foremost a life program, a moral teaching for the Church. If in Luke the beatitudes are an announcement of consolation and liberation for the unhappy, for Matthew they are a catalog of virtues for use by the first communities, defining the conditions for entering the kingdom of God. Both texts, both that of Luke and that of Matthew, are the Word of God for us: both therefore speak the heart of the believer today. Pope Francis wrote: “Although Jesus’ words may seem poetic to us, they nevertheless go very against the current of what is usual, of what is done in society; and, even if this message of Jesus attracts us, in reality the world leads us towards another lifestyle” (Gaudete et exsultate, no. 65)
Blessed are the poor: The Beatitudes are an invitation to always be on the side of the poor, the least, the marginalized, the oppressed, concretely. They expose our hypocrisies, which often mitigate the harshness of Jesus’ words by understanding them in a spiritual sense. Pope Francis writes: “I want a poor Church for the poor. They have much to teach us. In addition to participating in the sensus fidei, through their own suffering they know the suffering Christ. It is necessary that we all allow ourselves to be evangelized by them” (Evangelii gaudium, n. 198).
Blessed are those who mourn: “The world offers us the opposite: fun, enjoyment, distraction, leisure, and tells us that this is what makes life good” (Gaudete et exsultate, n, 75).
Blessed are the meek: The meek (praeis) are the meek, the submissive, the available, those who do not pretend to be right, serene, optimistic. Jesus presents himself as a model of meekness: “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble of heart” (Mt 11.29).
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice: “Justice with the defenseless: «Seek justice, help the oppressed, do justice to the orphan, defend the cause of the widow» (Is 1,17)” (Gaudete et exultate, no. 79).
Blessed are the merciful: The Hebrew term that generally designates mercy is rehamin, which properly expresses the bowels, the seat of emotions, our “heart”: it is a plural form of réhèm, the maternal breast. In Latin misericors (gen.: misericordis) derives from misereor (I pity the miserable) and cor (gen.: cordis (heart): it means having a heart that pities the miserable. Being merciful is not an ethical imperative, but arises from our call to imitatio Dei, to try to be like God (Lk 6.36), which is only mercy (Ex 34.6).
Blessed are the pure in heart: Being pure in heart means having a new heart, of flesh and not of stone (Ez 36,26-28), not sclerotic. It means being honest, transparent, loyal, without pretenses (Jn 1.47).
Blessed are the peacemakers: Eirenopoiòi, “peacemakers”, indicates not only the attitude of those who try not to have conflicts with anyone, but the active behavior of those who truly become builders of peace, men of reconciliation and communion with everyone.
Blessed are those persecuted for justice… Blessed when they insult you: Those persecuted for justice are therefore those who are persecuted because of their Faith in Jesus or their Charity towards their brothers. This can also lead to martyrdom: martyrìa means “witness” (John 9.22; 12.42).
The prize (misthos: Mt 5,12) is certainly friendship with God, the bliss of his love for him at the end of time. But whoever lives the Beatitudes has “full joy” (Jn 16.24) “already in the present a hundredfold” (Mk 10.30),
The Beatitudes “are a kind of self-portrait of Christ, they are an invitation to follow him and to communion with him” (John Paul II, Veritatis splendor, n. 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), the meek (Mt 11,29; Is 53 ,7), the just, the mercy of the Father (Phil 2,5-11), the pure of heart, Peace (Eph 2,14-17), the persecuted (Mk 3,21; Lk 4,28-29 ).
May the Sisters and Brothers of the Misericordie know how to love in a “visceral” way the people they serve, to be a real experience of Christ the Savior for everyone.
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.