January 29
Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
“Blessed are the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!”
Reflection
The first reading from Zephaniah speaks to us about acting with humility and being honest before the Lord. Those who live by humility and seek the Lord will find shelter in the Lord and uninterrupted rest. In our gospel passage from St Matthew, we have the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount. As well as being a well-known passage it is a radical way of living, something that could bring great good to our world but only if people choose to live it. Matthew tells us that the sermon took place on top of a mountain reminding us of Moses, and the fact that Jesus was seated which emphasizes his authority. The connection between this and the first reading is the theme of humility.
St Paul tells us in the second reading from his second letter to the Corinthians that God often chooses what we regard as something foolish or lowly and turns it into something great. He points to the apostles, sharing with us that none of them was rich or powerful, but their finest quality was to be humble before the Lord. Paul tells us that what the world regards as foolish and weak is turned into something powerful and transforming by the Lord. If we need an example, let us look no further than the changes that the apostles underwent.
The thing we should focus on in these readings is that there is a way of being–a way of living that can bring us closer to the Lord. If we are humble we can more effectively access the spiritual nature that God seeks of us. If we are meek, if we are poor in spirit, that is, if we realize that our own abilities pale in comparison to God’s, then we are truly blessed in our relationship with God. And being blessed is not just being in a good state, but being complete, being whole and being at peace with the universe. These are really good things, and if we seek them through our relationship with God, we are not far from the Kingdom of Heaven. And that Kingdom is where we want to be.
Stay strong,
Deacon Dare
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