First reading: Jer. 17:5–8

Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, but stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth.

Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.

Second reading: 1 Cor. 15:12,16–20

Brothers and sisters: If Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead? If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.

But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

Gospel: Lk. 6:17,20–26

Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon.

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: “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.”

In other words

by Fr. Elmer I. Ibarra, SVD (Melbourne, Australia)

“Blessed are you who are poor… blessed are you who are hungry… blessed are you who are weeping… blessed are you when people hate you…” Familiar words that we might have heard several times already. But wait! “Woe to you who are rich… woe to you who are filled now… woe to you who laugh… woe to you when all speak well of you…” Most probably the second part is a little bit unfamiliar to us. If they are unfamiliar to us, I’m not surprised because this is Luke’s version of the Beatitudes.

Most of us are familiar with Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes. The setting of its delivery is part of what we now know as the “Sermon on the Mount.” There are many paintings depicting Jesus sitting on top of a hill preaching with his followers sitting down and attentively listening to him.

Luke’s version is a little bit different. Instead of Jesus preaching from a hill, Jesus is preaching on a plain. This is not so popular; I still haven’t come across paintings of Jesus preaching on a plain. The difference must have been based on the audience these two evangelists were writing to. And yet the message for all of us couldn’t be very different.

Blessed are you who are poor. Does this mean that we must live in destitution to be able to receive the kingdom of God? Well, if it were that easy, I should have left the comforts of the presbytery and head to the nearest slum and live there because I’m assured of the kingdom of God. What Jesus means is poor in the sense that they have shared whatever blessings they have received with those who needed it most. We all know that those who share, those who are extremely generous would never become filthy rich. That is why the warning: Woe to you who are filled now, you have received your consolation.

Blessed are you who are hungry. Does this mean that we must stop eating to be satisfied later when the kingdom of God comes? We must go back to Matthew’s version of the Beatitudes wherein Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.” It means that we should fight for justice and equality. We should be the voice of those who are not receiving a “fair go” in life. Later, with God’s help, we will be satisfied.

Blessed are you who are now weeping. Does this mean that we must cry and be miserable all the time? We should weep and cry not for ourselves but because of the cruelty that is happening in our society. We should weep because of the millions of lives lost through abortion. We should weep because of the destruction of the environment which is God’s creation. We should weep because of people who are forced to live in poverty by others who cannot contain their greed. If we weep for these, one day, we’ll laugh when God’s justice is implemented.

Blessed are you when people hate you. Since the beginning the Church has always been persecuted for a variety of reasons. Living as a Christian today is no exception. Anybody who wants to follow Jesus must be prepared to be hated. Whenever the Church preaches against abortion and traditional marriage, condemns capitalists’ abuses, and promotes care for the environment, she is also prepared to be vilified, insulted, and even in some cases sent to jail because of it. If that’s not enough, there are still Christians who are being persecuted in some countries because of their Christian faith.

The Beatitudes are a reminder for all of us on how to live as Christians. The Beatitudes are also a promise of reward for all who persevere in living its values. But let us work not because of the reward but because we love Jesus, our brothers and sisters and we want to be like him.