23RD WEDNESDAY HOMILY OF ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B
23RD WEDNESDAY HOMILY OF ORDINARY TIME — YEAR B
HOMILY THEME: THE BLESSED ONES
BY: Paul Karabari
1 Cor 7:25-31, Psalm 44(45):11-12, 14-17; Luke 6:20-26
‘Rejoice and leap for joy, says the Lord, for behold, your reward is great in heaven.’
When we think of blessings, we think of things we are given now. It might be our family, friends, a relationship, recovery, a financial gift, or just a feeling of everything working out and falling into place. The reality for most of us is that a lot of our blessings are unseen. We experience pain, suffering, loss, illness, poverty, persecution, and challenging times. We can think ‘Where is the blessing in that?’ When we look at the Sermon on the Mount as presented in the Gospel of today (Luke 6:20-26), we see a different thing. This is a whole list of people who are blessed.
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These aren’t the usual kind of blessings. They show the upside down nature of God’s kingdom. It is the people who are poor, hunger now, weep now, facing persecution and under trial who are called blessed, not the successful, famous, and rich. These blessings aren’t material things or even about other people. They are about us and God. God loves to bless us because He loves us. But sometimes, these blessings are conditional. It is about our attitude. It is be-attitude. That means we have to obey His commands before we receive the blessing.
Luke also presents the direct opposite of those who are blessed but with woes attached to them. The people in this category are responsible for the conditions of those considered blessed. In other words, Luke wants us to understand that God does not take glory in the pains associated with the conditions of the people considered blessed but since they have been subjected to such conditions and willingly accepted them for the sake of God, God has to reward them. A poor man has the option of either remaining poor or using a corrupt means to lift himself from poverty. If he does accept it instead of doing evil, he is blessed. The rich are at liberty to be selfish or use their wealth to lift others out of poverty. If they do lift others out of poverty, they have become poor for the sake of God’s kingdom and are blessed. It simply means that God doesn’t desire poverty nor hate riches. He detests attitudes that promote poverty in the midst of plenty.
God has created a favourable world for everyone with treasures, powers, authorities, and privileges entrusted to some. The abuses of these gifts are responsible for the negative conditions of the blessed in the first list. For submitting to such a state of life for the sake of His kingdom, God has to reward them and curse those who cause such deprivation and pains in the world meant for the good of all.
This passage demands character-checks. It is a reminder that it is not just enough to reward ourselves. The Divine Judge watches over human conditions and attitudes and will give eternal rewards. It is equally a consolation for those who who helplessly suffered from imposed hate, injustice, deprivation, and other social evils. Let us not promote wickedness in the world because God looks down from above. GOD IS STILL ON THE THRONE. May God have mercy on us, heal our world, bless and protect us all through Christ, our Lord Amen. Please, stay safe.
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