HOMILY FOR THE 4TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME YEAR A.
THEME: GRATITUDE FOR THE BEATITUDES.
BY: Fr Andrew Ekpenyong.
1. Beatitude Joke. As some churches do, there was this huge signpost outside a church in Houston, Texas, which read: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, Mt 5:5”. One morning, people woke up and found that underneath the sign, a graffitist scribbled the following exception: “But not the right to drill the oil”. Thanks be to God, you and I are making sincere efforts to be poor in spirit, meek, seeking righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, and to be peacemakers, but the evidence of blessedness, the reward for these beatitudes are sometimes seriously challenged by those who choose other values. The philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche shocks us in his novel titled “The Antichrist”, with the statement: “Christianity remains to this day the greatest misfortune of humanity”. Part of his reason is that Christianity constructs a moral system that promotes weakness. Hear him: “When everything necessary to ascending life; when all that is strong, courageous, masterful and proud has been eliminated from the concept of a god; when he has sunk step by step to the level of a staff for the weary, a sheet-anchor for the drowning; when he becomes the poor man’s god, the sinner’s god, the invalid’s god par excellence, and the attribute of ‘savior’ or ‘redeemer’ remains as the one essential attribute of divinity – just what is the significance of such a metamorphosis?” Nietzsche then glorified the idea of the “Übermensch”, the superman who shows aggressive strength, not meekness. Guess who adored and adopted Nietzsche’s ideas? Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and some others. Sisters and brothers, the strong and proud do not inherit the earth, they just become the new Nazis or something worse, both at the individual and collective levels.
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2. Fortitude. Of course, our Lord’s sermon on the mount, beginning with the beatitudes we heard in today’s Gospel reading (Mt 5:1-12a) has correctly been hailed by many as the most transforming speech or homily of all times. The entire sermon on the mount spans Mt chapters 5 to 7. The reaction of the first hearers of these gracious words is instructive: “When Jesus finished these words, the crowds were astonished at his teaching….” (Mt 7:28). Our Lord’s teaching was a continuation and completion of the truth of salvation. In the first beatitude, the poor in spirit are those whose confidence is in God and not in their material possessions. They are the “humble of the earth” (Zeph 2:3), drawing from today’s 1st reading (Zeph 2:3; 3:12-13). The 2nd beatitude is for those who, faced with adversity, look beyond the present. Yes, they mourn now but are open to a better future, they will be comforted, just as Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me…He has sent me to bring good news to the afflicted…. To comfort all who mourn” (Is 61:1,2). The 3rd beatitude is for the meek. They will inherit the earth, a metaphor for the Kingdom of God, which in fact is the reward for all the beatitudes. The apparent weakness of the meek contrasts with the aggressive strength of those who seek to dispossess others of the goods of this world. But it takes much strength of character to be meek. The Greek word used for “meek”, “praos” is instructive. It is the word used for a wild animal that has been tamed. The ox, the stallion, these are powerful beasts whose strength can be harnessed to higher purposes when tamed. Yes, meekness is strength. “It is the ability to take what causes anger, frustration, disappointment and suffering and subject it to reason. It turns any assault of misfortune into an opportunity to grow in virtue and holiness.” (Arthur J. Serratelli). Yes, meekness is strength, the fortitude to grow the Kingdom of God on earth, despite pain or adversity. Yes, we get fortitude from the beatitudes, all of them.
3. Gratitude. Yes, the beatitudes describe who we ought to become and remind us of what we were. Such a reminder is explicit in today’s 2nd reading (1 Cor 1:26-31): “Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters…. not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.”. It is an empowering reminder. God has invited us to share in divine attributes. For it is through the generosity of the poor in spirit that the Lord gives food to the hungry as we recited in today’s responsorial psalm (Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10); it is through the tamed strength or fortitude of the meek, that the Lord secures justice for the oppressed; it is through the merciful, the pure in heart, that the Lord sustains the fatherless and the widow. It is through the peacemakers that the Lord sets captives free. What a privilege to share in divine attributes through the beatitudes! We are filled with gratitude for the beatitudes. Thank you, Lord, for inviting us and empowering, unworthy as we are, to be like you in holiness, so that you may grant us eternal happiness. Amen.
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