Just last weekend we heard Jesus call his first disciples Simon Peter, James, and John. Today we hear him talking to a much larger audience, though Luke says he was looking at his disciples when he spoke. Much as he explicitly called them to follow him on his mission, today we hear him implicitly call them to live by a different set of values. He was teaching the Beatitudes. Those whose life is easy, who have plenty of everything, who cling to their wealth will end up as hungry, thirsty, and sad as the barren bush. But those who thirst for God despite their impoverished situation will be rewarded with joy, laughter, and the kingdom of heaven.
Then, as now, people naturally valued wealth and happiness and sufficiency. If Jesus had preached in support of these, many people would have been pleased. After all, wasn’t success in life a sign that God smiled upon them? But no, Jesus tells them just the opposite. It is the poor who will inherit the kingdom of God. It is the hungry, the grief-stricken, the maligned who will rejoice and leap for you. This radical, countercultural call to his disciples then is his radical, countercultural call to us disciples now. God’s values are not society’s values. Whose values do we imitate? Let us pray that we may align our values with those of God’s kingdom and live them out bringing Jesus’ Good News to those in need.
Love, Peace, Joy,
Fr. Bob
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