Praise be Jesus Christ forever and ever.
A couple of things in today’s scriptures that I noticed are the many
blessings in our lives and the second is that God is with us when we don’t feel
blessed.
Today is world marriage Sunday. For all those called to the
vocation of marriage it is one of many blessings. I have been blessed for almost
37 years.
Another blessing is the liturgy of the mass. I am blessed to come to
mass, humble myself before God, and pray in petition, supplication, praise, and
thanksgiving. I am blessed to be able to share in Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist.
I am blessed and you are blessed. We can preach and witness the gospel of
Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the promise of eternal life, and the real
presence of Christ in the Eucharist. That is our faith. If you do not believe
these, St. Paul says your faith is in vain.
There are many in the world who do not know this blessing. Those
may be people of other faith traditions. There may be people who feel they do
not have enough time to worship God. Some may have something they feel is more important.
Then there is the poor. The ones who cannot worship because of
persecution. Maybe their poverty is a lack of priest and clergy. They may be
poor in health or physical condition and cannot make it to worship.
I would like to offer the one blessing I miss. Most of the time at
mass, there is beautiful voices offering prayerful songs of praise and then
there is my voice. God gives
me so many blessings but he did not bless me with a singing voice. I have hope, by God’s grace, one day that
will change.
There are so many blessings given and all are given by God’s
grace. Jeremiah says, “Blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord.” The Psalmist
sings follow God’s word and be
blessed.
These are beatitudes, a form of blessing given to encourage people to do good. Simple ways
of saying have hope in God, follow his word, and you will be blessed.
Do good and do not be
wicked. Do not follow sinners or keep company with the insolent but instead
take delight in God’s ways. Do good by placing your trust and hope in the Lord.
Jesus takes on the beatitudes differently.
Coming down from the mountain, Jesus begins to teach his disciples.
We know that almost all the words of scripture holds truth and we hear “raising his eyes toward his disciples he begins.” Jesus
beatitudes come from a lowly perspective.
Blessed are those who are poor, hungry, weeping,
hated, excluded, insulted, and denounced. They
will be rewarded who suffer these shameful experiences. God will bless them if they
put their trust in him.
The poor do not put their trust in human things so they turn to
God. They cannot put hope in money they have none. They cannot put hope in possessions
they are very few. They cannot put hope in all the good the world lavishes upon
them; the rest of the world wants to put them out of sight.
Woe to you who puts your trust in money, possession, and the good
will of others. It is trusting in human things. Jeremiah had hard words for
these people. “Cursed the one who trust in
human things, seeks strength in the flesh, and has turned their hearts away
from God.”
Jesus’ beatitudes are different. They come from a different place
and are meant as comforting words to people who needed to hear his good news.
And, even if Jesus teaches from a
different perspective, it is the same beatitude Jeremiah taught.
Blessed is the one
who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord.
That is the principle of all the beatitudes. Blessed are you if
you do not look for blessings that come from the world - wealth, money, possessions, fame, reputation,
or power.
Blessed are you if you are not be wicked. Blessed are you if you do
not follow sinners or keep company with the disrespectful. Take delight in
God’s ways. There you will know true riches and be satisfied. In Christ, you
will laugh and leap for joy for the reward of those blessed by God is in
heaven.
My friends that is where I
will find my singing voice.
There are many blessings in our lives. Jesus told us we
are blessed because God is with us even when we do not feel blessed.
Be good, be holy, and preach the gospel by the way you live your
life and love one another. May Jesus
Christ be praised, forever and ever.
Amen.
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