Dear Friend, In worldly wisdom those people are considered fortunate who are well off, who can have whatever they want whenever they want; those who can live it up, who have the upper hand and can reach the top by any means. These values are the subject matter of novels and are promoted by the advertisements that bombard us. Yet they are the opposite of the values that believers should adopt in their lives. May the Beatitudes challenge our attitudes. Have a soul-searching weekend! –Fr. Jude Sun Ref. Fourth Sunday: ‘You are blessed! You have His attitudes in life!’ 29-Jan-2017 Zeph. 2: 3; 3: 12-13; 1 Cor. 1: 26-31; Matt. 5: 1-12; The first reading from Zephaniah speaks of the Day of Yahweh, when God will intervene directly in the life of Israel. Zephaniah advises the people to seek God in humility and lowliness. These are necessary conditions to find God for he rejects falsehood and the proud-hearted, who believe that they can manage on their own and don’t need him. The Israelite nation had suffered decades of oppression under the Assyrian rule, the prophet now announces the arrival of salvation and liberation of the little ones who have suffered under foreign rule. This ‘Day of Yahweh’ is a time of effective action by God on behalf of his people. God is close to those who are humble and depend on him.
Meekness is not WeaknessSt Clement Hoffbauer of Vienna was collecting funds for orphans whose parents had died in the Napoleonic wars. He walked into a restaurant where three men were playing cards and asked them for a contribution for his good work. One of them cursed him and spat on his face. Hoffbauer quietly took out his handkerchief wiped the spit from his cheek and said without the slightest sign of anger, "Now that was for me, sir. How about something for my orphans?" The abusive card player was so dumbfounded that he reached into his pocket and handed the saint all the money he had with him.Msgr. Arthur Tonne Today’s gospel portrays Jesus as an authoritative teacher, who solemnly announces the fundamentals of life in the Kingdom of Heaven. The disciples are the primary target audience but the principles are addressed beyond the disciples to the crowds of followers. The principles are universal. They are delivered on the mountain, the favoured place among the Israelites for encountering God. The Sermon on the Mount contains the essence of Christ’s teachings and the beatitudes are the essence of that essence. In the beatitudes Jesus presents a new vision of the Kingdom and invites his followers to live that vision. In the beatitudes what is being blessed is reliance on God. Those who know their need of God, and live life accordingly, are truly blessed. They are the most fortunate of all people, for God will give them all that they need. We like to believe that we can manage our lives. Those who put their trust in human resources will be disappointed but those who trust in God will never be disappointed. Men and women of all ages have drawn inspiration from the Sermon on the Mount. Mahatma Gandhi drew strength and inspiration from the Beatitudes for his concept of non-violence. Martin Luther King was convinced that his struggle would succeed only if it was based on justice, love and forgiveness, proclaimed in the Beatitudes. And then someA successful businessman once was asked the secret of success. His reply summed success in three words: AND THEN SOME. He learned early in life that the difference between average people and truly successful people could be simply stated in those three words. Top people did what was expected and then some! Jesus taught the and then some principle in the Sermon on the Mount. He is saying: Go beyond what is expected! Go a little further! Let these words serve as a tonic for your spirit. Practice your faith faithfully –and then some. Give generously of your time and resources- and then some. Greet those you meet with a smile – and then some. Meet your obligations; be dependable –and then some. Do your best in all things and at all times –and then some.Clarence DeLoach Jr. The BeatitudesA person inspired by the Sermon on the Mount was Dr. Tom Dooley. After graduating from medical school, Dooley enlisted in the navy as a doctor. The big day of his life came one hot afternoon off the coast of Vietnam. That’s when his ship rescued 1000 refugees who were drifting helplessly in an open boat. Many of the refugees were diseased and sick. Since Dr. Dooley was the only doctor on the ship, he had to tackle single-handedly, the job of giving medical aid to these people. It was backbreaking, but he discovered what a little medicine could do for sick people like this. He said, “Hours later, I stopped to straighten my shoulders and made another discovery –the biggest of my life. I was happy (treating these people), happier than I had ever been before.” Dooley’s experience that hot July afternoon changed his life forever.Gerard Fuller in ‘Stories for all Seasons’ Living the BeatitudesSome modern gurus belittle Jesus’ be-attitudes. For instance, the late Bhagwan Rajneesh, popularly known as Osho, pooh-poohed Jesus’ preaching with a “Cursed are you poor!” Note that Luke’s beatitudes –just four, are written in the second person, namely, “Blessed are you poor!” coupled with a “Woe to you rich!” (Lk. 6:20f) –closely follow the Isaian Messianic tradition and more closely resemble what Jesus actually preached. This makes the Church’s ‘option for the poor’ not an ‘option’ but an ‘obligation’. India’s prestigious magazine ‘The Week’ nominated Viji Srinivasan as ‘Woman of the Year 2004’. Renouncing family wealth, Viji has devoted herself to serving the poor aboriginals in Jharkhand and Bihar, north India. Her efforts have resulted in non-formal education, women’s empowerment, self-help groups, farmer’s cooperatives and employment for adivasis. People of other religions often give us enviable examples of ‘be-attitudes’ and ‘option for the poor’. Let us imitate Him who “though he was rich, yet for our sake became poor, so that by his poverty, we might become rich.” (2 Cor. 8:9)Francis G. In ‘Sunday Seeds for Daily Deeds’ Look BeyondOne day a king was sitting in his darbar. He had a very unusual visitor – a man who had travelled through the desert, wanted to meet him. The man was poorly clad, and he carried a leather bag. He said to the king, “Dear king! I have nothing to give you, except this water, which I collected from an oasis in the desert. This is the sweetest water, which I have tasted in my life. I brought this as a gift for you. The king took the water and drank. After drinking it, he said, “This is the sweetest water that I have ever tasted.” He gave his visitor a lot of gifts and sent him away. The ministers were surprised at the gifts the king lavished upon that visitor. They wanted to taste the water too. So each one took a sip from the leather bag. Immediately all of them puked –it was odious and bitter. The ministers asked the king how he could say that the water was the sweetest water. Then the king said, “You have tasted only the water, but I have tasted the heart of that man. The man was travelling through the desert and he was tired and thirsty. When he drank the water it was the sweetest water that quenched his thirst and relieved his tiredness. At that moment he remembered me and wanted to give me the best that he had tasted in his life. I looked at that heart which loved me so much. I looked beyond this water and found that it was sweet.” Happiness lies for him who can look beyond – who can look beyond the obvious. The king looked not at the matter, but at the spirit beyond the matter! Look beyond and you will find happiness!John Rose in ‘John’s Sunday Homilies’ I have seen love in action…A man visited Mother Teresa’s home for the poor and dying in Calcutta. He arrived just as the sisters were bringing in some of the dying off the streets. They had picked up a man from the gutter, and he was covered with dirt and sores. Without knowing that she was being watched, one of the sisters began to care for the dying man. The visitor kept watching the sister as she worked. He saw how tenderly she cared for the patient. He noticed how as she washed the man she smiled at him. She did not miss a detail in her attentive care for that dying man. After carefully watching the Sister the visitor turned to Mother Teresa and said, “When I came here today I didn’t believe in God, and my heart was full of hate. But now I am leaving here believing in God. I have seen the love of God in action. Through the hands of that Sister, through her tenderness, through her gestures, which were so full of love for that wretched man, I have seen God’s love descend upon him. Now I believe.”Flor McCarthy in ‘New Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies’ May our lives and daily deeds proclaim our faith in God! Fr. Jude Botelho [email protected] PS. The stories, incidents and anecdotes used in the reflections have been collected over the years from books as well as from sources over the net and from e-mails received. Every effort is made to acknowledge authors whenever possible. If you send in stories or illustrations I would be grateful if you could quote the source as well so that they can be acknowledged if used in these reflections. These reflections are also available on my Web site www.NetForLife.net Thank you.
