Expand
The Inner Circle
Monday:
Tenth Week of the Year: June 6, 2016
Year
II: 1Kings 17:1-6; Psalm 121:1-8; Matthew
5:1-12
(Daily
Gospels are from Matthew
through week 21).
1Kings
17: 1-6 begins
two weeks of readings about Elijah, the prophet whose image John the Baptizer
modified (Luke 1:17; Matthew 17:12) and whom some people assumed Jesus to be (Matthew
16:14). In this reading he is in hiding for prophesying drought to Ahab, but
the Lord provides for his needs. The Responsorial
Psalm tells us what to focus on: “Our
help is from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Psalm 121). Both
readings teach us to look to God for security and wellbeing, not to anything on
this earth.
Matthew
5: 1-12:
The first teaching of Jesus that Matthew reports was not for the “crowds.” When
Jesus “saw the crowds, he went up the mountain” with a smaller group, his
“disciples.” There could not have been many, because Jesus “sat down” with them.
He taught them a summary of his New Law. Since the “crowd” was not yet ready to
hear it, we should read the “Sermon on the Mount” expecting to be shocked!
Jesus
begins with a series of statements that contradict basic assumptions everyone
takes for granted. He says we should look upon the “poor in spirit” as
“blessed.” These were the “lowly classes, whose spirit was crushed by their
need and by oppression” (John McKenzie, Dictionary
of the Bible).
Let’s
be real! Who believes that?
The
“poor in spirit,” in every age and social condition, are those who are
powerless. Or, by extension, who, because of some recognized inadequacy, deeply
realize they haven’t “got it made.” Is that what we want? Jesus says it opens
us to accept the “kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus
goes further. He says those who “mourn” are blessed. Do we believe that? Jesus
says that if we open our eyes and let ourselves be afflicted by what is wrong
with the world, and frankly face our own sins and sorrows, fears and anxieties,
we will be “comforted” by deeper truth, by promises we can rely on.
Do
we really think that the “blessed” on this earth are those who are avid in the
pursuit of holiness? Is this the ruling priority in most Christians’ lives? In
yours? More important than getting an education that will bring affluence? More
important than being a “success”? Achieving social acceptance? Earning
promotions? Financial security?
Would
Jesus have invited you and me into the circle of his special “disciples” to
tell us the whole truth about his teaching? Or would we have fit in better with
the “crowd”?
Is
Jesus calling us “up the mountain” to learn the challenging truth from him now?
The
question has been answered. By Jesus. He told his apostles, “Go make disciples
of all nations… teaching them to obey
everything that I have commanded
you.” No secrets. We are all called to be his disciples. Everyone is invited to
the banquet table, to the whole meal. The truth is given, available to us in
the Gospel. All we have to do is sit down and eat. And assimilate. Read, think,
discuss and pray.
Then
live it out in prophetic witness and share what you learn in ministry to the
world.
Initiative:
Give God’s life: Read the “Sermon on the Mount” with an open mind, and share
it.
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