Sixth Sunday  Feb 11^th, 2007

Jeremiah 17: 5-8  Psalm: 1   1. Cor. 15:12,16-20  Luke 6:17,20-26

Theme: Blessed are you..

1.  A group was having a discussion whether there was intelligent life on other planets, besides our Planet Earth. One woman said, if there is other intelligent life, they must be cleverer than we are. Why would anyone wan to come to this earth? We have such beauty: the shores of Newfoundland, the awesome Rockies, the wonders of Vancouver Island, the splendours of our great lakes. And yet man is trying to destroy himself and destroy the beauty of nature with land mines, surface to air missiles, stealth bombers, nuclear bombs. We have been given the gift of nature and we try to blow everything to pieces.

 This is exactly what Jeremiah is trying to convey to us in our first reading, even though he wrote it two and half thousand years ago. 

  Cursed and Pitiful is man when he trusts in his own power, strength and weapons.

 Blessed are the persons who put their faith, hope and trust in God.

Jeremiah is introduced to us as a first reading to set up a backdrop for our Gospel of the Beatitudes, the Blessings that Jesus is going to pronounce. There is such a contrast in what the world considers Blessed and what Jesus proclaims as blessed in the Kingdom of God.

2. The world considers you Blessed if you are rich and famous,

if you live in a wealthy neighbourhood

if your face is seen regularly on TV

if you drive an expensive car

if you have the latest electronic gadget from Blackberry to Ipods

And there is nothing wrong in this as long as you possess these, and they do not possess you. Unfortunately, many of us who own these things make them into gods and we have not time for God with a capital “g”. We have no time for God who gave us the talent, the opportunity and drive to make these things possible. So Jesus will say WOE TO YOU. You have had your fill, your merriment, your laughter and you have not been able to look beyond these possessions.

3. So what about those who are strong, wealthy, smiling, and eat a good meal every day. Do they have to be weak, poor, weep and go hungry in order to be Blessed? No but with all these material blessings and prosperity, one can still be gentle and generous, cheerful and giving in order to attain the Beatitudes that Jesus proclaims. We know many who were and many who today fulfil that description.

4. Obviously there is not time to comment on all the Beatitudes. I gave an eight day retreat once, based on the Beatitudes and even a day per Beatitude was not sufficient. However, I thought the very first beatitude: BLESSED ARE THE POOR is worth some reflection.

 For the Jewish people: being poor was a punishment. It was a curse, not a blessing. Being RICH was a blessing. It was a reward for keeping the commandments, for being upright and hard working. Some of the editors who copied the texts, thought this was mistake and added the words: Blessed are the poor in Spirit. But Jesus actually said: Blessed are the poor. Jesus was not blessing poverty. Poverty must be made history. Poverty forces people to live sub human lives.

But there is another dimension of Poverty, which most of us have experienced at one time or another.

 Having no money means we have no power

 Having no power, our voice is not heard, we are pushed around, we are taken for granted, we are told to come back on another day, sometimes sexual favours are demanded for getting a job, a promotion.

 if we break the law, often due to a lack of knowledge, we get thrown in jail. Meanwhile those with money, riches, power and hence friends in high places: often get a slap on the wrist and house arrest, even for serious crimes.

People in this type of poverty: no power, no voice, no recourse to justice - often fall back on God, who is the One that has the true power, and can dish out justice. They place their trust in God. Jeremiah bless them in the first reading, and Jesus declares: Blessed are the Poor, - for yours is the Kingdom of Heaven.

5. Today we celebrate the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes. It is designated as the World Day for praying for the sick and disabled. And so it is a day for you suffering in hospitals and in sick beds, it is for those in Seniors and Nursing homes. It is for those suffering from Cancer and Alzheimer, those suffering from Parkinson and Arthritis and other crippling sicknesses.

 Isn’t it wonderful that the readings for today which contain the Beatitudes coincides with the World Day Praying for the Sick. It becomes doubly significant that Jesus would call you Blessed because you mourn, because you weep, because you are excluded at times and even forgotten.