MONDAY JUNE 10, 2024
MONDAY OF THE TENTH WEEK OF THE ORDINARY TIME B
1 Kings17:1-6
Matthew 5:1-12
JESUS CALLS US TO A BLESSED WAY OF HOLY LIVING
Jesus began his public ministry according to the gospel of today by charting a new method of blessed living for the people. For the Jews, it was a new teaching, radically different from the old teachings. It came with a different authority and impetus. It focuses on the people particularly and makes demand of them. It does not flow directly or take from the Decalogue but came as a set of rules to be followed for a blessed life.
More importantly, it raises the bar of holy living and puts a lot of pressure on adherents. It calls for individual’s reorientation on the way to holiness and takes from them rather than gives to them. It demands from them rather than offers to them.
In these demands, a person who seeks happiness, a blessed life and union with God have tasks to fulfill. First, it charges them to become poor in spirit, that is, depend and rely solely on God for everything, recognizing that no one owes anything or have or assumes to have any powers. But all must rely on divine initiative and powers from God alone. Jesus charges all seeking a blessed life to be meek, gentle in attitude,humble in action, and live mourning since the will of God is to be accomplished on earth not our desires or wants. Therefore, until God’s will is totally accomplished as it is in heaven, we mourn and strive to establish it.
As such, we live to establish God’s will by living out the virtues of holy living. So we must hunger for what is right, live a life of purity, making peace with every one and seeking the peace of humanity with God. In this process, we may experience hurt, deprivations and even persecution but that may not bother us. It is part of the mission and consequences of seeking the blessed life. So the tensions in the world between the good and evil forces at work in the world will always make the person that seeks blessed life to become victim of oppression and crossfire. So the persecution must be expected and lived with.
The teachings on the beatitudes touches on our attitude and relationship with the world, with fellow human and with self. For the world, we are expected to establish the will of God and that may bring tension, persecution and resistance. We must accommodate it willingly and live with it without wavering.
On our relationship with other human beings, we must be resolute to offer same compassion and consolation or encouragement. It must flow from the consolation that we have already received from God. For indeed we have received much from our God; forgiveness, consolation, generosity, and blessings untold. These we must be ready to offer others. And in return, we must give back to others, peace, mercy, forgiveness, generosity and love
And to ourselves, we must try to imbibe the higher virtues by rising to greater and higher holiness of life. The Christian life is a call to holiness of life and a radical change in life values and seeking more of a blessed life more than anything else.
Heavenly Father, in the beatitudes, you called us to a new and higher way of living in Christ. Help us to seek this blessed life, to cherish it and to abandon our old lifestyle and seek higher virtues that God desires for us. Help us to trust our God, to be detached from the worldly encumbrances, to show mercy, to be humble and to live with hope of fulfilling God’s eternal design through Christ our Lord.
Fr Norbert Uchuno
