6th Sunday in Ordinary Time

My dear parishioners,

God is Good!!!  All the time!!!  And all the time!!!  God is Good!!!

This passage places two very different scenes before the people. They have a choice to make. In which scene do they want to be included? The proper choice should be obvious. But that was certainly not the case in Jeremiah’s day. Although he has spent many his years of serving God and speaking the truth, Jeremiah’s audience has consistently acted on falsehoods. The truth is that, as God’s chosen ones, king and people should put God first in their lives. When God’s standards prevail in their lives, the nation will gain the security that the people desperately seek.

Today’s Gospel is taken from the first portion of Luke’s Sermon on the Plain (6:20–49). Both Luke and Matthew had access to similar material, but Matthew shaped his Sermon on the Mount to better fit his Jewish audience while Luke configured his for a mostly gentile audience. Luke always prefers to have Jesus on level ground with the people. Luke also seems to be addressing the concrete economic and social problems his small communities are experiencing.

He stood on level ground. Jesus has just spent the night on a mountain in prayer as he often does before every big event in his ministry. He then calls the disciples who will assist him in his ministry. He comes down from the mountain and gives his Sermon on the Plain. Luke likes to have Jesus surrounded by crowds of people who come from far and wide. He is often depicted as being one with the people he serves.

The beatitudes. The sermon begins with a series of beatitudes with which many Christians are familiar. Commentators often point out that the first beatitude is “Blessed are you who are poor.” Although Matthew has “poor in spirit,” Luke makes it more concrete by addressing people who are economically poor. This is followed by references to the hungry, the weeping, those who are hated and suffer evil on account of the Son of Man. All of the beatitudes are about reversal of fortunes. Diminishment is blessed because of what it leads to: blessing, happiness, and good fortune in the kingdom of God.

The woes. Luke includes a series of woes that clearly address those who seem to be prospering at the present time—but at the expense of the poor and marginalized. For the rich, the satiated, those who are laughing, and those who receive constant praise, the warning reminds them that their luxury is only temporary. In many ways for these people, the current situation is as good as it gets—and it will not last. Their false sense of prosperity will diminish, and they will end up in worse shape than the poor, the oppressed, and the marginalized. There is an edge to Jesus’ sermon because it addresses a topic about which Luke is passionate: God’s care for the poor and the marginalized.

Excerpts from “Sunday Homily Helps”, is used by permission of Franciscan Media. www.FranciscanMedia.org. All rights reserved

 Sincerely in Christ,

Fr. Aloysius