Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time

SCRIPTURE Readings

Reflection from The Better Part: A Christ-Centered Resource for Personal Prayer

by John Bartunek, LC (reprinted with permissions from the author)

169. THE WAY TO GO (LK 6:17-26)

 

“The more one contemplates him with sincere and unprejudiced mind, the clearer does it become that there can be nothing more salutary than his law, more divine than his teaching.”

- Pope Leo XIII

Luke 6:17-26

He then came down with them and stopped at a piece of level ground where there was a large gathering of his disciples with a great crowd of people from all parts of Judaea and from Jerusalem and from the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon who had come to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. People tormented by unclean spirits were also cured, and everyone in the crowd was trying to touch him because power came out of him that cured them all. Then fixing his eyes on his disciples he said: ‘How happy are you who are poor: yours is the kingdom of God. Happy you who are hungry now: you shall be satisfied. Happy you who weep now: you shall laugh. Happy are you when people hate you, drive you out, abuse you, denounce your name as criminal, on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice when that day comes and dance for joy, for then your reward will be great in heaven. This was the way their ancestors treated the prophets. ‘But alas for you who are rich: you are having your consolation now. Alas for you who have your fill now: you shall go hungry. Alas for you who laugh now: you shall mourn and weep. Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.’

CHRIST THE LORD We have reached a turning point in the Lord’s career. He has just been up on the mountaintop, where he spent the whole night in prayer. When morning dawned, he gathered his disciples and chose twelve of them to be his intimate coworkers, his apostles. Now, with them, he descends to the crowds below and takes his place on a wide plain, where St Luke locates his first open air sermon, a summary of his new and spiritually revolutionary doctrine.

The picture Luke paints reminds us of Moses, who went up to the top of Mt Sinai to be with God and to receive the divine law, which he then taught to the people of Israel in the plain below; it is a picture of God-given authority, of someone who teaches with power. Luke also gives inklings of the universality, the definitiveness of Christ’s authority: the crowds hail not only from Judea and Jerusalem (the territory of the Jews), but also from Tyre and Sidon (pagan lands and Gentile territories). Christ’s law, unlike Moses’ law, will extend God’s covenant to all people. Finally, Luke provides a detail that turns these “statements” of Jesus into challenges, into commands: “And raising his eyes toward his disciples….” Christ presents his doctrine while looking us right in the eye – this is no mere professor, no theoretician; this is One who comes to conquer, this is the Lord. When we read these familiar words with that in mind, it makes all the difference.

CHRIST THE TEACHER In this context “blessed” means truly happy, filled with lasting joy. In a shocking reversal of ordinary standards, Jesus links true happiness with struggle and hardship, suffering and opposition. Those who set their sights merely on what this world has to offer and pursue it with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength will attain it, but that is all they will attain – and it won’t be enough to satisfy them. Those who are full now will be hungry later; those who make merry now will be sad later; those who are popular now will experience rejection later. In other words, the human spirit was made to find its fulfillment by living in communion with God, and that can only happen if we use created realities in order to bring us closer to God. If, on the other hand, we set our hearts on the gifts of God in and of themselves (all the pleasures of the created world), we will certainly find enjoyment in them, but we will miss the point; our reservoir of happiness will eventually run dry, because we will have cut ourselves off from their source.

This lesson has to be relearned continually. Because of our fallen nature, we always tend to think we can find heaven on earth by putting together just the right combination of possessions, esteem, and power. But since we can’t, as our Lord makes perfectly clear, the mature Christian will always need to avoid the temptation to put his faith and his virtue on cruise control. There is no such amenity in the spiritual life. We are members of the Church militant for as long as we journey here on earth, and that means we need to keep our armor on and our supply lines protected, lest we fall into the enemy’s traps.

CHRIST THE FRIEND In Christ’s coming down from the mountain, looking his disciples in the eye, and telling them the secret to a meaningful and fulfilling life, we are presented with the entire pattern of salvation history in miniature. In becoming man, God descended from heaven to enter into the realities of our daily life. He did this in order to bring the light and grace of heaven into the darkness of a fallen earth. Why did he do it? Only out of love. He longs to look into our eyes, to catch our attention, and to convince us to join him in the adventure of eternal life. Is it not possible that when Jesus “lifted his eyes to his disciples” there was more than fire burning in them, more than determination and authority? Is it not possible that his power and certainty were softened with a rush of tenderness, with the hint of a knowing smile? If so, it was the smile of one who would be our friend – if we’ll accept him.

CHRIST IN MY LIFE I believe in you, Lord, and I believe in all that you teach through your Scriptures and your Church. I have to admit that sometimes your teaching makes me uncomfortable, but because I know that your wisdom is always one and the same as your love, I gladly welcome it. I want to follow your path, and I want to help everyone I can to follow it too. Jesus, I trust in you…

Teach me to put all of the good things of this world in their proper place. Teach me to avoid making any created thing – money, pleasure, praise, success, influence, feelings – into an idol. You alone are the Lord, and you created this world to teach me about you and to give me an arena to exercise love. Thank you, Lord! Blessed be your name throughout the world…

Come again down into my life. Come again into my heart with your grace and into my mind with your truth. Never fail to come to me, never abandon me, Lord; never leave me to walk alone. I have put all my trust in you. I need you to teach me how to love, how to endure, how to understand. Thank you for coming to save me and befriend me; make my heart like yours…

QUESTIONS FOR SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION

1. What struck you most in this passage? What did you notice that you hadn’t noticed before?

2. How could we translate these lessons of Christ (the Beatitudes) into language that would apply to our specific situation? In other words, if he were to explain the Beatitudes to us right here and now, applying their principles to our lives, what would he say?

3. Where does popular culture encourage us to look for happiness? How does that compare with where Christ tells us to look for it?

4. If someone in your life-situation were 100 percent committed to Christ’s plan of life, how would their weekly schedule differ from the average, non-believer’s weekly schedule in the same life-situation?

Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1716-1729 on the Beatitudes and the secret to Christian happiness