By Fr. Glenn Jones:
Oh, do we not love to focus on the positive of things? We love immediate gratification; after all, planning ahead and/or looking at inevitable consequences is sooooo not fun. And even Jesus said a kind of version of the same thing, didn’t He?! “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.” (Matthew 6:34) Carpe diem!!
That’s the danger of taking scripture piecemeal—like Satan did in his tempting of Jesus, by the way—rather than looking at it as a whole. For just before the verse above, Jesus assured: “… seek FIRST [God’s] kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well.”
In the Catholic Mass for February 16 this year, we hear Jesus expounding on the Beatitudes, but in Luke’s version in which He speaks of them as a double-sided coin. As we humans tend to want only to have our ears tickled, especially in the religious arena, we often gravitate to those who please us more than truth-tellers who challenge—or even chastise—us. In our day it’s so easy on social media: follow those you like, block those you don’t … and before long you’re in your self-crafted echo chamber.
But the faithful—indeed, any person longing for goodness and righteousness—must be wary, for self-absorption and exclusive self-interest are always lurking at the door of our hearts, awaiting an entry. Paul warned even long ago: “… the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.” (2 Timothy 4:3).
In Luke’s version of the Beatitudes (chapter 6), Jesus gives much the same teaching as He does in Matthew’s version (chapter 5): blessed are the poor, the hungry, those hated for their faith. But he also warns: Woe to the rich, those who are full, those who are spoken well of. Well, one can imagine the kind of mixed reception Jesus had. After all, few of us want to be poor or hungry, to weep or be hated. Don’t we seek the opposite? To be rich and full, rejoicing and loved?
We don’t hear this—Luke’s—version of the Beatitudes very often, probably because few want to hear the negative of self-absorption … of myopic self-interest at the expense of others. But Jesus isn’t asking us to go out and be miserable; He’s asking us to reflect on the deeper meanings of God’s law/instruction and how it relates to us. After all, the commandments and teachings in the scriptures are not just rote rules to follow, but a call to a change of heart. Jesus is calling us to move beyond mere external observance and to cultivate an attitude in tune with God’s love and mercy. No, it’s not that we have to be miserable, but rather to not ignore the misery of others.
Jesus is saying that: Woe to us if we are full, but ignore the hunger of others. Woe to us if we ignore the sorrow of those who are in pain—physical or spiritual—and just go about our lives ignoring them. Woe to us if we have great abundance but ignore the poverty of others. Woe to us if we seek to be loved by the world by doing that which God rejects.
Jesus is pointing out the spiritual danger of relying too much on earthly things … focusing on things that we inevitably lose in any event. When we focus too much on material wealth or status in this world, we risk neglecting the things that truly matter—God’s love, compassion, and justice … kindness, family love, charity. We need remember that our true security—our only true and lasting security—is in God’s kingdom, not in the petty little kingdoms we tend to make for ourselves here on earth.
So, what happens when we do such … when we help others…care for others … are there for their support and assist? Not only are we more blessed in the spirit, but even in our lives here and now. After all, who among us has not needed to lean upon someone at some point in their lives—whether it be with material resources, support in mourning a loved one, help in times of illness, etc.
As an example, I’ve known my oldest brother literally my entire life. But the memory that comes most to mind when I think of him these days is when he came to help me when I had an operation a couple of years ago. He had things to do. He has a wife he had to leave for days. But he did it nonetheless, and I remain quite grateful for it.
We also read at Mass the prophet Jeremiah (17:5-8) speaking of two kinds of people: those who trust in the fleeting things of this world, and those who place their trust in God—the latter being like trees planted by water—secure, nourished, and fruitful even in times of drought. Jeremiah reminds us that true happiness and security come from putting our faith in God, not in human systems, wealth, or power. Because regardless of trials in this life, God’s faithful have already won.
Even when we have to suffer in this life—like some of the greatest of saints—this message speaks directly to the internal attitude we should have in our lives: trusting in God’s plan rather than relying on ourselves. Because it’s not worldly wealth or endless selfish material pleasures that is the hope of we Christians, but rather (as Paul reminded us at Mass today) the resurrection of Christ as the cornerstone of our eternal hope, assuring us that the trials and sufferings of this world are not the end, but simply rocks and potholes on the path toward our desired end, which is eternal life with God.
So, when we make God the center of our lives, we are like the cottonwoods that grow by the rivers here in New Mexico—rooted, strong and alive in His grace—living the Beatitudes not as a litany of theoretical pious ideals, but rather as our way—the best way—of human existence.
Editor’s note: Rev. Glenn Jones is the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and former pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church in Los Alamos.
