Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
St Mary's Cathedral
Zeph 2:3, 3:12-13; 1 Cor 26-31; Mt 5:1-12
+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
3 Feb 2002
I once wrote an article in a pious magazine on what needed to be included in the school religious education curriculum. Among the essentials I listed the creed, the commandments and the sacraments. One family of friends, especially the children, read the article and rebuked me because I had omitted the beatitudes from my list! They were right.
In today's gospel we have Our Lord's sermon or great sermon on the mount. In another gospel (Luke's) it is called the sermon on the plain. In the translation of the word "beatitudes" it is interesting that the word "happy" was rejected in favour of the word "blessed." It is difficult enough to make sense of what Our Lord is teaching by using the word "blessed." This is almost impossible to if you substitute "happy". The Greek word "makqrios" is better translated as blessed.
Jesus was a great teacher; the greatest in history, if we judge from his influence! He was often provocative, what in Australia we might call (with no disrespect) a stirrer. He was able to catch people's attention so that they started to think and puzzle over what is taught.
The Beatitudes are a disconcerting mix of qualities, each bringing a different reward. We might divide them into three groups:
a. personal qualities; such as poor in spirit, gentle, merciful, pure in heart;
b. those who want justice (what is right) and those who are peace makers;
c. and a third group of those who mourn, and those who are persecuted, abused or calumniated for doing or saying the right things, for speaking up for Christ.
The rewards are various, some belonging ultimately to the next life, although Our Lord believed the Kingdom of God began in the here and now of this life.
One in particular deserves a passing reference; "the pure of heart will see God". In a world like ours when people are relentlessly pursued by pornography, told promiscuity is the norm and urged to buy, in order to be happy, it is not too surprising that the number of unbelievers has increased five or six times in 40 years.
What was Our Lord trying to tell us? He was not talking just to his special followers, to the apostles, but has something for all of us.
Many of qualities belong to a person who is humble (the same sort of person praised in the Old Testament reading from Zephaniah). The humble person is not fishing for compliments. Humility was not a virtue for classical Greeks, being the opposite of pride which they valued. Humility is about being honest, especially honest with your self. It is the work of a lifetime and means admitting our need for God and our own weakness, rather than believing that we owe nothing to anyone and are self-made!
Like much of the New Testament (and Matthew especially), the Beatitudes are quite clear about reward and punishment. Some feel uncomfortable with this. The German philosopher Emmanuel Kant preferred to teach that "Virtue is its own reward!" But Christ's teaching does have advantages for us, in this life and certainly in next, far beyond anything we deserve.
The attitude to suffering spelt out in the Beatitudes is very different from that of the secular world. Suffering need not be meaningless and can be turned to good. This is the central truth of Christianity, otherwise the crucifixion is meaningless. God loves sufferers in a special way!
The Beatitudes offer both ideals which are difficult and occasionally impossible for us live up to, and values that are important in God's world. Different groups have different values. A small example is the way some people are bored to tears by talk about sport, whereas I love it. A more important example is that very rich people occasionally have no time for Christian values.
The Beatitudes are the values of heaven. They are clearly not the values of the secular world, or what we might consider to be common sense. Those whom today's world often consider losers are shown to be much closer to God's heart than those who consider themselves winners.
How does our personal list of priorities compare with Jesus' list? We should use the Beatitudes as a checklist for ourselves personally, not for others.
Are we peacemakers or trouble makers? Does trouble follow us regularly? and do we always think it is someone else's fault?
Are we merciful of unforgiving? Are we gentle or hard and tough when we should be kind? Are we pure in heart or often trapped in lust? Are we humble in spirit, not much interested possessions or are we hungry about money and possessions or even putting them before our family?
Do we want justice for all or do we refuse to think about the battlers because we are pretty comfortable? Do we look for God in our sorrow or are we too easily tempted to bitterness; to a chip on the shoulder? Do we believe the persecuted will have things made right for them? Or have we become cynical? (I remember speaking to a Cambodian official a little while after the fall of Pol Pot, who said "This world is not for the weak" and laughed long and bitterly at Christian promises).
I am sure that no one scores 100 per cent regularly, much less all the time, but to the extent that we can answer in the way Christ wants, we do achieve a real freedom. We often forget this. A greedy person, a promiscuous person, a liar, a vengeful person – none of these are free; they are imprisoned, they are slaves. They are not happy.
Christ's teaching will set us free. More people would continue to practise their religion, more people would become Catholics if we truly realized this. Christ is the liberator. The truth will set us free and the Beatitudes are a big part of the truth.
And there is no doubt that if more people follow Christ's teaching, it will make Australia a better and happier place.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
