Homily
Fourth Sunday of Year A: Fr. Michael U. Udoekpo
·
Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13; · Ps 146:6-10;
· 1 Cor 1:26-31
· Matthew 5:1-12a
Beatitudes: Mirror of the Face of Christ!
In the Catechism of the
Catholic Church we are told that the “Beatitudes” of today’s Gospel “depicts the
countenance of Jesus Christ and portrays his charity…." They express the
vocation of the faithful, the glory, the passion and the resurrection of Christ,
the characteristic of a Christian and the rewards that awaits those who
persevere in faith to the end (CCC1717).
In the Beatitudes we learn
how Christ sees those who are poor in Spirit. Are you poor in spirit? In the Beatitudes
we learn about how Christ appreciates those who mourn because of their faith. In
the Beatitudes we learn about how Christ admires those who are humble and meek.
Are you meek and humble in your approach to daily life? In the Beatitudes we learn about how Christ delights
with those who cherish justice and pursues righteousness at all times. Are you
an agent of justice or champion of righteous causes? In the Beatitudes we see
the face of God, the face of Christ as a merciful Christ. Are you merciful to
one another in all circumstances in imitation of God who is merciful and
steadfast in love (Exod 34:6ff).
In the Beatitudes we learn of how Christ
smiles with those who constantly purifies their hearts and thoughts. Do you
strive daily to keep your heart and thought pure? In the Beatitudes we learn
about Christ 's love for peacemakers. Are you an agent of peace especially in our today’s
families, and societies constantly at rifts with one another? In the Beatitudes
we learn that Christ will never abandoned those persecuted for the sake of
righteousness. Are you willing to suffer persecution for the sake of your righteous
acts to your neighbor or nation? In the Beatitudes we mirror Christ’s love for
those who are insulted innocently or for the sake of Christ. Are you willing to
be insulted because you are a follower of Christ and his values?
As simple as these Matthean
Beatitudes may sound as important as they are for daily Christian living and
the greater the joy and rewards that awaits those who practice them in the face
of all forms of anxieties and life challenges?
Take example from what St. Paul
says to the worried, anxious and mixed Corinthian community today (1 Cor 7:26-31). Beatitudes is the
antidotes for various anxieties that virgins, married, celibates, the poor, the
rich, or the unmarried people even outside of the Pauline Corinthian community experience. Nothing should ever separate us from the
love, the joy, and from the hope that Christ promises us in the Beatitudes (Matt
5:1-12a), irrespective of our culture and context.
Similar echo of these
Beatitudes is heard in the prophecy of Zephaniah, the first reading. A
paradoxical hymn of joy and promise of hope and restoration for those in Israel,
who were once in despair, persecuted and denied of their basic freedom and rights. No matter
how long our contemporary sufferings and persecution may be…. Let us trust and strive to live by today’s
Beatitudes promised us by the Lord!
Reflection Question:
1.
Do you see the countenance of Christ in your daily sufferings?2. How can you help members of your faith community to live the Beatitudes or see the face of Christ in the Gospel's Beatitudes?
3. Which is your most favorites of the Eight Beatitudes?
· Ps 146:6-10;
· 1 Cor 1:26-31
· Matthew 5:1-12a
Blessed are
those who seek the Lord!
In today’s scripture the Prophet
Zephaniah, Christ and Paul remind us of the importance of peace, justice,
righteousness, endurance and kindness. They also remind us of the blessings
that awaits the humble and the poor who courageously and steadfastly trust in
the Lord and in his divine promises.
The first reading of today from the prophet
Zephaniah reminds us of prophets like Habakkuk and Jeremiah! Both were asking
“why”, and “where” is God in the face of sufferings, and injustices committed
against the poor and the weak. And why would bad things happen to good people.
Zephaniah was a contemporary of Habakkuk and Jeremiah. Three of them were all
pre-exilic prophets. They were dealing with the religious, socio-economic and
political problems, and tension created by the Chaldeans, otherwise known as
the Babylonian. The Chaldeans plundered the goods of the poor. They burnt the
homes of the less privilege. They mocked and starved the meek and the voiceless.
They lied against them, and denied them justice and basic needs including food,
shelter, clothing income and fair trade and religious freedom.
Anyone can
easily be confused, discouraged and disoriented in the face of such
misfortunes. As a champion and conscience of his people, Zephaniah simply steps
in as God’s messenger with hope for his people. He challenges and speaks
out against the proud and the arrogant Chaldeans and those in Judah who might
have collaborated with them.
Zephaniah
recommends for all parties humility. He recommends, patience, steadfastness and
faith (emunah). He recommends justice (misphat). He recommends
righteousness (tsaddeqah) all found in the LORD who is the source of joy
and peace (shalom) and the sovereign of all creation. For these prophets the
righteous like Abraham are expected to be humble. They are expected to be very
devout to the Torah- the teachings of the Bible. They are peaceful and loving
to their neighbors. They are expected to be seekers and promoters of the common
good, of the less privilege but not always seeking themselves. The righteous
are expected to completely put their trust in the LORD.
In the
New Testament Paul and even Christ constantly appeal and re-relate this message
of Israel’s prophets to the ugly and suffering- events of their time. For
instance, Paul in Roman 1:17 and in Galatians3:11 is heard reminding everyone
that, “the righteous shall live by faith’ (cf. Hab 2:4).
When the
Corinthian community had their problems of arrogance, cheating, corruption,
rivalry and bragging to the detriment of the poor Paul in his usual way reminds
them that God opts for the poor. He prefers the righteous, the lowly, the
remnant and those who persevere in righteousness (1 Cor 1:26-31).
It is these
same prophetic messages of justice, peace, humility and pursuit of
righteousness that Christ boldly repeats to the gathered crowd in today’s
beatitude in Matthew’s Gospel. To many who were in this crowd (the rich, the
poor, the lowly, politicians, spies, oppressors and the oppressed, the
persecuted, and the persecutors, men, women and children” Jesus taught
them: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
God….Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind
of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward
will be great in heaven” (Matt 5:1-12).
Each of us
can identify ourselves in these beatitudes (the poor, meek, those mourning, the
hungry, those who practice mercy, seekers of righteousness, the clean in heart,
the peace makers, the being persecuted, those their endure insult for the sake
of Christ).
Pope Francis
in the Fourth chapter of his Evangelli Gaudium (the Gospel of Joy)
revisits these prophetic ideas of inclusion of the poor and the humble in the
social, economic, and political fabrics of our society. He re-emphasis trust in
God, justice, pursuit for common, proper minimum wage and social dialogue
as a means to true peace.
Wherever we
are in our various continents and cultures or from our various positions
of strengths and weaknesses let us pray that today’s messages of Zephaniah,
Paul and Christ may find a joyful place of peace, justice and righteousness in
our homes and societies.
Reflection Questions1. Do you assist in promoting the Beatitudes in your community?
2. What are the challenges in living the Beatitudes in your faith community?
3. Which is your most favorites of the Beatitudes?
