6TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME C
WANT VS. TRUST
LK 6:17, 20-26
MESSAGE
The Lord Jesus starts the greatest sermon ever preached, the Beatitudes, with a blessing on the poor. In fact all the people the Lord mentions belong to the category of the poor – the hungry, weeping, hated or persecuted. But it remains a great puzzle to us. Why does the Lord call the poor blessed?
There are two meanings of poverty: first, there is poverty in material things – destitution, neediness, deprivation. This is not the situation the Lord calls blessed. Does God want beggars in our streets, war refugees in camps, hapless victims in society, or disadvantaged people? No! Jesus sided with miserable people because he wants to end their suffering, not to glorify it. For Christians to ignore those in want around them is to ignore the presence of Jesus in their midst.
Second, there is a poverty of simplicity – having only what one needs. This is the poverty the Lord called blessed because those who are simple trust that the Lord will provide for today, will prepare for tomorrow, and will reward them in eternity. They are not lazy or indifferent or negligent. They work hard and do their best but they are also full of faith and trust, not in their power nor in their possessions, but in the Lord. They are detached from material things because they know property or money cannot buy true joy. Worldly wealth cannot bring about true peace.
While the Lord wants us to help those who are poor in material things, he also wants us to develop a simple heart, a simple lifestyle, a simple disposition of trust – the poverty that is called blessed. We must learn to live in such a way that others may also live. We must desire to be a blessing to others, following the example of Jesus.
REFLECT
Do I have the desire to have only what I need? To have only enough for myself and my loved ones? To help those who have less in life and those who are within my capacity to help? Or am I attached, controlled and dependent on how much money I have and how many things I possess?
