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Gospel: Matthew 5: 1-12
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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.”
The Gospel of the Lord.
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We live in a world saturated by social media. People can share their opinion instantly, regardless of whether or not that’s a good idea. One popular platform is X, formerly known as Twitter. Twitter allows you to post whatever is on your mind in 160 characters or less.
Here is one example.
Congratulations to the astronauts who left earth today. Good choice.
One could write a book about the meaning of that statement – and that is the genius of Twitter and its users, distilling common human experience into pithy tweets.
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In today’s Gospel, Jesus delivers his first public sermon, commonly referred to as the Beatitudes. He distills God’s vision for humanity into nine simple sentences or, we might say, “tweets.” While much could be said about each of them, I’ll focus on two.
First, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
To be “poor in spirit” means, “to know your need for God.” These are the ones who understand the fragility of human life, who see through the emptiness of wealth and power, who seek their comfort and lasting security in God.
Of all the Saints, who has demonstrated what it means to be “poor in spirit” better than Francis of Assisi?
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Francis was born into a wealthy Italian family in the 12th century. But he renounced his family fortune literally to the point of stripping himself bare before his bishop in the public square as a sign of his desire to offer himself completely to God.
He then spent the rest of his life rebuilding the Church. On his deathbed, Francis said to the first Franciscans, “My brothers, I have done what was mine to do. Now you must do what is yours to do.”
Most people in this world are not called to live such an extreme form of poverty voluntarily. But, like Francis, part of what is “ours” to do is to be poor in spirit, to discover our need for God.
I think of a father of three young children, who gets up early every morning to pray before there’s a stir in the house. He studies the Word of God, then shares it with teenagers as a Catholic high school teacher.
He is not physically poor the way Francis was. But he is doing what is his to do, which involves learning how to be in the world, but not of it.
That’s where most of us find ourselves.
We love God. But we’re not Francis of Assisi. We haven’t renounced all of our possessions. We’re ordinary moms, dads, teachers, and workers in the vineyard who are trying to be spiritually poor, while living in a secular world.
Striking that balance is never easy. But “blessed” are those who do.
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The second beatitude can seem a bit more ambiguous. “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the land.”
What is this “land” Jesus is referring to?
We might think of a piece of ground, even national territory. As important as that may be, God’s promise is greater. In the bible, the primary use of “land” is to create space for people to worship.
That was what made Israel God’s people – their ability to worship him.
Yet several times in the Old Testament, God takes back his land when people turn against him. Just six chapters into the Book of Genesis, God covers the earth in a flood, saving only Noah and his family, because humanity had fallen into wicked ways.
As it is written, “The LORD regretted making human beings on earth, and his heart was grieved.”
History repeats itself in the Book of Exodus. Israel turns away from God by worshiping false idols. The Lord warns them through the prophets to repent, but they do not amend their ways.
Eventually, their land is invaded and their Temple is destroyed as they are sent into exile. God promises to return his people to their land, so that they may worship him again, but Jesus extends this invitation to all nations in today’s Gospel.
Every person is called to worship God, not only on a strip of land or in this church, but also in our homes, in the world, wherever we speak, stand, or lay our head.
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Like Francis of Assisi, may we do what is ours to do – come to know, love, and serve the Lord all the days of our lives.
Blessed will we be.
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Image credits: (1) Jackson Community Church (2) The Word Proclaimed Institute (3) Sermon on the Mount, Carl Bloch