Author: admin

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Gospel: Luke 6: 20-26

Raising his eyes toward his disciples Jesus said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for the Kingdom of God is yours.
Blessed are you who are now hungry,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who are now weeping,
for you will laugh.
Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.

“Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven.
For their ancestors treated the prophets
in the same way.
But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.
But woe to you who are filled now,
for you will be hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will grieve and weep.
Woe to you when all speak well of you,
for their ancestors treated the false prophets in this way.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Today’s Gospel is considered to be Christ’s first public sermon, commonly known as the Beatitudes. Although it is found in both Matthew and Luke’s Gospel, there is one key difference.

In Matthew’s version, Jesus is said to have preached from a high mountain, giving the impression that he’s anchored somewhere between heaven and earth, preaching “down” to his disciples.

As a result, the listener is forced to turn their ear upward, making the Beatitudes feel like lofty ideals, which we can only aspire to live.

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Luke, however, describes Jesus giving the same sermon “on a level stretch of ground,” while placing the Lord slightly below the disciples feet as he must raise his eyes toward them.

Here the Beatitudes are not seen as lofty ideals delivered on a mountaintop; rather, they serve as the very foundation of Christianity.

“Blessed are you who are poor… who are hungry… who are weeping,” Jesus says. This does not mean that we must be in these stressful conditions, but we are responsible for caring for those who are.

Thus, Luke’s version is directed towards the here and now. 

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When I think of Jesus preaching, where do I imagine him standing, high on a mountaintop or down on the plain? Is religion a mere set of ideals, or the very foundation for how we live our lives?

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In his final sermon, Jesus reinforces the teachings we hear in today’s Gospel with the assurance, “Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters, you do to me.”

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Image credits: (1) Amazon (2) Our Rabbi Jesus (3) Southview Baptist Church

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Gospel: Matthew 25: 31-43

Jesus said to his disciples:
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory,
and all the angels with him,
he will sit upon his glorious throne,
and all the nations will be assembled before him.
And he will separate them one from another,
as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
Then the king will say to those on his right,
‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father.
Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
For I was hungry and you gave me food,
I was thirsty and you gave me drink,
a stranger and you welcomed me,
naked and you clothed me,
ill and you cared for me,
in prison and you visited me.’
Then the righteous will answer him and say,
‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you,
or thirsty and give you drink?
When did we see you a stranger and welcome you,
or naked and clothe you?
When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’
And the king will say to them in reply,
‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did
for one of the least brothers of mine you did for me.'”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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When we consider some of the bigger challenges facing our world, like poverty, hunger, unpredictable weather, and gun violence, it’s easy to throw our hands up and say these problems are almost too big to be solved.

But maybe you’ve heard the African proverb, “When you pray, move your feet.” 

Even if we can only make a splash, a tiny difference in this world, do it.

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Consider the life of Father Peter Claver, a Spanish priest from the 17^th century, whose feast day we celebrate today.

Distraught over the injustice of the slave trade, he moved to Cartagena, Colombia, and vowed to become, “a slave to slaves forever.”

For 33 years, Father Claver woke up every morning and went to the shipping docks, where men, women, and children were being unloaded after harrowing journeys across the Atlantic, then sold into slavery.

While he couldn’t stop this horrific practice, Father Claver courageously welcomed God’s little flock with food and water while preaching the Gospel.

He was a flicker of light – the face of Christ – in what was an otherwise dark and scary time. By the end of his life, Peter baptized over 300,000 people, giving them something to hope for – God’s justice in a new life to come.

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While we may not resolve every challenge facing our world today, Father Claver reminds us that we can make a difference.

Bring a cup of water to the thirsty; a word of love to the lonely; a blanket to the homeless; or the Gospel to someone who’s never heard it.

When you pray, move your feet.

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What’s something small that you can do to bring comfort to another person today?

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Father Peter Claver, pray for us.

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Image credits: (1) Silent Knight (2) Pinterest (3) Sermon Quotes

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Gospel: Matthew 1:18-23

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet:

Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a son,
and they shall name him Emmanuel,

which means “God is with us.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In the longer version of today’s Gospel, Matthew traces the genealogy of Jesus back to Abraham. Studying Christ’s family tree reveals some interesting insights about who God is and how God acts in the world.

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First, Matthew counts back forty-two generations – some 2,000 years – to demonstrate that God acts in history. Jesus did not strut onto the world stage as an unimpressive newcomer; his birth was the fruit of long-awaited anticipation.

And, mysteriously, God did not rely solely upon royalty or saints to prepare his way; there are also a few bad apples, including prostitutes and murderers! 

Perhaps they serve as a reminder that, in spite of leading messy lives, God can use anyone to accomplish his will.

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Secondly, God is a God of inclusion.

Five of the people Matthew includes in Christ’s genealogy are women. Four of them are Gentiles. From the beginning, God relied upon both men and women, Jews and Gentiles, to fulfill his plans.

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Third, God is a God of surprises.

Consider the last person mentioned in Jesus’ genealogy aside from Mary: Joseph. The Gospel tells us that he was a “righteous” man, devoted to God and ethical living. 

Discovering his fiancée was pregnant with a child that wasn’t his was so scandalous that God literally had to send an angel to Joseph in a dream to convince him that Mary was telling the truth.

Yet even then, if Joseph accepted what had happened, he’d have to throw away his orderly, principled understanding of life and embrace a divine mess. Thankfully, he did.

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So, what might the history of Christ’s family tree mean for us?

Just as God relied upon a vast array of characters to prepare the way for his first coming, so he can use anyone to prepare the way for his second.

In the words of John the Baptist, may we, “Make straight his paths.”

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Image credits: (1) Orthodox Christianity (2) Bartolome Esteban Perez Murillo, Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus (3) Church of the Living Word