The Beatitudes
Fourth Sunday A Matthew 5:1-12a Beatitudes 9 AM
A man who was inspired to live the Beatitudes was Dr. Tom Dooley. After graduating from medical school, Tom Dooley enlisted in the Navy. A turning point in his life came on a hot day in July off the coast of Vietnam. That’s when his ship rescued 1,000 refugees who were drifting helplessly in an open boat.
Many of the refugees were sick and diseased. Tom Dooley was the only available doctor on board. He work tirelessly to give medical aid to the refugees.
“Hours later,” he said, “I straightened up to give my shoulders a rest. Then,” he said, “I discovered something else – the biggest discovery of my life – I was really, truly happy treating these poor people.” That experience changed Dr Tom Dooley’s life forever.
We marvel and delight in how Dr. Dooley was inspired by the corporal works of mercy contained in the Beatitudes which you have just heard proclaimed in our gospel story.
At the same time what is paradoxical about the Christian religion is that so many Catholics still use the Ten Commandments as the standard for their spiritual growth as though Jesus never gave them the Beatitudes. The commandments came through Moses in the Old Testament; the Beatitudes came from Jesus in the New Testament.
Our moral living is not rooted exclusively in the Old Testament. Otherwise why did Jesus come into our world?
Yet you examine your conscience. You go through each commandment, but do you ever examine your life, your thoughts, your actions, your relationships against the Beatitudes as glaring as a searchlight in a dark, tumultuous storm?
For example, as long as you don’t do somebody physical harm, you’re in good shape. But what about being meek and humble of heart? For you as a follower of Jesus, it’s not just a matter of not doing physical harm to someone. It’s a matter of treating others with the kind of meekness that truly respects the dignity of each person. Blessed are the meek, Jesus teaches.
Or, for example, it’s one thing not to steal as the commandment forbids. But what about the Beatitude of working for justice? You may not steal but, but if you do not stand up against injustice in our culture, are you truly living the teachings of Jesus?
And what can be said about followers of Jesus who mock those who are intent on working for justice and peace for that matter?
The reason for people being mired in Old Testament morality like being stuck in quicksand is this: In the legalism of former teaching in moral theology, the commandments were mandatory, the Beatitudes were counsels which left the impression that the Beatitudes were optional. The Commandments had to be kept; the beatitudes could be observed.
In recent teaching, however, moral theologians have finally come to the conclusion that there can be no Christian living whatsoever if you do not live the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are also commands given by Jesus. There is nothing optional about the Beatitudes.
The Beatitudes are the standard of your countercultural living.
Fr Michael Crosby in his book, The Beatitudes, says that “you are formed by the Beatitudes and this makes you a person who must have a countercultural impact on society.”
He gives this example: Blessed are the meek translates into non-violent living and the refusal to control others and is therefore countercultural.
If, for example, you took the value of meekness into our culture and let go of any desire to control, the world would consider you a stumbling block to our culture’s value system which praises and honors ruthless ambition and iron-clad control.
Not only is living the Beatitudes countercultural, it is a subversive activity. For example, a life dedicated to simplicity of living subverts our culture’s canonized dog-eat-dog way of getting ahead.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus turns your world upside down. He calls blessed those considered the losers in our culture: the homeless, the hungry, the poor, the displace, the abused, the imprisoned, to name a few.
The Beatitudes demand more of you than not doing wrong as the Commandments demand. The Beatitudes call you to do what is heroic, for example, feeding the hungry, giving shelter and clothing to the homeless.
The Commandments deal with sins of commission; the Beatitudes with sins of omission, the good you could have done and did not do.
HUMOR
Shooting the breeze down at the Veteran’s hospital, a trio of old timers ran out of tales of their own heroic exploits and started bragging about their ancestors. “My great grandfather, at age 13,” one declared proudly, “was a drummer boy at Shiloh.”
“Mine,” boasted another, “went down with Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn.”
“I’m the only soldier in my family,” confessed vet number three, “but if my great grandfather were living today he’d be the most famous man in the world.”
“What’d he do?” his friends wanted to know.
“Nothing much. But he would be a hundred 165 years old.”
The thought I leave with you this morning is this: Live the Beatitudes with heroism.
A man who was inspired to live the Beatitudes was Dr. Tom Dooley. After graduating from medical school, Tom Dooley enlisted in the Navy. A turning point in his life came on a hot day in July off the coast of Vietnam. That’s when his ship rescued 1,000 refugees who were drifting helplessly in an open boat.
Many of the refugees were sick and diseased. Tom Dooley was the only available doctor on board. He work tirelessly to give medical aid to the refugees.
“Hours later,” he said, “I straightened up to give my shoulders a rest. Then,” he said, “I discovered something else – the biggest discovery of my life – I was really, truly happy treating these poor people.” That experience changed Dr Tom Dooley’s life forever.
We marvel and delight in how Dr. Dooley was inspired by the corporal works of mercy contained in the Beatitudes which you have just heard proclaimed in our gospel story.
At the same time what is paradoxical about the Christian religion is that so many Catholics still use the Ten Commandments as the standard for their spiritual growth as though Jesus never gave them the Beatitudes. The commandments came through Moses in the Old Testament; the Beatitudes came from Jesus in the New Testament.
Our moral living is not rooted exclusively in the Old Testament. Otherwise why did Jesus come into our world?
Yet you examine your conscience. You go through each commandment, but do you ever examine your life, your thoughts, your actions, your relationships against the Beatitudes as glaring as a searchlight in a dark, tumultuous storm?
For example, as long as you don’t do somebody physical harm, you’re in good shape. But what about being meek and humble of heart? For you as a follower of Jesus, it’s not just a matter of not doing physical harm to someone. It’s a matter of treating others with the kind of meekness that truly respects the dignity of each person. Blessed are the meek, Jesus teaches.
Or, for example, it’s one thing not to steal as the commandment forbids. But what about the Beatitude of working for justice? You may not steal but, but if you do not stand up against injustice in our culture, are you truly living the teachings of Jesus?
And what can be said about followers of Jesus who mock those who are intent on working for justice and peace for that matter?
The reason for people being mired in Old Testament morality like being stuck in quicksand is this: In the legalism of former teaching in moral theology, the commandments were mandatory, the Beatitudes were counsels which left the impression that the Beatitudes were optional. The Commandments had to be kept; the beatitudes could be observed.
In recent teaching, however, moral theologians have finally come to the conclusion that there can be no Christian living whatsoever if you do not live the Beatitudes. The Beatitudes are also commands given by Jesus. There is nothing optional about the Beatitudes.
The Beatitudes are the standard of your countercultural living.
Fr Michael Crosby in his book, The Beatitudes, says that “you are formed by the Beatitudes and this makes you a person who must have a countercultural impact on society.”
He gives this example: Blessed are the meek translates into non-violent living and the refusal to control others and is therefore countercultural.
If, for example, you took the value of meekness into our culture and let go of any desire to control, the world would consider you a stumbling block to our culture’s value system which praises and honors ruthless ambition and iron-clad control.
Not only is living the Beatitudes countercultural, it is a subversive activity. For example, a life dedicated to simplicity of living subverts our culture’s canonized dog-eat-dog way of getting ahead.
In the Beatitudes, Jesus turns your world upside down. He calls blessed those considered the losers in our culture: the homeless, the hungry, the poor, the displace, the abused, the imprisoned, to name a few.
The Beatitudes demand more of you than not doing wrong as the Commandments demand. The Beatitudes call you to do what is heroic, for example, feeding the hungry, giving shelter and clothing to the homeless.
The Commandments deal with sins of commission; the Beatitudes with sins of omission, the good you could have done and did not do.
HUMOR
Shooting the breeze down at the Veteran’s hospital, a trio of old timers ran out of tales of their own heroic exploits and started bragging about their ancestors. “My great grandfather, at age 13,” one declared proudly, “was a drummer boy at Shiloh.”
“Mine,” boasted another, “went down with Custer at the Battle of Little Big Horn.”
“I’m the only soldier in my family,” confessed vet number three, “but if my great grandfather were living today he’d be the most famous man in the world.”
“What’d he do?” his friends wanted to know.
“Nothing much. But he would be a hundred 165 years old.”
The thought I leave with you this morning is this: Live the Beatitudes with heroism.
posted by The Ronald | 5:11 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home