January 29, 2023, (Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year A)
When Jesus traveled around Judah and Galilee he spoke often about “the Law.” This would be the numerous laws given to Moses by God at the time of the Exodus. Many times, it appeared to the Jewish leaders that Jesus was contradicting the law, but this was not the case. Jesus himself said he came not to abolish but to fulfill the law. By this he meant to perfect and complete the law so every nation could exist in a fallen world and be saved by the love of the Lord. We call one of the greatest of these sets of laws the Beatitudes.
In the First Reading for today (Zep. 2:3; 3:12-13) we find the prophet Zephaniah giving a shortened or abbreviated form of these laws. Zephaniah wrote during the time period in Israelite history when the mighty empire of Babylon was defeating many of the smaller nations and taking their people into captivity. Zephaniah foresees from what has happened to the surrounding nations, that Israel is in line to fall to Babylon. He calls this dreaded day “The Day of the Lord,” for it serves as a punishment by God against the Israelites who have repeatedly broken the commandments. He offers instructions for the innocent left behind in Jerusalem who must continue to survive in a fallen and chaotic world.
He calls the innocent survivors who have kept the law the “humble of the earth” and he advises them to seek humility and justice during this time of the Lord’s anger in order to avoid the consequences of the dark day. Zephaniah promises that the Lord will offer refuge to the righteous remnant if they do no wrong nor speak any lies. They must not be deceitful so that no one will disturb them. Then they will not be exiled, and they will be free to live peaceful and prosperous lives in their own nation.
In the Gospel (Mt. 5:1-12a) Jesus also teaches a group of Jews a list of instructions for “The Day of the Lord,” that is the day of judgment, so that they might receive the reward of heaven when that day comes. But it is also a list to live peacefully in the interim. Jesus expands greatly on Zephaniah’s listed qualifications of humility and justice, where he describes a group normally thought to be unfortunate, and instead pronounces them blessed in the Beatitudes.
For the blessing of humility, Jesus uses similar categories such as the poor in spirit, those who mourn, and the meek. The poor in spirit may also be described as those who are lowly and disadvantaged in the world. They will receive the kingdom of heaven. Those who mourn, that is those who have no hope in this broken world, will be comforted. And the meek, those who do not cheat to succeed in the world, will inherit the land.
Jesus also uses more synonyms for those who exhibit justice. They are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the clean of heart, the peacemakers, and those who are persecuted. Those who seek righteousness are those who want justice, truth, and mercy in the world. Jesus promises that they will be satisfied. Those who are merciful, who seek to understand and forgive, will be shown mercy. And the clean of heart who still see beauty in the world and are inclined toward that which is right and good, will personally see God.
The peacemakers are blessed because they seek reconciliation between God and man, and between friends and neighbors. These will be called children of God. Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of righteousness, that is those who will push through some suffering and bare some shame, theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven. And blessed are those who are insulted and persecuted for the sake of God’s name, for they are proclaiming the one Lord of all the universe. They will receive their great reward in heaven.
Here Jesus has taken the attributes of humility and justice found in Zephaniah and broadened and expanded them. He has not abandoned these laws, rather he has fulfilled them while awaiting the Day of the Lord. Just as Jesus has fulfilled these laws, he expects the righteous people in the crowd to do so, even if it may cause them to endure social ostracism for their unusual way of living Judaism.
In these Beatitudes Jesus presents what is for Christians, like ourselves, an authoritative interpretation of the Torah. And even though he calls them blessings, they are actually a difficult way to live. It may not feel like a blessing to mourn, or to be meek or poor. But with these Jesus shows us how being blessed is much different than everything going well for us. In fact, we can be blessed even when everything seems to be going wrong. The Beatitudes are a list of how to survive in a fallen, chaotic world until the day of the Lord, or the day of redemption comes for all Christians who follow Gods laws
