{"id":2804,"date":"2019-02-17T12:34:21","date_gmt":"2019-02-17T17:34:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/?p=2804"},"modified":"2019-02-17T12:35:25","modified_gmt":"2019-02-17T17:35:25","slug":"6th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c-homily","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.renewaloffaith.org\/blog\/6th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-year-c-homily\/","title":{"rendered":"6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C – Homily"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

6<\/a>th<\/a><\/sup> Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C<\/a>
Jeremiah 17:5-8
Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6 (40:5a)
1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20
Luke 6:17, 20-26
February 17, 2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In today’s gospel we hear Luke’s version of the Beatitudes. They may sound familiar but not quite what we are used to hearing. That is because, like many passages in the gospels, it is told in multiple gospels. In the case of the Beatitudes, Matthew’s version found in the first twelve verses of chapter five of Matthew\u2019s Gospel are the commonly used version of the Beatitudes. (This is the version I used in my recent presentation, Are They Rules or a Way of Life?<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matthew\u2019s Beatitudes include, \u201cBlessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven\u2026Blessed are they who mourn for they will be comforted.<\/em>\u201d are two examples of the eight Beatitudes listed in Matthew\u2019s Gospel.  Matthew\u2019s Beatitudes are one of the more common gospels used for funerals.  We generally hear them once every three years in the Sunday lectionary cycle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Matthew\u2019s version of the Beatitudes is\nthe most common, Luke also provides a list of Beatitudes.  However, Luke does it a little\ndifferently.  Matthew lists eight\nbeatitudes, all expressed in the positive (\u201cblessed are they\u201d).  Luke offers four Beatitudes in the positive\nthat parallel Matthew\u2019s but then Luke does something different.  He offers four woe\u2019s (\u201cwoe to you\u201d).  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This helps emphasize a recurring theme found\nthrough Luke\u2019s Gospel known as \u201cthe reversal of fortune.\u201d  God gives the wealth of the Kingdom of God to\nthe poor while those who have made themselves rich may not receive the riches\nof the Kingdom of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, in reality it is not about how rich\nor poor we are in material wealth that God is looking for.  As Luke sees it, the rich think they are\nself-made people and have done it on their own. \nIn their own eyes, they don\u2019t need God\u2019s or anyone else\u2019s help.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, the poor learn to\nrealize that material things are not the most important.  In \u201chungry\u201d, they turn to God to \u201cbe satisfied.<\/em>\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does this make it bad to be \u201crich\u201d?  Not if the rich realize that they cannot\nreally be satisfied by the earthly riches. \nWe are not created to be \u201crich.\u201d \nWe are created to know God and to be loved by God.  Sometimes, the rich do come to realize that\ntheir wealth is not what is most important. \nThen, they can use their wealth to help others because they no longer\nhoard it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about the poor?  Do all poor people know the love of God in\ntheir lives?  Unfortunately, no.  This can happen because of their lack of\nbasic necessities in life leads them to think that no one cares about them,\nincluding God.  This is why it that for\nthe work of evangelization to be successful, it is necessary to first meet them\nwhere they are at and provide them with the basic necessities of life.  Once they know that someone cares, that someone\nloves them, then we can talk to them about God\u2019s Love for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think our first reading can help us get\nat the just of what Jesus is trying to get at. \nJeremiah is not trying to provide us with a list of beatitudes or woes\nbut he is trying to help us live with the right focus.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we focus on material things or in\nhuman effort, we should look at the verse where Jeremiah writes, \u201cCursed is the one who trusts in human beings,<\/strong> who seeks\nstrength in flesh<\/strong>, whose heart turns away from the Lord.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We should be able to trust in human beings\nand to seek help for one another but not over God.  God is the one who determines what is good or\nevil.  It is the will of God that we\nshould focus on, not what other humans think. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeremiah reminds us that God is the one\nwhere we find \u201csatisfaction\u201d when he writes, \u201cBlessed is the one who trusts<\/strong>\nin the Lord, whose hope is the Lord.<\/em>\u201d \nI want to make a special note that it says, \u201cwhose hope is the Lord<\/strong><\/em>.\u201d  It is the very nature of God that we find\nhope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps one of the most important words in\nthis passage from Jeremiah today is \u201ctrusts<\/em><\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes human beings lead us astray into\nsin.  God will never lead us astray if we\ntruly listen to him<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human beings may promise to do something\nfor us but may not or they may only be interested in doing something for us as\nlong as it is beneficial for them.  God\nreceives no benefit from us.  God helps\nus not for his own benefit but for ours because He loves us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can trust in God because of his perfect\nsacrificial love for us.  When we see\nGod\u2019s love in Jesus on the Cross, we know Jesus is the one where we should\nplace our roots.  God gives us living\nwaters through the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let us heed the words of the psalm, \u201cBlessed the man who follows not the counsel of\nthe wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners<\/em>.\u201d  Instead, let us follow God, mediating \u201con his law day and night<\/em>\u201d to find our\ntrue joy in God whom we are created to know and is the place where we find true\nsatisfaction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

6th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year CJeremiah 17:5-8Psalm 1:1-2, 3, 4, 6 (40:5a)1 Corinthians 15:12, 16-20Luke 6:17, 20-26February 17, 2019 In today’s gospel we hear Luke’s version of the Beatitudes. They may sound familiar but not quite what we are used to hearing. That is because, like many passages in the gospels, it is told …<\/p>\n

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