Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Catechism Links [1]
 
CCC 459, 520-521: Jesus a model of the beatitudes for followers
CCC 1716-1724: Call to beatitude
CCC 64, 716: The poor and humble remnant bear hope of Messiah

“Sermon on the Mount”
by Pietro Annigoni, 1953

 
Readings for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time [2]
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Zephaniah 2:3; 3:12-13
 
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth,
who have observed his law;
seek justice, seek humility;
perhaps you may be sheltered
on the day of the Lord’s anger.
 
But I will leave as a remnant in your midst
a people humble and lowly,
who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord:
the remnant of Israel.
They shall do no wrong
and speak no lies;
nor shall there be found in their mouths
a deceitful tongue;
they shall pasture and couch their flocks
with none to disturb them.
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Commentary on Zep 2:3; 3:12-13
 
In this selection the prophet Zephaniah sends a caution to Jerusalem similar to Amos 1-2 and Isaiah 1:21-26. The leadership must renounce pride and return in humility to the Lord. In this way they will avoid God’s anger (an anger that nearly destroyed Nineveh and is described as bringing down destruction on any groups who have assaulted God's chosen people). 
 
Moving forward to the next chapter, the focus is changed from a warning to the promise of salvation. The righteous “remnant” (of the house of Judah, v 2:7) who trust in God are given peace and prosperity as a reward for their humility and obedience to the Lord.
 
CCC: Zep 2:3 64, 711, 716
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
 
R. (Mt 5:3) Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The Lord keeps faith forever,
secures justice for the oppressed,
gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets captives free.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The Lord gives sight to the blind;
the Lord raises up those who were bowed down.
The Lord loves the just;
the Lord protects strangers.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
or:
R. Alleluia.
 
The fatherless and the widow the Lord sustains,
but the way of the wicked he thwarts.
The Lord shall reign forever;
your God, O Zion, through all generations. Alleluia.
R. Blessed the poor in spirit; the kingdom of heaven is theirs!
or:
R. Alleluia.
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Commentary on Ps 146:6-7, 8-9, 9-10
 
Psalm 146 is from the wisdom tradition. Here we are given a vision of God’s salvation. His saving power (envisioned in the oracle of Isaiah and fulfilled in Jesus the Christ) lifts up the poor and the downtrodden. The Lord heals those afflicted with every sort of malady.
 
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Reading: II 1 Corinthians 1:26-31
 
Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters.
Not many of you were wise by human standards,
not many were powerful,
not many were of noble birth.
Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise,
and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong,
and God chose the lowly and despised of the world,
those who count for nothing,
to reduce to nothing those who are something,
so that no human being might boast before God.
It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus,
who became for us wisdom from God,
as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption,
so that, as it is written,
“Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord.”
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Commentary on 1 Cor 1:26-31
 
St. Paul continues his attack on “worldly wisdom” by reminding the members of the church at Corinth that the community is comprised of all strata of society. He points out that all are called to the same Lord, and that the wisdom that is Jesus (“who became for us wisdom from God”) makes them righteous, sanctified, and redeemed in him. It is for this reason that the only boast a Christian should make is in God. The evangelist does so, paraphrasing Jeremiah 9:23.
 
CCC: 1 Cor 1:27 489; 1 Cor 1:30 2813
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Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a
 
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.”
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Commentary on Mt 5:1-12a
 
This section of the Sermon on the Mount begins the first of five great discourses in St. Matthew’s Gospel. He begins using a formula common in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament with “Blessed are the poor in spirit.”(Job 5:17; Proverbs 3:13; Sirach 25:8-9) This designation identifies those without material resources, completely dependent upon God. (This distinction is for the devout poor.) The discourse continues, blessing those who mourn, who are meek, who “hunger” for righteousness (to adopt the Lord’s law of love in their hearts), the merciful, the clean of heart (those who are reconciled to God), the peacemakers, the persecuted, and finally those who will be reviled because they profess faith in Christ.
 
The litany of praises for those to be blessed by the Lord has an overarching theme. It holds up the spiritual strength of complete dependence on God for life, health, and prosperity. St. Matthew captures the strength in that dependence, and God’s promise of salvation through the words of the Savior.
 
It is noteworthy that the word “blessed” [μακάριοι (makάrios) in Greek and beati in Latin] is translated “happy” in many Old Testament texts.  The idea of happiness or peace as a blessing from God is an important understanding about the intent of this discourse.
 
CCC: Mt 5:1 581; Mt 5:3-12 1716; Mt 5:3 544, 2546; Mt 5-7 2763; Mt 5-6 764; Mt 5:8 1720, 2518; Mt 5:9 2305, 2330; Mt 5:11-12 520
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Reflection:
 
It is said that in ancient times the King of Babylon called his seers and wise men together and asked them to provide him with a statement he could make that would be true at all times, and for any occasion.  After great deliberation they presented him with the phrase: “This too shall pass.”
 
It is a fatalistic statement but meets the test of truth.  All things eventually pass – except the love and mercy of God.  God alone is the exception to that temporal and human truth.  In the physical world and among mortal men the statement is accurate.  All physical and experiential realities change over time.  But at the metaphysical level, God is omnipresent and unchanging.  Only our perception of his intent for us and love for us may change.
 
It is this distinction the Lord makes in the words of the Sermon on the Mount, recorded by St. Matthew.  When he calls out: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven,” he offers hope for the hopeless.  He reminds them that while their condition of poverty, physical, emotional, or spiritual, may seem a desolate state; God’s mercy will always offer a path to peace in God’s Kingdom.  When he says “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted,” he tells those worn down by humanly inconsolable grief that God’s consolation is there to support them.
 
Throughout the Beatitudes the Lord offers the ever-present mercy of God. For it is Jesus’ presence among us that confirms the promise that, with faith, all of God’s mercy abounds.  There is no situation so difficult or so depressing that consolation is not offered by turning to God in faith. In the Lord, there is always hope and redemption.
 
Had they known of the One True God, the seers of that ancient Babylonian king would not have given their liege lord the statement they did.  Instead they would have told him “God loves us and his mercy has no bounds.”  Here at last is a statement that is true for all time and on all occasions.
 
Pax
 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, Published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture today is “Sermon on the Mount” by Pietro Annigoni, 1953.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible with the exception of the Psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL).  This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.