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Gospel Reading for February 16, 2025 – Luke 6: 17, 20-26
TEMPORARY
Jesus came down with the Twelve and stood on a stretch of level ground with a great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon. And raising his eyes toward his disciples he 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.
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.”
————
These are the “blessed” and the “woes.” Of course, Jesus did not mean that when you are poor because you are lazy, the Kingdom of God is yours. This holds true also for those who are rich. If they keep their honestly-earned riches to themselves or cheat people to enrich themselves, then, “woe” to them. But if they share their riches to those who are poor, why would they not have the Kingdom of God? If your family goes hungry because you spend your earnings on alcohol, gambling, etc., how can you be satisfied? But if you fill yourself with food, yet share the food with the hungry, then “woe” is not for you.
The “Blessed” are consolation for those who suffer because there is nothing they can do except depend on God as they are unable to receive help from others.
All things are TEMPORARY in this world, hence we have to live life knowing it is TEMPORARY. While we can, with what we have and are given, we do our share in building God’s Kingdom on earth. As they say, no one is so poor as to not be able to contribute anything, and no one is so rich as to not need anything from others.
A lot of us think that life is so unfair. We see it all over socmed. This is because we are unable to look past the present. Hope is always waiting in the future. Some of us think it is not worth doing service in Church because despite our efforts, we are criticized, unappreciated, etc.. This is because we are unable to see that Jesus went through that too, but he was victorious in the end!
Lord Jesus, we believe that as long as we follow your ways, we will always be among the “blessed.”
