Today’s gospel gives us the famous beatitudes; those eight bite-sized instructions for how to live a blessed life. I love the opening detail in today’s story, “When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up to the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them…” Even Jesus needed a retreat from it all. I find it lovely that he chose to share these ways of living from the mountaintop with those followers that were closest to him. I have shared many an encounter with Christ on a holy mountain with my closest friends and it is in that very environment that I find my heart particularly open to receive. It seems that Jesus also chooses to go to the mountain for these kinds of important revelations. So let’s ascend the mountain together this morning and listen to our Beloved Lord’s plan for our lives…
- Be poor in spirit. God has a soft heart for those that keep it simple and he says that spiritual simplicity will get us everything.
- Be sorry (mourn). This virtue is the opposite of shame and it allows us to recognize our sin and shortcomings with humility and sorrow, and to remorsefully apologize for the things we have done that hurt. God sees this as a way of being that will draw comfort to us in our dark times.
- Be meek. God loves when we exercise our strength by pulling back when necessary and in allowing His power to prevail in our lives rather that our own pride.
- Be hungry and thirsty for what is right. God wants us to live well and to have an appetite for the good things that He has created. Only when we feast on the good and the right will we ever be truly satiated.
- Be merciful and you will be shown mercy. The name of God is mercy and the face of mercy is Jesus. When we live the name of God we will receive the face of God.
- Be clean in your heart. There are so many things that can stain our hearts, but grace and reconciliation are the best ways to keep it clean. When our heart is clouded, our eyes can’t see God right in front of us.
- Be peacemakers. I could be real trite and say, “make love not war”, but I will focus on, “for they will be called children of God,” part. They will know we belong to God or that God’s DNA is in us if we make peace with others and if we promote peace among all that are fighting or in chaos. Peace is God’s presence in the world.
- Be convicted for the sake of righteousness even if you are oppressed and judged because of it. God wants us to live for the best always.
- Be strong when people insult you, hurt you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely because of your relationship with God. I think we can all relate to being hurt by others, being misunderstood, and having evil things said about us, but rest in the good news that God has a treasure waiting for us in Heaven if we endure these things with love.
God wants us to be blessed, anointed, happy, and at peace. These simple and beautiful ways to be are the guideposts to a blessed life. Jesus is our life coach today and I hope that we all take a moment to ponder our personal assessment in each of these eight blessings. I know for me, every time I sit down with the beatitudes, a different one resonates and captures me. Which one is that for you today? Which one do you really own? Which one do you really need to increase? It is no mistake that these instructions are given to us on the Solemnity of All Saints. Truly, friends, these are the crux of living a life in Christ and if we let these be our authentic ideal, then we will be the change we want to see in the world, and counted among the saints. Christ is counting on us, and it is well with my soul.
Reading 1 RV 7:2-4, 9-14
I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.
After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb."
All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:
"Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen."
Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows."
He said to me,
"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,
one hundred and forty-four thousand marked
from every tribe of the children of Israel.
After this I had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb."
All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed:
"Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen."
Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows."
He said to me,
"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."
Responsorial Psalm PS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Reading 2 1 JN 3:1-3
Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that it did not know him.
Beloved, we are God's children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.
We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure.
Alleluia MT 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel MT 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."
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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