Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
‘Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’ By Jesus’ announcement of the Kingdom of Heaven, he has been drawing up a large crowd from Galilee and around the surrounding regions. In this Sermon on the Mount, Jesus explains what it means to live under God’s reign. It shows the fundamental attitudes that his disciples should have in order to have a loving relationship with God the Father, towards Jesus who is Lord, to one another as brothers and sisters, and even to our enemies. We as God’s children are to live differently from others in the world, following a standard that is nothing less than being ‘perfect’, as our Heavenly Father is perfect. As we all know, we are sinful people, and you may think this bar seems too high to reach, but we have to try and keep trying again and again, allowing the Lord to help us and mould us through his love and mercy.
This Sermon on the Mount compels the listener to ask themselves, who is this man? Who is Jesus? With Christ’s radical demands and unique claims of authority, Jesus asserts himself as the key interpreter of the Torah, (which is the Jewish Bible) and is superseding all previous understandings of the Law of Moses. Jesus is making his own teaching the new standard for righteousness, making the claim that he is on the same exalted level as the Lawgiver, God himself. With Jesus making these claims, it is no wonder that the crowds are astonished at his authority.
Jesus teaches on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, a place where I have visited and stayed on pilgrimage. It is a beautiful setting and well worth a visit.
Hills and mountains are often a place of divine revelation. We often hear in the scriptures Jesus walking up the mountain to pray. Also, in the Old Testament we hear Moses going up Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments. So, in this way, when Jesus went up the hillside of the Sea of Galilee, it shows to the Jewish people that he is the New Moses, not to receive the Law this time, but to teach it with loving compassion and zeal.
In the beatitudes Jesus puts a high value on mercy, forgiveness and gentleness. He rejects wealth and the freedom to do as we like, because this gives us the impression that we can manage on our own, without taking God into consideration.
Everything the world values, is absent from what Jesus teaches in the beatitudes. What the world rejects as bad, Jesus counts as a blessing. The beatitudes give us a cause to reflect, since they turn our normal values upside down. Let us ask ourselves, are we guided by the secular society around us or by the moral values of the Gospel, founded on Jesus Christ?
What can we do to share God’s love in the world? As Christians we are called to be a beacon of light for the world, setting an example for others to follow. When we imitate Christ’s love, mercy and charity, the world sees our good deeds and will glorify Our Heavenly Father. Rejoice and be glad then, that we are follows of Christ Jesus, a witness to the Good News, and happy to boast in zeal about God Our Father, and your reward will be great in Heaven.
Rev. Fr Philip Wrigley's Blog 