A homily for the Fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time, January 29, 2023
Zep 2:3; 3:12-13, 1 Cor 1:26-31, Mt 5:1-12a
After 9/11, the phrase was everywhere. On bumper stickers and license plates. On flags and posters. On lapel pins and T-shirts. Spray-painted as graffiti.
United We Stand.
United.
We.
Stand.
Only we didn’t. We don’t.
Maybe we all went to the mall — remember those? — so our consumer spending would show those who hate us for our freedom that we did indeed have the freedom to buy cheap items made in overseas sweatshops.
Sweatshops in places where people supposedly hate us for our freedom.
But that wasn’t — isn’t — unity.
That wasn’t charity.
That wasn’t respect for all of humankind.
There’s a long litany of what that wasn’t.
A litany like the Beatitudes.
The beautiful, grace-filled Beatitudes.
When we listen again to the Beatitudes this weekend — when we listen to the Beatitudes every day of our lives, as we should — we hear one common grammatical element.
They’re plural.
Blessed are…
Blessed are they…
[Jesus] began to teach them…
Peacemakers…
Plural. Several. Many, but united to do God’s work on Earth. United in a common goal, to bring about the Kingdom of God.
That’s standing united.
All our lives, we’ve been told there’s strength in numbers, that solidarity brings success, that we shall not be, we shall not be moved.
And yet we all too often hesitate or refuse to ask for help, help from our neighbors and family and friends, help from absolute strangers, help from our loving God.
We somehow bask in the notion that we can do it ourselves, by ourselves.
Maybe that works for changing a tire (as long as there are no locking nuts on the wheels), but not for achieving world peace and harmony.
God’s True Peace can be achieved only by a massive group effort. A union of all hearts and minds focused on the Law of Love.
As often as we’ve heard them — and we can never hear them enough — the Beatitudes are both singular challenges and an overall master plan. In a world full of carrot-and-stick propositions, the Beatitudes promise us only carrots — rewards — if we work toward each goal, and then they promise us an overall home in God’s Kingdom if we succeed in all of the challenges.
Kind of like leveling up in a video game (but with much greater significance).
Now, each of us can act and work in ways Jesus urges us in each of the items.
Each of us can take our place in line, figurative or literal, and not demand more than our fair share of earthly goods or a cashier’s time. The meek don’t cut in line or take a handful when the bowl of treats suggests “Please take one.” Meekness isn’t wimpiness.
Each of us can be poor in spirit, differentiating between needs and wants, and avoiding excess spending on silly stuff. Poor in spirit doesn’t fall prey to the latest three-week fashion trend.
As Jesus’s list goes on, we can see ourselves as members of the various “they” he describes. We can see how our individual efforts add to the momentum Jesus was crucified and rose to create. And we should be able to consider how our unique gifts and talents can contribute.
Mourner or comforter. Advocate for the oppressed.
Man standing in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square.
Oh, wait.
Can we really see ourselves taking such a courageous individual stand?
It’s OK if the answer is no. Not all of us are called or equipped to do so.
That’s why Jesus uses the plural.
That’s why our loving God expects us to link arms, hold hands, and stand shoulder to shoulder as sisters and brothers to preserve this fragile planet in peace as the earthly province of God’s Kingdom.
Blessed are they.
Blessed are we.
