In today’s Gospel, Luke records Jesus sharing his sermon on the beatitudes as a parallel with Matthew’s account. His sermon is often called, Jesus’ sermon on the plain instead of Matthew’s sermon on the mount. Dr. Brandt Pitre offers an interesting insight in stating that the word plain is used as a translation of the Greek word pedinou that is used in the King James version of the Bible. Also, for us as Americans when we might read or use the word plain, we think of the flat prairies, the plains of the midwest. Pedinou, Dr. Pitre states, is more accurately translated as a flat or level area. So topou pedinou would more accurately be translated as a flat place.
Following this line of thought, Jesus, in his time and place does not encounter the Rocky Mountain high as found in the west, for there are not mountains in his geographical area as much as there is hill country. When Jesus goes to the top of the “mountain” to pray, he is going to the top to the hill and then as he comes down, it may be that he did not come down all the way to the bottom, but most likely to an area that is flat or level, from which would have then been easier to preach and allow his listeners to gather around him.
Dr. Pitre’s proposition is that this may be the same sermon as well as happening in the same place as in Matthew as it is in Luke. The more common interpretation of Biblical scholars regarding the two accounts of the sermons are that Jesus preached this sermon on multiple occasions, with each sharing offering different aspects of his presentation. Though an interesting debate, ultimately, what is most important is the message that Jesus shared with his disciples then and us today who seek to follow him.
With our initial hearing or reading, our response to Jesus’ sermon as recorded by Luke can be jarring. When Jesus says blessed are you who are poor, hungry, weeping, or persecuted. Really? Then even more unsettling, woe to you who are rich, full, laughing, and are praised. These blessings and woes would be really hard to digest for Jews of his time as well. For much of the understanding of the Old Testament was the idea that if you obey God, you will prosper, you will receive the wonders of earthly blessings. If you disobey God, you will be cursed. Have a good read of Deuteronomy 28 as Dr. Pitre invites and you will get the point.
Our first reading from the prophet Jeremiah 17:5-8, may help us to gain some perspective. Jeremiah wrote that, “Cursed is the one who trusts in human beings” and “whose heart turns away from the LORD.” The one who is blessed or happy is “the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is in the LORD.” Jeremiah, like the psalmist in Psalm 1, equates the blessed with the imagery of a tree “planted besides the waters… it fears not the heat when it comes… in the year of drought it shows no distress.”
Dr. Brant Pitre, points out that Jesus uses the same Hebrew word, ashar, as the psalmist, which means happy. Barak means blessed. Jesus offered an echo of Jeremiah as he spoke to his followers and speaks in his words proclaimed today. He is not only turning the Torah upside down in that it is not the rich, the full, the laughing, and the praised but the poor, hungry, weeping, and persecuted who will be blessed, those are the ones who will be happy. It is by trusting in God, not the strength, pleasure, wealth, and fame of the world, that will make us happy. The things of the world God created as good, but when they are disordered and placed before God to seek out satisfaction, they will lead us astray and empty. Worse, by leading us away from the true source of our being, we separate ourselves from our life force and will become like “a barren bush in the desert.”
Looking at one of the blessings and woes with hunger can help us to get a better distinction: “Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied” and “Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.” Jesus is addressing that which truly satisfies and fulfills us as human beings. He is helping us to see what we need to be connected to, God, and what we need to detach from, anything that diverts us away from our relationship with God. If we are thirsty, we need to drink water for our thirst to be quenched. If we want to be happy in this life we need to drink from the spring of eternal life, the Holy Spirit.
Each of us ultimately wants to be blessed, to be happy. If we follow the trail of any thought we entertain, seek to satiate instant gratification, seek the freedom to do what we want when we want and how often we want, this will lead not to fulfillment and meaning in our lives, but instead, like a steady diet of junk food, lead to a disordered and unhealthy life and then we will wonder why we have no joy in our lives. The challenge is to discern and to determine between apparent goods and true goods. What will truly fulfill us not just in the moment, but will satisfy us for the long term, and in Jesus’ presentation, what will satisfy us in this life while at the same time prepare us for eternity.
If we are constantly satisfying our hunger with those foods, activities and expending of our time on seeking apparent goods, we may not be aware that we are filling ourselves with those things that are not truly satisfying, and when we hunger again, we try to keep filling ourselves with more of those same things. Addiction anyone? We can eat a whole bag of potato chips, a half gallon of our favorite ice cream, a whole pizza, and find satisfaction in the moment, be full for the moment, but in constantly filling ourselves with such as these, over time our health will suffer and we will still be hungry for more! “Woe to you who are filled now, for you will be hungry.” What is worse is that by doing so, we cover over the deeper hunger of our soul, which is to love God, ourselves, and our neighbors as our selves.
We can apply this to anything, our entertainment, occupation, how we spend our time, who we spend our time with, and what we do with our time. At some point, we become aware that we are filling ourselves up with that which is not fulfilling, that which will continue to leave us empty, because nothing in the material or finite realm will ultimately satisfy. We have been created for something more, to be in relationship with God and one another properly ordered from our relationship with God.
Jesus came to help us to realize that our truest and deepest hunger is for God. When we properly identify our hunger, then we can properly seek what will satisfy our hunger. Many times we may be thirsty, but go to get something to eat instead. The food does not satisfy because we have discerned poorly that which we truly needed, which was water. We need to resist the temptations of material and finite allurements which may be good in and of themselves, but not so if disorder, and we place them as foundational to our happiness and fulfillment.
Our deepest hunger is for God. We need to trust in Jesus as our Lord, place him first in our lives before anything and everyone else, and make the time to discern each thought entertained, word spoken, decision made, and action taken by seeking the promptings of the Holy Spirit. When we make the time to do so we will be, “like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit” (Jeremiah 17:8).
JoAnn and I spent a few years even before knowing that she was sick, sorting through many of the material items that had been taking up space for years. We were able to let go of many material things, that at one time provided enjoyment, but had just been taking up space. Letting go, emptying, and purging, as well as renouncing spiritually, is a good practice that helps us to be open to see what we are truly hungry for, which is God’s love. When we open our hearts to receive the love of the Holy Spirit, we will be blessed because we can continue to draw from this eternal source of love through the joyful as well as the challenging times.
To be truly happy, may we with the psalmist place our “hope in the Lord.” Let us meditate on God’s “law day and night.” Meaning, read, study, pray, and meditate upon the words of the Bible daily, seek and listen to God’s guidance, regularly participate in Mass, and the sacrament of Reconciliation. Placing God first in our lives, deepening and growing our relationship with him, letting go of disordered attachments to anyone and anything that is not within his will for our lives, will help us to let go of the false promises and apparent goods that will lead us astray. Discerning well with the guidance of the Holy Spirit will help us to truly satisfy the deepest hunger of our souls and we will be blessed, and happy in this life as we prepare for the next.
Photo: Spending a few quiet moments with the Lord, stretching out my roots to experience his eternal living stream of water.
Spiritual Stepping Stones 