Just a word...Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time...February 13, 2022
If you have ever wondered where the Catholic principle of a “preferential option for the poor” originates, one needs only listen to our Gospel this week. Luke speaks about how blessed are the poor, the hungry, those who weep, and those who are excluded and reviled, for they will be satisfied. Their conditions will be overturned; they will find consolation. The Greek word used for blessed, makarioi, (macarEA) can also translated as happy, begging the question, how happy can the poor and the other groups mentioned, be in their current condition?
Fr. Jim Martin relates a story in his book, Jesus: A Pilgrimage, that can illustrate for us what Jesus might have been thinking as he spoke these Beatitudes to the people. Fr. Martin was stationed for two years in Africa, among the poor, many of whom were refugees. He found the refugees immensely grateful to God for whatever small blessing might come their way...finding a coin, recovering from a cold, etc. He also found them to be generous with what little they had. One woman named Loyce, who had recently been given a sewing machine so she might be able to make a living, invited the priest to dinner. He was astounded as she presented him with a meal that clearly had been expensive to purchase and prepare. Embarrassed by her gracious gesture, Fr. Martin protested; Loyce replied that it was a simple act of hospitality. Upon coming back home to New York, Fr. Martin was invited to a ritzy apartment to speak about his experiences in East Africa. Following his talk, he was offered a glass of water and a few crackers. After which, the group wished him a good night as they headed off to dinner, without inviting him along.
This story is not to lump all the poor together, or the rich for that matter. But it does suggest a few qualities of the poor that might give us a hint about a meaning of the Beatitudes. In general, the poor, in whatever way they are poor, are quite naturally dependent upon God’s grace; they have a generous spirit; they lead lives of simplicity. In a way, they might reflect a bit more of God’s desire for human living, as opposed to how we actually live.
Perhaps Jesus is telling us that it is not enough to feel sorry for others or to try to do some good for them...that’s nice, but not valuable. We have to in some way become like Jesus... to hold the poor as valuable, to recognize that God has a personal stake in all that happens to them, and to us. After all, it is we who are also the poor...each of us, in some way, shape or form.
One lesson from these Beatitudes might be that we are to live our lives as though we believe that even in our poverty, Jesus never leaves our side. Even when the job is lost, the marriage is over, or the chemo fails, we remain the beloved of God...we are blessed. That knowledge, taken into to our hearts and absorbed into our souls, just might make us happy, as well.
