Fourth Sunday of the Year: A: January 29, 2023

 THE BLESSED IN THE EYES OF JESUS: THE POOR, THE GENTLE....

First Reading: Zephaniah 2: 3 and 3: 12-13

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31

Gospel Reading: Matthew 5: 1-12

   *First reading is from the book of Prophet Zephaniah. Zephaniah appeals to the people of Israel to seek the Lord God with a sincere and humble heart. He promises them that the Lord God favours the humble and punishes the proud. He tells  them that those who walk in His ways are few and they are the poor and the lowly in the eyes of the world. However, the Prophet assures them that they are fortunate because they will enjoy the protection of the Lord God. 

   *Second reading is from the first letter of St. Paul to Corinthians. Paul reminds the Christian community at Corinth and all of us that it is through God's grace that we are what we are today. God does not pick people who are wise and powerful and of noble birth but rather He selects those who are poor, weak and lowly. Hence, no one can boast in the presence of the Lord. We have to accept that we are totally dependent on God. 

Those blessed in the eyes of the Lord                                                               Today's Gospel reading is from St. Matthew. The beatitudes are narrated and explained by Jesus on a mountain. We are presented with the values that Jesus preached and lived and what he expects from His followers. The beatitudes are the sum total of Jesus' preaching. Jesus tells us who are the people blessed in the sight of God. They are the poor, the gentle, those who mourn, the hungry, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peace makers and the persecuted. Those who are called "Blessed" or "Happy" by Jesus' standards can hardly be described as fortunate or lucky in the eyes of the world. Jesus is not offering us an unusual programme for happiness. Rather, He is describing what happens to Christian discipleship when the Kingdom of God breaks forth in this broken and fragile world. The beatitudes describe a variety of experiences that the disciples have to undergo as a result of their involvement in living the Gospel values. The result of their involvement can be suffering, persecutions and even death as happened to many saints and believers in the past. Jesus heaps blessings on those who struggle daily to live the truth of the Gospel. It is our turn to look at our lives and see how far we measure up to Jesus' standards as opposed to the standards of the world. Be assured that all of us without exception are called to be "BLESSED".