If you had any doubt that the values of our world and the values of the kingdom of heaven are dramatically different, today’s three reading should settle the matter. Zephaniah tells us in his prophecy (Zep 2:3; 3:12-13) that people who are humble and lowly, those who “observe [God’s] law, seek justice and humility” shall find “refuge in the name of the Lord” and shelter against God’s anger. Then St Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 1: 26-31, that God chooses “the foolish of the world to shame the wise,” and “the weak of the world to shame the strong” and “the lowly and despised…those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something.”
Today’s gospel, the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12), is the foundation of all Jesus’ teaching. St. Matthew presents us with eight Beatitudes describing the qualities that distinguish citizens of the kingdom of heaven from everyone else. The citizens of heaven are the people who are humble and helpless and who put their entire trust in God, those whose hearts are broken and sorrowful, those who are meek, those who yearn for total goodness, those who are merciful, those who are pure in heart, those who are peacemakers and people who are persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.
The Beatitudes challenge our way of thinking. They present a different set of values. They turn everything upside down. In our success driven and money-oriented world, the Beatitudes don't make much sense. How can people who are poor in spirit, meek, and persecuted be happy? For many people, Jesus could be talking about Astrophysics or something from a fantasy novel. In fact, some people do consider the kingdom of heaven as some kind of future, pie-in-the sky, other world.
The Beatitudes call us to holiness today, now, here in Peachtree City, Georgia. As Christians, we are citizens of the kingdom of heaven and it is our responsibility to make this kingdom real and tangible here and now. Blessedness, true happiness comes when we acknowledge God our Father as the center of our universe. True happiness comes when we follow the advice of Zephaniah in today's first reading and we seek the Lord, seek justice and seek humility in everything we do.
