Our gospel today is the Beatitudes, the foundation of all Jesus’ teaching (Matthew 5: 3 – 12). St. Matthew presents us with eight Beatitudes which describe the qualities that distinguish citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. 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 the Kingdom of Heaven 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 (Zep 2:3; 3:12-13) and we seek the Lord, seek justice and seek humility in everything we do.
Eternal God,
teach us the hidden wisdom of the gospel,
so that we may hunger and thirst for holiness,
work tirelessly for peace,
and be counted among those
who seek first the blessedness of your kingdom.
Let the spirit of Jesus be alive in us
now and forever.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
AMEN
