6th Sunday in Ordinary Time (C)

Jer 17:5-8
Ps 1:1-2, 3, 4 and 6
1 Cor 15:12, 16-20
Lk 6:17, 20-26

Over the years, I've had occasion to meet men and women who are single-minded in their pursuit of justice and their dedication to helping those on the margins of society. One thing most of these folks have in common is their ability to get right to the point. Hello, I’m Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the "Sunday Soundbite" for the Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time.

That's the feeling I get from the Gospel for this Sunday. We're all familiar with Matthew's presentation of Jesus' "Sermon on the Mount." Today, Luke offers us a sermon of Jesus as well. But the setting isn't a mountainside. Rather, the Lord stands on a stretch of level ground. And Luke's version of Christ's "Beatitudes" is also different from Matthew's. They're shorter, more direct, and focus more on the physical reality of poverty. In Matthew, Jesus speaks of the "poor in spirit"; in Luke, he says, "Blessed are you who are poor." And the blessings are quickly followed by a list of woes for those who are rich and satisfied.

Luke's Gospel overall is known for a focus on the poor. The fact of enduring poverty or other troubles seems to offer a perspective on God which helps us realize that we need to depend on God for everything. That's a challenging message, one that we nevertheless need to hear. And we can thank Luke for capturing that part of what Jesus came to proclaim.

Scripture:

•Blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD. (Jeremiah 17:7)

•He is like a tree planted near running water, that yields its fruit in due season, and whose leaves never fade. Whatever he does prospers. (Psalm 1:3)

•Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. (Luke 16:22)

•But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. (Luke 16:24)

Reflection:

•Can hunger be satisfied and remain hunger?

•What does spiritual hunger feel like?

•Can the rich be consoled and remain rich?

•Why do possessions choke off the spiritual quest for God?

•How is it possible to yield fruit but “never fade”?

•What gives life more abundant than running water?

The invisible became visible, the intangible became tangible in Christ. History has been shocked into new life since Jesus came to play a part in it: the cosmos has become a sacred offering since the Word took flesh from a woman living within the cosmos.
God has become human, the Word has become a child, Immensity has accepted limitations.
The infinite has become finite.
The unknowable has made himself known.
Omnipotence became a child.
The immutable accepted suffering.
The perfect one took the burden of sin.
Life was attained through death.
Love was expressed as resurrection.
Jesus became our brother…