This year, the 6th Sunday of OT (C) is the Sunday immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. It is providential that the gospel reading about the beatitudes and woes of the Sermon on the Plain is presented to us for meditation. It is a reminder that the Christian life is an immersion in the suffering and death of the Lord in view of the Resurrection. Read the relevant article here and use the following as a guide for reflection.
1. The poor are blessed not because they are poor as such, but because they have become poor for the sake of Christ and the Gospel.
Reflect: During these years that you have been listening to explanations about the Gospels in general and the Beatitudes in particular, what explanation about this text has struck you the most? Write down the explanation on your notebook or on a piece of paper. How have you applied that explanation to your life?
2. The expression "woe" is actually an interjection that expresses sadness. It was originally heard in wakes for the dead. Jesus uses it here in the way a prophet like Isaiah has used it elsewhere: to lament the fate of groups of persons. Jesus laments over the rich because even now the reversal of their fortune is already in motion. The "rich" are the disciples who have made themselves acceptable to the world that applauds the trappings of success.
Reflect: How do you understand Jesus' "woe-statements" in the light of a certain way of thinking that makes worldly wealth, health and glory a measure of one's religion? How does Jesus compare with preachers who begin their gospel of well-being by asking "Who among you want to be rich?"
3. Jesus' Beatitudes and Woes in the Sermon on the Plain underline one aspect of the life of the disciple: that it is an immersion in the Paschal Mystery of Christ. Discipleship is participation in the suffering and death of the Lord in view of the Resurrection.
Reflect: Lent is fast approaching. It is the time when we focus on the life-style of gospel conversion and prepare ourselves for the renewal of our baptismal vows during Easter. What changes will you make in your lifestyle this year that would make your Lenten journey more fruitful than last year's?
