In yesterday’s post, I tried to show how St. Matthew and St. Luke used similar material but organized it differently and placed it in a different context. Generally speaking, these differences are related to the audience for whom the sacred author was writing.
Today’s Gospel reading illustrates that very clearly. If you look to St. Matthew’s Gospel, you will find that he begins the Sermon on the Mount with eight so-called “Beatitudes.” Later in the Gospel toward the end, he lists several “Woes” which are addressed to the Scribes and Pharisees. St. Matthew’s Gospel is organized around five discourses or sermons, each of them having a different focus. The “Beatitudes” are used in the first discourse while the “Woes” appear in the last discourse. They act somewhat like bookends in the Gospel.
St. Luke’s Gospel uses many of the same “Beatitudes” and “Woes” but not as many. For instance there are only four “Beatitudes,” and these are followed quickly by the “Woes” in the very same sermon. There is also a distinct difference in them. While St. Matthew says “Blessed are the poor in spirit,” St. Luke simply says “Blessed are you poor.” The question that I find myself asking is “Am I more comfortable with St. Matthew’s version? Am I put off by St. Luke’s version?”
Even though as a Franciscan friar I am vowed to poverty, I am not really poor. Yes, I own nothing of my own. However, I lack nothing. Consequently I find St. Luke’s version a bit more challenging than that of St. Matthew. Obviously, St. Matthew’s audience was not as “fiscally” poor as was the audience of St. Luke. However, I have to ask myself whether or not St. Luke’s version has something to say to me.
The Beatitudes turn our usual way of thinking upside down. We usually don’t seek poverty, sorrow, pain, grief, humility, etc. We are far more likely to look for their opposites. Yet Jesus tells us that the poor, those who mourn, those who grieve, and those who are meek will be blessed. Both St. Matthew’s and St. Luke’s versions are holding these attitudes or situations up for our consideration. Our Christian history is filled with the stories of people who found the truth in these statements; e.g. St. Francis of Assisi, Blessed Therese of Calcutta, etc.
As members of CUSA, we all are burdened by some chronic illness or some disability. I have come to see that while I would not active “seek” illness or disability, it can be a source of blessing. Read the Acts of the Apostles carefully and you will find many references to the fact that the apostles rejoiced when they were persecuted simply because they realized that they had been given the privilege of walking the same path as Jesus had walked. The same is true today. Jesus suffered and died for our sins. He offered himself as a sacrifice for our salvation. By accepting our burdens, we join with him and continue to make the mystery of faith visible in our world today. Indeed, both St. Matthew and St. Luke would remind us that we are blessed or considered happy because of our mutual plight.
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator