1He was a square peg in a round hole, felt like he came from outer space. He picked up a drink at the age of twelve, after his two sisters had their wedding receptions in their home. He left school at fourteen-and-a-half to work with his father as a bricklayer. The money was good, but he was not cut out for it. He would have liked to be an artist and paint people and landscapes.
After drinking with a lot of English lads on Sydney's North Shore he thought it would be nice to go to England, as Sydney was the problem. London in the late sixties was all the go and he could drink as he liked, without Mum and Dad seeing him. (They were the problem!)
A lot of people thought he was English as he would put on the accent. He’d always imitated other people's talk, he just couldn’t be himself. He hated himself, and never fit in. He had a big mouth when drunk and became violent, but he couldn’t see it was the drink. He thought he was just mad. (Mad from drink!). The next day he would have the "hair of the dog" to feel all right and try to forget what had happened, but he couldn’t.
He thought people who told him what he did during blackouts lied. He told people not to live with him as he didn’t know what he might do when drunk. He hated the world and thought if he drank a lot it would kill him. He couldn't do it himself as it is a sin.
He was reading the section in the "Big Book" (the book Alcoholics Anonymous) called “Freedom from Bondage” that got him praying for his dad, whom he hated. It turned hate to love and set him free. He had thought only drink could set him free. Instead it held him in bondage for years.2
The first two steps of a twelve-step program are to admit both our powerlessness and our need for a power greater than ourselves to restore us to sanity. In other words, we cannot heal ourselves. We need to abandon our desire for control and recognize our utter dependence upon someone or something greater than ourselves. For Christians, this means recognizing that we are utterly dependent upon God and mutually dependent upon each other. The Beatitudes, attitudes for being disciples of Jesus, say something similar.3
Today’s gospel is the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount. At first, it sounds beautiful; on second thought, it seems all wrong; and finally, it all makes sense. The language Jesus uses is eloquent, idealistic, and inspiring, but if you listen carefully, you can see it is directly opposed to several taken-for-granted articles of commonly accepted, so-called wisdom. For example: the way to be happy is to own as much as you can. Pain and suffering are to be avoided at all costs. Always try to be in control. Write off anyone who neglects you or doesn’t appreciate you. If anyone tries to insult you, don’t get mad; get even. Steer clear of the peaceniks, who try to turn you into a wimpy, do-gooder, bleeding heart.
Jesus is surrounded by a massive crowd of sinners, tax collectors, prostitutes, and really, really religious people, and really, really Gentile people who aren’t really, really considered religious by the really, really religious people. There’s this massive spectrum of humanity and in its midst, is Jesus, who begins: “Blessed are the poor in spirit because theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:3)4
What Jesus is doing here is making an announcement. An announcement is a fundamentally different way of framing something. He’s not giving instruction—like twelve steps to get God’s blessing. This is not a command—like here’s what you need to do in order to be blessed. This is not advice—here’s how I would approach the question of blessings. He announces that God is on the side of everybody for whom there’s no reason why God should be on their side. He announces to all of those who feel that they don’t deserve the blessing of God, the blessing of God is here and it’s yours.
Now that’s Good News!!
Here the other side of the coin. Our reading from Corinthians tells us the Jewish wisdom saw God as the sole source of concrete, embodied wisdom. So Beware! The moment we look down upon somebody because they aren’t as disciplined, hardworking, upright, smart, responsible, moral, God-fearing, bible-believing, or Jesus-loving as we are—because they’ve made idiotic, poor, or immoral choices again and again and again—it is at that moment we are in fact rich in spirit and Jesus isn’t announcing anything to us. Instead, it is our pathetic, bedraggled, confused, morally ambiguous state in which there’s nothing good within us that God announces, “I’m on your side.”5
Anyone think they are on the outs? God’s blessing is now pouring out on you. The Kingdom of Heaven has now become available in a fresh new way for all the people who have absolutely no claim to it and who don’t deserve it.
Blessed are those who there’s no reason in the world why they should be blessed.
[1] New American Bible, Saint Joseph Edition. © 1986. Scriptures: Zephaniah 2:3, 3:12-13; 1
Corinthians 1:26-31; Matthew 5:1-12a.
[3] Living the Word, Year of
Matthew. by Laurie Brink, O.P. & Paul Colloton, O.S.F.S. © 2016. World
Library Publications
[4] Sundays with Jesus,
Reflections for the Year of Matthew. by James DiGiacomo, SJ © 2007. Paulist
Press.
[5] Naked, and You Clothed Me, Editied by Deacon
Jim Knipper © 2013. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the
world?” by Deacon Jim Knipper
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