Mother Church invites us to celebrate Sunday, January 29, 2023 as the Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time – Year A. In the entrance antiphon we pray: “Save us, Lord our God, and gather us together from the nations, that we may proclaim your holy name and glory in your praise. Amen.”
Today we have one of the high points of the entire scripture. Jesus expounds the beatitudes to his followers in Matthew’s Gospel: happy the merciful, happy the pure in heart. It is a refrain that is taken up in the responsorial psalm and sets the atmosphere of today’s Mass. In the first reading, Zephaniah, traditionally considered the prophet of doom, formulates some of the most beautiful expressions on humility and poverty of spirit found in the Old Testament. In the second reading, Saint Paul continues to exhort his converts of Corinth to stop quarrelling among themselves and accept God’s wisdom, which sometimes stands in direct contradiction to human wisdom.
First Reading: Zephaniah 2: 3, 3, 12-13
Seek the Lord, all you humble of the earth, who have observed his law; seek justice, seek humility; perhaps you may be sheltered on the day of the Lord’s anger. But I will leave as a remnant in your midst a people humble and lowly, who shall take refuge in the name of the Lord: the remnant of Israel. They shall do no wrong and speak no lies; nor shall there be found in their mouths a deceitful tongue; they shall pasture and couch their flocks with none to disturb them.
Comment
The last book in the Hebrew canon of the Prophets is simply called “The Twelve,” being a collection of twelve short books attributed to different prophets. The Church calls this collection the work of “the Minor Prophets,” not because the collection is of less importance than the Major Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah or Zechariah) but because these books are shorter. These Minor Prophets are Amos, Hosea, Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Obadiah, Joel, and Jonah.
Zephaniah, from where the first reading of this day is taken, is only three chapters long, compared, for example, to Isaiah, with 66 chapters. History tells us that Zephaniah exercised his ministry during the reign of King Josiah of Judah (640-609 BC). This was the period when Israel experienced the greatest degree of religious corruption in its history. The kings of Israel had abandoned their own God to adopt the worship of the gods of their conquerors, the Assyrians. Almost the entire population had followed their example and pagan worship had replaced or corrupted the worship of Israel’s God.
Zephaniah’s response to the immorality of the kings and people of his day was to proclaim the coming of the day of the Lord. This would be the day of judgement and of condemnation that would bring doom to those in Judah and Jerusalem who were worshipping the false gods.
Zephaniah has the reputation of being the prophet of doom; he threatens the coming day of God’s anger on his people who have abandoned him for other gods. However, the passage selected for our meditation this day contains some of the most beautiful expressions of humility and poverty of spirit found in the Old Testament. His initial exhortation contains a promise, that is, if God finds his people striving after him with humility and sincerity, then the fearful day will be for them a day of messianic joy, a time of protection by the one in whom they have put their trust. As their shepherd, God will lead them to pasture and bless them with rest.
What is Zephaniah telling me this day? He tells me that God will not tolerate the worship of any other gods, whether that worship goes by the name of idolatry, money, witchcraft or superstition. This is particularly relevant to us in Cameroon, in particular, and Africa, in general, where the worship of money, wealth, political power, embezzlement of public property and the oppression of the poor by the rich has become a daily practice.
Saint John Paul II tells us in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation, Ecclessia in Africa, that “Africa’s economic problems are compounded by the dishonesty of corrupt government leaders who, in connivance with domestic or foreign private interests, divert national resources for their own profit and transfer public funds to private accounts in foreign banks. This is plain theft, whatever the legal camouflage may be” (EA, 13).
Let us pray to God to raise from our midst upright sons and daughters who can lead us with integrity to a future of grace and happiness. Amen.
Second Reading: First Corinthians 1:26-31
Consider your own calling, brothers and sisters. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong, and God chose the lowly and despised of the world, those who count for nothing, to reduce to nothing those who are something, so that no human being might boast before God. It is due to him that you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, so that, as it is written, "Whoever boasts, should boast in the Lord."
Comment
In last Sunday’s reading, we heard Saint Paul condemning in the strongest possible terms the divisions in the Church in Corinth. Continuing his argument in today’s reading, he declares that human wisdom must bow before the wisdom and power of God. He tells them that since the world is saved through a crucified Christ, this is sufficient reason to believe that “God’s foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God’s weakness is stronger than human strength” (1 Cor 1:25).
Today’s reading shows the Corinthians that their own condition is ample proof that God did not choose the intellectuals, the powerful, the noble for allegiance to the Gospel. No human being is wise or virtuous enough to measure God. The crucified Christ is the real standard of human wisdom, virtue and holiness, and commitment to him alone will ensure these blessings.
What have I learnt from this reading? I have learned from Saint Paul that it is the Lord who chooses, who gives each Christian his or her vocation. To be a Christian or a minister of the people of God in any capacity is a call from God himself. Jesus tells us that the initiative to follow him comes not from us but from God himself: “You did not choose me but I chose you” (Jn 15:16) because “No one can come to me unless drawn by the Father who sent me” (Jn 6:44).
What standards does God use to choose men and women to belong to Him and do His work? Now, this is exactly where God’s ways part from our ways. We would normally expect him to pick people who are wise, powerful and of good reputation. But Paul tells us that God actually chooses people who are the exact opposite, people who are foolish, weak in character and of low reputation; people who are unimportant, or even despised in the eyes of the world. He uses them to bring salvation to the world through his Church.
What lesson am I taking home from this reading? First of all, that we can live a life of God or do his work only with the strength that comes from God himself. The first requirement of a true servant of God is that he or she should learn to depend entirely on God. The Lord calls all Christians, especially those men and women who minister God’s word to us in any capacity, to a life of holiness. As Saint Jose Escriva de Ballaguer, founder of the Opus Dei movement, says: “God loves us before we even know how to go toward him, and he places in us the love with which we can respond to his call.” Let us pray for a life of holiness irrespective of our state in life. Amen.
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12.
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven."
Comment
The Sermon on the Mount has been an inspiration for Christians and non-Christians alike from time immemorial. Its message of sincerity and interior religion makes it an ideal portrait of Christian living. We see a huge crowd of people from many different places gathering around our Lord, some hoping to see him multiply loaves of bread to assuage their physical hunger, others to receive physical healing from their ailments, and still others to hear from him his saving doctrine, which will give meaning to their lives. Our Lord uses this opportunity to give an in-depth picture of true discipleship. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
The eight beatitudes we have in this gospel constitute a road map, a guide for anyone who seeks to attain true happiness of the kingdom of God. Jesus establishes these guideposts to the kingdom right from the very first teaching he gives to his disciples.
These beatitudes spell out what we have to do to find true happiness. Be poor in spirit, that is, be humble. Work for holiness in the world. Work for peace – be peacemakers. Work for reconciliation. It is not difficult to imagine why some people listening to our Lord would be disappointed with his words. The world has its own idea of happiness and Christ’s teachings are counter-cultural. Where he says “Blessed are the poor in spirit”, the world would rather say “Blessed are the rich.” Where he says “Blessed are those who weep”, the world would say “Blessed are those who are having fun.” Where he says “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness”, the world responds with “Blessed are those who dine and wine and make merry.” Where he says “Blessed are the merciful,” the world would say “Blessed are the rich and powerful.” Where Christ says “Blessed are the pure in heart”, the world’s response is “Blessed are the slim in body.” Where Christ says “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake,” the world says “Blessed are those who can afford the best lawyers to corrupt the justice system.”
The values Christ prescribes in today’s gospel are truly counter-cultural. This is because we cannot accept them and at the same time accept all the values of the society in which we live. Of course, Christ is not asking us to abandon everything, but he is asking that we put God first in our lives because only God can guarantee the true happiness and peace that our hearts so long for. If we live by the teachings of Jesus, then let us rejoice and be glad, for our reward will be great in heaven. Amen.
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