Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time – Year C
February 16, 2025 – 10:30 AM
Saint Cecilia Catholic Community, Palm Springs, CA
Rev. David Justin Lynch
Jeremiah 17:5-8 | Psalm 1:1-4;6
I Corinthians 15:12;16-20| Luke 6:17;20-26
+In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, AMEN.
Our conservative sisters and brothers in the Southeastern area of the United States have sometimes prevailed on their legislatures to mandate the posting in public schools the Protestant version of the Ten Commandments, found in the twentieth chapter of the Book of Exodus, despite the United States Constitution prohibiting governments from establishing religious doctrine. The advocates of this mandate contend that their version of Christianity is what will make America a great place to live.
However, our conservative friends could not be more wrong. The Ten Commandments were not the core of the teachings of Jesus. It is the Beatitudes that better embody the tone and content of the message of Jesus.
What exactly is a “Beatitude”? The word means, “blessing.” A Beatitude consists of a blessing and a reason for the blessing. Beatitudes often present paradoxes, blessing those who seem unlikely to be favored—like the poor, the meek, or the persecuted—emphasizing that God’s values differ from worldly values, such as “Blessed are the poor” in today’s Gospel.
Some Beatitudes have an eschatological, or end-times, focus, promising future rewards in God’s kingdom for present faithfulness, even amid suffering or hardship. We see that in today’s Gospel, blessings are extended to those excluded and reviled on account of their relationship with Jesus, who are promised a heavenly reward. The Beatitudes highlight qualities like humility, mercy, peacemaking, and righteousness, emphasizing the inner attitudes and ethical behaviors that align with how God wants us to live.
Always remember, Jesus was not a Christian. Jesus was Jewish. Believe it or not, Beatitudes come to us from the Jewish tradition. We can see that in today’s Psalm, which begins, “Blessed the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked, nor walks in the way of sinners, nor sits in the company of the insolent, but delights in the law of the LORD and meditates on his law day and night.”
When we think of the Beatitudes, we usually mean those found in the Fifth chapter of the Gospel According to Saint Mathew. But just like there are two versions of the Ten Commandments, that in Exodus used by most Protestants and that in the fifth chapter of Deuteronomy used by Catholics and Lutherans, there are two versions of the Beatitudes. We have the familiar version in Matthew and another in Luke, which makes up today’s Gospel.
The Matthean Beatitudes are positive proclamations of blessings. The context is Jesus preaching from a mountain, hence the term “Sermon on the Mount.” There, Jesus presents himself as the new lawgiver in the Mosaic tradition. In contrast to the Ten Commandments, Jesus speaks in general terms with broad applicability instead of specific prescriptions, all of which reflect on some aspect of God’s unconditional love.
The Lukan Beatitudes, however, were different. Jesus delivered the Beatitudes from Luke in today’s Gospel from flat ground. That’s why the Lukan Beatitudes are part of the so-called “Sermon on the Plain.” Luke presents Jesus standing on a level place among a large crowd of disciples and people from various regions. This “plain” setting emphasizes Jesus’ solidarity with ordinary people.
While both Matthew and Luke present Jesus’ teachings on blessedness, their audiences, contexts, and theological emphases shape the message differently. Matthew’s Beatitudes invite readers into a vision of spiritual transformation and kingdom ethics, while Luke’s offer a prophetic critique of social structures and call for radical reversal.
Luke’s tone is prophetic and challenging. Luke aligns Jesus with Old Testament prophets like Amos, Isaiah, Micah, and Jeremiah, who condemned social injustice. The prophets frequently denounce the rich for exploiting the poor, manipulating justice, and hoarding wealth. Widows, orphans, foreigners, and the poor are consistently portrayed as deserving protection and care.
The Great Reversal concept—where the world is turned upside down—is found throughout Luke’s Gospel, starting with the Song of Mary in Chapter One, commonly known as the “Magnificat” where Our Lady sings, “He hath put down the mighty from their seat and hath exalted the humble and meek. He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty way.”
You will recall that several weeks ago, we heard from the fourth chapter of Luke about the appearance of Jesus in a synagogue reading from Isaiah. There, Jesus presented himself as fulfilling Isaiah’s proclamation of good news to the poor and freedom for captives. In so doing, Jesus demonstrated his alignment with his Jewish background as he showed us that the Great Reversal theme was not a new-fangled idea but part of a long-standing theological tradition.
Luke doesn’t let up on the Great Reversal. Consider the Parable of the Rich Fool, the story of Dives and Lazarus, the tale of the Prodigal Son, and the incident involving the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, to name just a few examples.
Luke’s presentation of the Great Reversal in today’s Gospel includes contrasts between blessings and corresponding woes. Luke’s version addresses those who are poor, hungry, and mourning. Those wealthy in this world will see nothing more at the end of time. Those who have enough to eat now will go hungry, and those who are happy now will become sad. That is quite some reversal, with Luke telling us that our happiness in this present world may experience a different reality at the end of time.
Which brings us to twenty-twenty-five. Over the past three weeks, the United States seems to be commencing a “Great Reversal in Reverse.” The new regime in Washington shows the billionaire class oppressing the least among us earnestly, enthusiastically, and unrelentingly.
We are seeing economic policies that favor wealthy people over poor people. The law of the jungle, that is, the survival of the fittest, has replaced a moral obligation to universally relieve human suffering by housing the homeless, feeding the hungry, and caring for those who are infirm.
We are seeing the horrific treatment of immigrants. While the deportation of criminals makes sense, we also see collateral damage to those who are in the United States to escape oppression and to make a better life for themselves.
We are seeing the erosion of democratic norms and disrespect for the rule of law in favor of a system where might makes right.
These events are all very real and happening at a breakneck pace that not even the Courts are able to stop. We are experiencing a dynamic that challenges moral frameworks rooted in religious and ethical traditions that call for justice, compassion, and care for the poor. Elon Musk and the minions of DOGE are anything but Christian. Their entire orientation towards the world flies in the face of every word ever uttered by Jesus.
So, what are we to do, those of us like myself who lack wealth, power, and influence? The simple answer is we must trust God. That may sound like hollow or naïve advice, given what’s happening in the world right now. But if you look at the overarching history of humankind, God always wins.
God saved the Israelites when Moses led them through the Red Sea and drowned their oppressors behind them.
God sent Cyrus to bring the Jewish people back to the Holy Land after decades of Babylonian exile.
God raised Jesus from the dead on Easter after his death at the hands of perverted religious and civil power.
Just as the people of Israel had the Noahic, Mosaic, and Abrahamic covenants with God, we have our Baptismal Covenant. At our baptism, we were called to be prophets, priests, and leaders in relation to the world.
Let us prophesize in the tradition of First Isaiah, Micah, and Amos, who called out the arrogance of the ruling class and their cruelty to the indigent.
Let us be priests to one another by facilitating a relationship between God and others through ourselves.
Let us lead others to call out and resist evil.
Political parties are simply not up to those tasks. But those who take seriously their baptismal covenant can and will do so.
We can proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.
We can seek and serve Christ in all persons.
We can love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves.
We can strive for peace and justice in how we live.
And we can, above all, respect everyone’s dignity.
Ask yourself. Aren’t the Beatitudes more consistent with our Baptismal Covenant than the Ten Commandments? Think about it!
May God grant all of you the courage and strength to make the living of your baptismal covenant a reality for you and those around you. THAT is what will get us through the next four years. AMEN.