“Cursed…..Blessed.” These words, which occur respectively at the beginning of the two paragraphs that constitute this very short — four verses — of the first reading, immediately awakens our attention and set up the text in a striking antithesis. Blessedness and cursedness is tied to whether a person puts his or her confidence in the Lord or, turning from him, relies on “strength in flesh,” in other words, on a being that is weak, fragile and mortal. This “confidence in God” accompanies faith in the one who calls himself “I AM” in whom, consequently, we may truly take refuge, on whom we can and must rely, and base our whole life. Therefore, to place this “trust in human beings,” “seeking strength in flesh,” as solid as it may seem, whatever the powers at its disposal — strength, wealth, influence, relations, personal qualities, etc., — is objectively impiety, blasphemy, folly. To express the contrast between the unhappiness of the one who relies “in human beings” and the happiness of the one who puts his trust “in the Lord,” Jeremiah uses very evocative imagery. His intent is undoubtedly to point out how viable is the condition of the person who is truly “blessed,” and to lure his listeners to the path that leads to this blessedness. As our Psalm says today “Blessed the man who has placed his trust in the Lord.” We see a similar thing in today’s Gospel.
It is now towards Jesus that the Gospel turns our eyes. Jesus who himself proclaims the Good News with the solemnity and authority that we have already seen in the Gospels on previous Sundays. This passage from Luke today starts with the beginning of the “Sermon on the Plain.” “In those days,” says Luke, “He had departed to the mountain to pray, and he had spent the night in prayer to God.” Now, each time Luke shows Jesus at prayer, it is an important, even decisive, point in his mission. This time, it is a matter of the choice of the twelve disciples to whom he went “when the day came” and whom he “named apostles”: an important decision, both for Jesus’ immediate mission and its later development. But the fact that Luke mentions Jesus’ prayer points up that the “Sermon on the Plain,” which comes immediately after this prayer up the mountain, is of extreme importance.
First, we see Jesus. He descends the mountain with those who have been selected as the apostles. He stops at the plain. Only at this moment do we find that there are “many of his disciples” and “a great multitude of people” there. A. substantial increase inaudience size since the synagogue at Nazareth. Being thrifty with his details, the evangelist mentions that this “crowd” was made up of “people” from all over. From “all Judea and Jerusalem” and even “the coast of Tyre and Sidon,” Gentile countries! It is a “crowd”— and yet one whole people — which already suggests all the nations to which the Anointed One of the Lord has come to announce “today,” “a year of favour” Indeed, Jesus is not a prophet sent only to the people of his own country — but to all men.
A sea of humanity — the whole world in some way — into which the “fishers of men” who came down from the mountain with him, ‘by his order” must enter “without fear” and cast their nets. What a contrast todays Gospel gives us, with the Gospel of the Fourth Sunday; and the rejection he found at Nazareth — his hometown— here we see multitudes who have come to him, eager to listen, confident in the “power which came forth from him and healed them all.” Far from wanting to steer clear from him, “everyone in the crowd sought to touch him.”
One can hardly grow weary of contemplating this picture, painted in all its grandeur and simplicity, full of meaning and revelation. But Jesus focuses on his disciples, urging them to listen attentively to what he will say, hinting at the seriousness of his discourse. They are aware of this from the first part of the “Sermon on the Plain,” which is in the form of eight sentences: four begin with “Blessed (Happy) are you….” and four with “Alas (Woe) to you…” One is struck by the similarity with the passages from Jeremiah (first reading): “Blessed…… cursed the man….” But also, by the differences. There, it was a wise saying that, as useful for all people, did not single out any particular category of persons. It dealt with confidence placed in God or “in human beings,” — “strength of flesh.” Here, Jesus speaks directly to a concrete audience, to the Twelve, to the disciples, to “the crowd” who surround him. He says to them “Blessed are you….” Even more he is speaking to the people “now” who are in unenviable, even miserable situations: the poor, the hungry, the afflicted, the outcast, the downtrodden.
The “today” of which Jesus spoke at Nazareth in the Temple when he read from the scroll of Isaiah “Today, this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” was opposed to the “yesterday” which preceded his coming. That was the day of his advent, the realisation of the salvation promised, through Isaiah, to the poor, to prisoners, to the blind and oppressed. The “now” of the “Sermon on the Plain” is one of trial, of witnessing in the face of misfortune, which is the lot of Christians and the Church. Jesus warns them of it, of their fate in this “today” that will last from his departure till his return.
“They will seize and persecute you, they will lead you before kings and governors because of my name. It will lead to your giving testimony…….You will even be handed over by parents, brothers, relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death. You will be hated by all because of my name.” The announcement of this “now” of the trial is connected with a promise that is no less firm: “Remember, you are not to prepare your defence beforehand, for I myself shall give you a wisdom in speaking that all of your adversaries will be powerless to resist or refute….. but not a hair on your head will be destroyed. By your perseverance you will secure your lives.”
Jesus also assures his disciples that there will be a complete reversal of the situation: since the kingdom of God belongs to them—their greatest treasure in “present” poverty—their tears will be changed to laughter; their miserable condition today will lead to great joy and recompense “in heaven.” “On the day they do so, rejoice and exult.”
But what is “that day?” — It is the time when each person will perceive the end of his trials in life: on that day, entering into the kingdom, he will know perfect joy, which is his recompense. This amounts to what Jesus said to the repentant thief crucified with him, as he was about to leave his sorrowful life: “Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” It is a solemn promise that martyrs of all times and places put their hope and find strength. “What will separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword?…… No, in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.” (Rom 8:35,37) If tribulation comes, we will say to God: “When I am in trouble, you come to my relief.” (Ps 4:1) Brief is the time of this life; short are the moments we spend in persecutions; but perpetual and eternal is what we await in glory. And “in all these things,” says the apostle Paul, “we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us.”
We also find in the Gospel of today, the four antithesis that are commonly known as “maledictions.” The term “Malediction” is not especially well chosen for it is defined literally as a phrase by which one expresses a desire for someone’s harm, especially in calling down the wrath of God upon him; hence, a condemnation pronounced by God on the evildoer. Such is not the case here!
In calling the rich “woeful,” those who are replete with goods “now” those of whom “all speak well,” Jesus does not condemn them, nor swear that they are evil doers. He just affirms that they are on a bad path, whose outcome could be fatal: they have no consolation to await them after this life, if they do not use their wealth wisely and have a charitable heart.Conversely, by declaring others “Blessed (Happy),” Jesus affirms with sure divine foreknowledge, that their condition will lead them to joy and recompense in heaven. It is reminiscent of the narrative of Lazarus and the rich man (Luke 16:19-31) The former (rich man) was not cursed, but the happiness known during this life makes his unhappiness “in the abode of the dead” like the “misery” of which Lazarus partook on this earth, he who was granted a place “in Abrahams bosom.” In spite of the “You” (the rich who are satisfied, etc), the “woeful” of whom Jesus speaks are certainly not in his audience, which is composed of apostles, disciples, and the crowd of people who “came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases” (The rich who are not there —He awaits with open arms — Will they come? Or will they put their faith in riches, perishable goods which are destroyed by death? Woe is their’s if they store no treasure in heaven — sharing with the poor etc). The parallelism with the Beatitudes is perfect. There is no lack of clear distinction between the beatitude of those who are hated, rejected, insulted, treated with contempt “because of the Son of Man,” and those whom Jesus declares “Alas for you when the world speaks well of you! One would have expected Jesus to speak about them as persecutors, those who inflict suffering on others. But no, they are “woeful” because “all speak well of them” — “This was the way their ancestors treated the false prophets.” They are woeful because they are the antithesis of the fourth Beatitude: “Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil on account of the Son of Man,” he who was “mocked and insulted and spat upon,” “beaten,” “treated contemptuously”. “Blessed are those who receive the preaching of Christ crucified, Who want nothing “except Jesus Christ ….a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.”
It may be necessary for us to undergo many hardships to enter the kingdom of God, but Christian life does not imply masochism, or complacency in the face of suffering, persecution, and insults. “The hungry he has filled with good things.” Jesus healed the sick and fed the crowds and comforted all those who were weak. From its origins to the present day, the Church, the Christian communities, the believers have not ceased to help the poor, to defend the oppressed, the outcasts, those judged to be worthless. Today we are called to play our part and to put our trust in God, that we too may here Jesus’ words “Blessed are you……”
