The Beatitudes are a recipe for happiness in this world and salvation in the next, yet we are often at odds with them. That is because happiness has gradually assumed a newfangled meaning and the idea of salvation has lost its meaning as our world is increasingly controlled by dark forces.
Centuries before Christ, Zephaniah saw through what was happening. He prophesied in the days of king Josiah of Judah (640–609 BCE), who wished to end the profanation of holy places that began in the reign of his father and grandfather, Amon and Manasseh. These two kings promoted the worship of the deities Baal and Astarte and left Jerusalem open to alien culture and morals.
Like Jeremiah, Zephaniah was one of Josiah’s most zealous and trusted advisers. He spoke against religious and moral corruption and predicted Judah’s destruction for the leaders’ wrongdoings and the rampant idolatry and religious syncretism.
Zephaniah is the ninth in the literary order of the Twelve Minor Prophets. His Book is divided into three sections: Judgement on Judah; Judgement on the Nations and Jerusalem; Hope for the Nations and Jerusalem.
Today’s First Reading (Zeph 2: 3; 3: 12-13) is taken from the second and third sections. It begins with a call to conversion and hope, to which only the “humble of the land, who do His commands” will respond; the rich and the powerful will be too full of themselves.
The third section is possibly the realization of the aforementioned ideal. Here, we see the remnant (“those who are left in Israel”) as first prophesied by Isaiah. That image refers to the fact that there is always a faithful and holy remnant in the midst of God’s plan.
How perfectly that dovetails into what Our Lord says in the Beatitudes that comprise today’s Gospel (Mt 5: 1-12). Jesus extols the poor in spirit; those who mourn; the meek; those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; the merciful; the pure in heart; the peacemakers; those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake; and those who are reviled and persecuted for His sake. These are classes of “Blessed” people, meaning those in a better position to receive the kingdom of God.
The poor in spirit are those who, amidst material and spiritual trials, put their trust in God; the mourning ones are those who hope in God alone who can wipe away their tears; the meek are an outward sign of the poor in spirit; the pure in heart are those whose thoughts, actions, and statements are beyond reproach; the peacemakers are reflected with God’s love; and finally, the reviled and persecuted refers to those who are made to suffer for their faithfulness to God in all things.
St Matthew reports the Beatitudes in the ‘Sermon on the Mount’ as the inaugural discourse of the Kingdom’s new law. While traditionally viewed as a single, verbatim speech delivered on a hillside, some scholars believe that St Matthew arranged various sayings spoken by Jesus at different times into a structured, thematic, and symbolic discourse. St Luke (6: 17-49) offers a similar, yet distinct, account of Jesus’s teachings, in the ‘Sermon on the Plain’. Both likely stem from the same core tradition and are masterpieces of a new, radical ethic that Jesus proposed.
St Paul stresses the same idea of lowliness in the Second Reading (Cor 1: 26-31). This was indeed the social condition of the Corinthians who had embraced Christianity. He points to the fact that God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong, what is low and despised, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are. God is our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.
It is likely that some will fail to relate to that. Doesn’t talking about poverty, lowliness, meekness, and weakness sound self-defeating or even make one feel vulnerable? The world seems to be hardwired to believe in power and wealth, achievement, success, and being on top of things.
Yet, Jesus turns vulnerability on its head. He teaches us that when vulnerability reflects our dependence on God, it becomes a source of grace. Psychologists also now consider that vulnerability allows for the development of authentic relationships.
Further, even if our aspirations are not evil, we must guard against any lapse from grace. For example, wealth should not lead to idolatry of money, and material power should not hinder spiritual life. If we are not careful, even the pursuit of spiritual perfection could slip into conceit. Temptations abound, and we fall.
Hence, the bottom line is that our faith and trust in God, rather than in ourselves or in fellow human beings, saves us. That is when the Beatitudes begin to make sense and have a calming effect in our mad, mad world.
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