Gospel : Luke 6 : 17-26
Year C
Jesus came down from the mountain and stopped on the plain …
You have just spent the night on the mountain, in prayer, like Moses on Mount Sinai long ago. And like him, You come back down now to the plain to meet people, to convey to them the Father’s message. All humanity is there before You, represented by a crowd of people, who came from Judea and also from the pagan countries of Tyre and Sidon.
If I want to be Your messenger for the world of to-day, I must imitate You, Lord. Firstly let me join You on the mountain, in prayer. It is not my ideas that I should convey, but Your Word, Your message. So I should listen to it on an on-going basis, be nourished by it, live by it ….
You look at the crowd that surrounds You …. Through them, You see the people of the whole world. You came down from Your divine mountain to proclaim the Good News to them, the mostbeautiful richness : the love of God. What welcome will You receive? In the first place there are Your disciples who have already started to follow You. This sight gladdens Your heart and You let them share Your joy:
Happy are you poor: the Kingdom of God is yours!
Happy, because conscious of this poverty, you put your trust not in yourselves or in others, but in God alone. He is your refuge: the Kingdom of God is already your treasure.
But You also see those who will not listen to You because they are engrossed in their worldly goods. So Your heart is saddened; You plead with them and You can’t stop Yourself saying to them: Alas for you rich: you are having your consolation now…. You don’t see the need for anything other than earthly goods, fleeting pleasures, worldly honour …. How sad to be satisfied with this when I bring you so much more!
Free our hearts, Lord, from false riches. Open them to Your love, to Your Kingdom!
