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Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

In this Sunday’s Gospel, we hear the "Beatitudes" as recorded in Luke’s Gospel. They are much shorter than those in Matthew’s Gospel, which perhaps we know better. In Luke, three beatitudes are contrasted with three sorrows. There are three themes here only: poverty, hunger and sadness. There are also words about rejection, contrasted with worldly praise.

We might feel that the picture the Lord paints for us is bleak. Poverty, hunger, sadness and rejection are our lot. These we must accept, in these we must rejoice, if we are to reach the Kingdom of Heaven. The reverse – riches, plenty, happiness and praise – are, we are told, fruitless in the grand scheme of things.

At the very least, this is a warning that comfort can distract us from the Gospel. This is, surely, evident in Western society, where wealth, consumerism and immediate instant joy, limit our vision, bring us to look at ourselves and lose sight of God’s presence and the needs of our brothers and sisters.

The way of the Christian must be a continual striving for what endures, a fixing of mind and heart on the person of Christ. This way demands trust, as both Jeremiah and the Psalmist make plain for us. It is this way that will bring us to a renewed openness to the virtue of hope – a focus on the wonder of the Kingdom that will inform our every action, and enable us to be true disciples of Christ.

With every blessing,

+Richard

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